Tap Storage Tip

[schor]

Too late for me. I just purchased a Huot tap dispenser cabinet for $68 and about $21 for shipping. The ice "cube" trays would also work for drill storage, especially spotting drills.

I would like to get a tap dispenser, but just a bit too pricy for me. I did buy more trays and now have sorted my center drills and many of my endmills.

 

[chips&more]

I have a few of these tap drill organizers (pic) and for me they are the best thing. I can get the tap and drill bit together. I can easily carry the whole set if I want to. My tooling overflow goes into Huot’s.

 

[Buffalo20]

In my actual job, I'm an industrial boiler service technician and living in the Northeast US, manufacturing jobs, in our service area, are closing up at an alarming rate. This gives me a huge opportunity at the tooling, that they are getting rid of, buying 4-5, 5 gallon buckets full of taps, dies, drill bits, end mills, carbide inserts (and holders) and other cutting tools, for $50-$100 or a couple of delivered pizzas. This had led to piles of taps and such, I ended going to the my local industrial supplier, I've known for 40+ years, and get the empty bulk tap and drill bit packaging. For me this makes sense, the volume of tooling at times has been extreme.

The machine tools are either shipped out or destroyed (will not sell any machines to the general public, due to liability concerns), but the back door sales of tooling seems to be funding the lunches and BBQs of the plant personnel, during the shut down. Our company is there to change the steam systems from production, to minimal building heat mode, usually one of the last contractors, in the plant before they actually lock the doors, so the opportunities abound.

 

[hman]

Durn, Jack. I'm torn ... On one hand, your good fortune does deserve a "like." But the sad state of the industry does not.

 

[Buffalo20]

Durn, Jack. I'm torn ... On one hand, your good fortune does deserve a "like." But the sad state of the industry does not.

Its hard to be an industrial service technician, when there is no industry....................................

When I started this job 40+ years ago, it was about 85% production process and 15% heating, now its about 90% heating and 10% production process

 

[bl00]

This gives me a huge opportunity at the tooling, that they are getting rid of, buying 4-5, 5 gallon buckets full of taps, dies, drill bits, end mills, carbide inserts

If this becomes a problem I will happily drive up and buy some buckets of tooling from you .

 

[schor]

I picked up another 6 trays and sorted center drills, end mills and all my carbide endmills.

 

[Buffalo20]

Looks like they would be very handy


some of my stockpile

 

[Cadillac STS]

Terrible! You should be pun-ished.


I use test tubes for taps and end mills.
View attachment 235675

I also use test tubes but larger diameter ones. So in the tube I put one or more taps AND the right drill bit for the tap. That way the right drill bit is always there and ready to go.

 

[Charles Spencer]

I use smaller tubes for smaller tools and larger tubes for larger tools.