Clogged tap on the wrong side of aluminum

Good thing about the Dremel is if you can't get the aluminum off you are already there with the tool to cut the tap ;)

John
 
Inferno said:
I'm notoriously sloppy.
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Buy a pound of lye from the hardware store, mix it in a metal cup and lay your part across the top with the tap submerged. Back the tap out in a day or two, profit!
 
These are really good taps so I'd rather scrap the part than to cut off the top (Even though it makes a god bottoming tap at that point).
I went looking for the dremel and saw my mini hacksaw. The blade is narrow enough to get between the threads so I opted to try that. I got the bulk out and then scraped the best I could with a utility blade.
I am 99% sure I didn't damage the tap and I was able to back the tap out, mostly by hand. This will be my spare clamp and if I really needed it, I could always chase it with an 8mm if the threads don't hold.

I'm going to get some NaOH to finish cleaning the tap.
From now on I won't tap so deep without oil.

FWIW, usually I have residual oil from drilling which lobes the tap but this time I was going for speed and barely used oil while drilling. My drill bit seems fine but it was careless of me to go that route.
 
Firstram said:
Buy a pound of lye from the hardware store, mix it in a metal cup and lay your part across the top with the tap submerged. Back the tap out in a day or two, profit!
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Not an aluminum cup! Or you will have quite a mess to clean up. Stainless might work, but I leave that to the chemists to look up. Glass would work.
 
You
WobblyHand said:
Not an aluminum cup! Or you will have quite a mess to clean up. Stainless might work, but I leave that to the chemists to look up. Glass would work.
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You're right, steel, stainless, plastic or glass, the wife needs new measuring cups anyway!
 
I'll just use one of my beakers. If it were to get ruined (highly unlikely) I'd just toss it. I have several hundred more.
Or, for something so small, I could use a test tube. I have over 1000 of those.
Or one of my, more than 100, graduated cylinders.

:cool:
 
Stainless, polyethylene, and polypropylene are safe to use with lye solutions of any strength. Lye will etch glass although slowly. As long as you aren't concerned with a minor amount of etching, you can use glass as well. If mixing lye with water, a large amount of heat is generated. The best way is to add lye slowly to the water while stirring. Cooling the solution in a cold water bath helps to keep the heat down. When I worked as an analytical chemist, I used to mix up five liters of concentrated NaOH solution on a regular basis. Wear PPE, especially a safety shield. to protect your eyes and face. Lye solution will readily dissolve skin.
 
Why not use a 6mm nut and thread it on the backside. Might clear the chip.
 
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