Subquality Ubiquitous In Tap Wrenches

[cathead]

Today in cleaning in my tap and die drawer I came across my small tap handle, all
disheveled, bent and in general disrepair. Heck, the main part wasn't even magnetic!
What a piece of work I couldn't even repair it so decided to make a new one. The
result is in the photos.


One gets a smooth feel with the new tap wrench and it bites down on the tap very tightly
and does NOT come loose like the old one did. The body is cold roll material, the rods are mild
steel I think(from the junk box...not sure really ) and the balls are aluminum.

Running taps is not one of my favorite activities but maybe this will help.


By the way, I saw no need to copy the old design where the handle has right hand threads
and the little screw which look like double start left handed threads to me, and metric at that!

 

[ch2co]

Can you actually lock an 0-80 tap between those jaws? You really need to add a rule or some similar article to give us a size comparison.

I do love the spherical appendages attached to the end of each handle, is there a reason that you knurled the knob on one end and not the other?

CHuck the grumpy old guy

 

[TommyD]

Nice work

 

[kd4gij]

Nice job looks nice.

 

[RJSakowski]

That's the knob Cathead tightens

 

[cathead]

Can you actually lock an 0-80 tap between those jaws? You really need to add a rule or some similar article to give us a size comparison.

I do love the spherical appendages attached to the end of each handle, is there a reason that you knurled the knob on one end and not the other?

CHuck the grumpy old guy

Hi Chuck,
Yes, a rule would be good for comparison purposes. It will easily hold taps from about 1/4 inch to 1/2 or so. The knurled ball end
is connected to the movable jaw so that when a tap installed, you can crank in a tight grip while holding the tap (which is at 90 degrees
to the body) to hold it firmly. I put balls on all my tap wrenches as it is more comfortable operate and much more aesthetically pleasing.

I didn't measure the overall length but I would guess about 9 inches.

 

[ch2co]

Just pulled out my most often used tap handle, and you guys are right, knurled on one end only. I was just thinking that if you are tightening it that you would
want both ends knurled for grip, but with larger taps and tap handles such as yours, you have a lot of metal to grab onto, including the tap.
Included is a shot of my tap handle and often used tap 2-56.