Who makes good taps?

[davidpbest]

At the risk of committing heresy here, I have a set of Craftsman taps that I've seen using for thirty years. A 75 piece set of taps and dies on Amazon will run just over $200. I have no complaints. I probably have fifty others of various suppliers that I've picked up over the years for special projects but that initial set has served me well.

A 30 year old set of taps from Craftsman would have been made by Greenfield on an OEM basis. Unlikely a new Craftsman set today is similar in quality.

 

[Richard King 2]

These are made in St. Paul MN . Buy a set of these and you will probably never buy another set. I know these guys personally and they make amazing taps and drills. Plus they have an engineering help line and web-site who can help you with your questions. http://vikingdrill.com/

I love there drill and tap set that contains the tap drill and right next to it the tap inside a steel index box.

 

[ericc]

I needed to tap an 8-32 hole in a piece of sub-critical annealed 1040. It was a little hard, but easy to cut with a file or hacksaw. First I tried a Craftsman USA tap. It was terrible. Eventually, the tap jammed, and there was no more headway. Cleaned everything up and re-lubed with Cool Tool II, which is pretty good as a tap lube. It still wouldn't go. Then I tried this old Greenfield HS USA tap. It just sailed right through with old fryer oil and lard cutting lube. I could actually hear it cut. Interestingly enough, the Greenfield tap had a chewed up shank. It lived a hard life before I got it at a garage sale. Definitely night and day. Just saying "USA" is not enough. It helps to see "HS" as well, or even better "GTD".

 

[jpackard56]

As David pointed out the age/vintage of the tap seems to be important also. Irwin,Craftsman,Hansen to name a few seem to have really gone down hill, their newer stuff just doesn't get the job done. Again I was pleased with my set from Viking and it was new this year. It wasn't box store priced but I'm guessing they will get passed down to my kids along with my vintage tap n dies

 

[Janderso]

Thanks for that great document, David! After decades of using standard hardware-store Irwin taps I discovered spiral flute taps. I mostly tap 1/4-20 down to #6-32 and exclusively with spiral flute, both plug and bottom. I'm probably going to jinx myself now but I haven't broken one yet. I'm pretty careful, always using a tap wrench and usually a spring-loaded tap follower. Awhile back I made some of Joe Pie's little mini handles and that helps to be careful.

Oh, I settled on OSG brand taps.

Me too Tony.
Spiral flute taps have changed the game.
I have a set of Irwin I will use in a pinch but my inventory of spiral flutes is increasing all the time.

 

[samthedog]

For my brothers (and sisters) across the pond, I use Gühring and SKF taps from NOS.
I also use Yamawa and OSG taps which have proven to be excellent taps as well. OSG is a bit pricey but the Yamawa are a good tap that won't break the bank.