Tap and die recommendations?

If you're looking for what I would call a maintenance set, the one you grab when you want to fix the handle on the lawnmower, Canadian Tire's hundred-and-whatever size when it's on sale is decent enough. The die stock will be the weak point.

If you want to enjoy tapping holes in your tool block that you just made, go down to Western Equipment or Raider Hansen and buy them as you need them. The difference is palpable, the cost is not as much as you might think, and they will get you through a bunch of holes if you look after them. KBC in Vancouver also sells decent ones as their house brand, so most of the time I'll order from them.

I think the worst part of any of the department store / big box store assortments these days are the lousy tap wrenches and die stocks. I bought several Groz ones for work a few years ago thinking they might be better but they were garbage too. I don't know why that is, it's such a vital part of the whole process and getting a successful thread. Keep an eye out for some older ones at the pawn shops and scoop them if you can. Night and day for holding the tools.

-frank
 
I would not recommend anything from Lowe's or Home Depot. Even though the set I bought from Lowes said Made in USA, it was worse than China made taps from Fastenal. See if you can find a vintage set someplace. I have had good luck with those.
 
I have a bunch of older Hanson taps that are fine but Hanson has been acquired by Irwin which is part of the Black and Decker import empire. My most recent Hanson purchase was very disappointing, no better than others from China. The last HSS tap I purchased from McMaster Carr was made by Greenfield and was well made.
 
I'm all for HSS taps and dies; most of mine are. BUT truth be told, carbon steel taps and dies work. I have a Sears Kromedge metric set of carbon steel taps and dies that I bought 35 years ago; they work great and I have yet to break one. I also have several sets of Hanson taps and dies that work fine for general work; they cut as well as my HSS taps do if I'm honest.

In my opinion, the single biggest determinant of how well one of these tools work is the user. If you know how to size a hole properly then the chances of breaking a tap or ruining a thread are minimized.
 
Unless you have no taps/dies, buy only what you need. Do Not scrimp, one tap/dies set high dollar will not break the bank, a whole set will. Get them one at a time as needed. If you buy a set, you will find some you never use. Oh yes, if you can, opt for Spiral point taps, they push the chips out the entry hole.
 
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Higher quality taps list the thread limits(H1, H3, H6 ,etc.). I would buy the specific size you need in a spiral flute , a spiral point tap(through holes), then decide on taper, bottoming or plug(or all three).MSC offers info and more styles than you can imagine.
 
Thanks all!
This forum is an amazing source of knowledge!


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I was lucky in the 70's to get a used BluePoint tap and die set and a Craftsman Kromedege metric tap and die set for Christmas and they have both served me well. The one tap I broke 3/8" I replaced with a Hanson and it is nowhere near the quality. I also picked up a Greenfield no7 screw plate tap and die set for $50 in a garage sale. So before you go buying bargain stuff start checking garage sales and Craigslist for old quality tap and die sets. You'll be $$ ahead in the long run.

Another good investment is to either make or buy a tap machine. On my last project I had 40 1/4" 20 to do and what a difference! Not a single botched thread or broken tap.
 

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For taps, I've been using YG-1 spiral flute taps. Really good quality and the flutes pull the chips out so you don't have break the chip, and they work great for power tapping. Not cheap, but worth it.

I don't own any good dies. Just random die shaped scrap in a harbor freight die set box. I should start getting some though.
 
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