Pwr tapper

[mixedgas]

Anybody try the 99$ Harbour Freight (cringe!) power tapper yet?

I have one of their 7x10 minilathes, which after considerable reworking, including scraping the ways by hand for two days, works pretty good.

But otherwise I avoid them like the plague. A 99$ power tapping attachment seems too good to be true when they are normally around 400$ and hold their value when used.

steve

[300EVIL]

Hey Steve,
Procunier makes the BEST tapping heads there are. You may want to give them a try sometime. They can be had for cheap on ebay. Parts are also fairly inexpensive when you need to repair them.

[MechEng3]

The Kasthuri makes good work if it is smaller than 5/16". They are fast and reliable.

[mixedgas]

The Kasthuri makes good work if it is smaller than 5/16". They are fast and reliable.

I really only need 1/4-20. The machinist at my former employer did it just with the Bridgeport's power switch, but the mill here is not that good, and I'm not Ed.


Thanks Guys, Steve

[hobbybob]

How do these machines work ?
Is it like a drill that can tap wire into holes very fast ?

[300EVIL]

How do these machines work ?
Is it like a drill that can tap wire into holes very fast ?

No wire needed like a helicoil (which also requires a tap) or anything. A fluted tap just cuts it's way down a drill hole advancing in the threads it produces.



A power tapper comes in hand when you are a small machinist and you have too many holes to tap by hand. Basically, you can mount this device on a drill press with the tap on the other end. From there you slowly follow the tap in while it's cutting then quickly back off before it bottoms out. Thus the tap immediately reverses due to the gears and clutch inside the tapping head and the tap backs out. Although it's fast, it does take a little practice and a lot of skill to use at speed without breaking taps left and right, especially the smaller taps.

This video should help....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou9o-aUqAUI