Tap & Die set

Do yourself a big favor and buy yourself HSS taps. No comparison in quality versus the carbon steel. Better results with less effort.
 
I'm in favor of the HSS taps and had this advise from a machinist friend; DON'T buy a set because you are paying for taps and dies you'll never use.
Instead buy good quality taps / dies in the size you need. Far less money and less space in the toolbox plus generally you can afford a better tap / die that way.
FWIW.
 
Yes, I do believe that the sets have many sizes that never get used. I bought my taps and dies in sets, and full sets seem to never get all used. It does make more sense to buy quality , and only what you need. I have one set that is been gooing for yrs. I have another set I bought on sale, and have broken most of the ones I used. Not a good deal in the long run.

Paul
 
Here is a little broken tap tip.

Break a tap in a hole, don't have a tap extractor, or it does not work, which is par for the course. You can use a diamond impregnated grinding burr in a Dremel etc. Use either oil or water to lube the burr and grind the tap in half to pick out the pieces or in smaller sizes just grind it out until it is gone. I bought a set of the diamond burr for about 20 and used this method at least 10 times to date. On a 3/8 tap it took about an hour but on a 10x32 it as maybe 20 minutes.
 
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