# Tailstock Tap & Die Holder



## firemaker76 (Oct 1, 2021)

So another tool that has been a life-saver for me is this tap & die holder for the tailstock on my lathe.  The plans for the main body I got from Clickspring, who does absolutely amazing work.  I stayed pretty close to his plans with the exception of a die adapter that I decided to make for versatility purposes.
I started off with a piece of 1.625" 6061, turned it down to 1.500" and then drilled and reamed the center .500".  I bored one end 1.000". This would allow me to use the round 1", split-style dies or the adapter that I would be building to hold the hex shaped dies that are more common (Craftsman, etc).
The other end I bored out to .810" to hold an Irwin adjustable tap socket.  Once done on the lathe, I mounted the body in the dividing head and milled (24) .062" deep grooves for a nice grip.  After that I drilled and tapped holes on both ends at 0, 45, 90 and 180 degrees for setscrews.
Then I turned a small piece of 01 Drill Rod for the handle and added some grooves.
For the tailstock, I bought an MT3 x 1/2-20 threaded drill chuck arbor and turned, bored and threaded a piece of 4140HT to mate up to it.
The adapter was turned from 1.500" 6061 and then drilled and reamed .500". Inletting the hex socket in the face was somewhat interesting, but it worked.  I used the DRO to drill the holes and then used a small endmill to cut the flats from one hole to the next.  Once the outer diameter was done, I finished up the center with a 3/4" endmill.  From there I drilled and tapped holes for the setscrews that would secure the die in place.  All in all a very fun project and is proving to be one of the most used tools on my lathe.

Thanks for reading all! Be safe.


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## MrWhoopee (Oct 1, 2021)

Very pretty, nice work! These are a must-have.


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## firemaker76 (Oct 1, 2021)

MrWhoopee said:


> Very pretty, nice work! These are a must-have.


Thank you sir.


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## davidpbest (Oct 1, 2021)

More nice work.  At some point, you may want to consider using round adjustable dies.  With round dies, I get more control over thread fit, but the _*holder*_ really needs to be harder than 6061 to secure round dies. I love your design, and agree with you about Clickspring. When are you starting his clock build?


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## firemaker76 (Oct 1, 2021)

davidpbest said:


> More nice work.  At some point, you may want to consider using round adjustable dies.  With round dies, I get more control over thread fit, but the _*holder*_ really needs to be harder than 6061 to secure round dies. I love your design, and agree with you about Clickspring. When are you starting his clock build?


Thank you David,
Dually noted sir!  I'm sure I will build a second one in the near future out of something more fit for the round dies.  As far as the clock build, I think I'll leave that one alone LOL.  That is over the top!

-Mitch H.


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## Just for fun (Oct 2, 2021)

Nice work Mitch.

Tim


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## firemaker76 (Oct 2, 2021)

Just for fun said:


> Nice work Mitch.
> 
> Tim


Thank you :-D


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## IamNotImportant (Jan 5, 2022)

davidpbest said:


> More nice work.  At some point, you may want to consider using round adjustable dies.  With round dies, I get more control over thread fit, but the _*holder*_ really needs to be harder than 6061 to secure round dies. I love your design, and agree with you about Clickspring. When are you starting his clock build?


hex dies are for chasing, round dies are for cutting


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## Bob Korves (Jan 5, 2022)

IamNotImportant said:


> hex dies are for chasing, round dies are for cutting


Not always.  There are many hex cutters made for cutting threads, not just chasing them...


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## IamNotImportant (Jan 5, 2022)

Bob Korves said:


> Not always.  There are many hex cutters made for cutting threads, not just chasing them...


got a laugh outta David about it so i guess it was worth posting after all


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## madmatt41 (Jan 19, 2022)

I know I'm late to the party here, but that is absolutely beautiful, and I'm a little jealous. I was happy with my little die holder I hacked out, but I think it's time for an upgrade.


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## firemaker76 (Jan 19, 2022)

madmatt41 said:


> I know I'm late to the party here, but that is absolutely beautiful, and I'm a little jealous. I was happy with my little die holder I hacked out, but I think it's time for an upgrade.


Thanks very much for your support Matt. Credit for that design goes to "Clickspring" and the other real machinists on this site.  I just liked the idea and had to have it.  That little tool has come in so handy though!  Take care friend.

-Mitch


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## Janderso (Jan 19, 2022)

Beautiful work!!

I recently bought this set. I did not realize how handy these tools can be. I use it all the time.
It's especially nice on small parts because you can feel your way and all is square with the world.
If you make a set for round dies are you going to use steel?


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## DavidR8 (Jan 19, 2022)

Dang that is some beautiful work there!


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## firemaker76 (Jan 19, 2022)

Janderso said:


> Beautiful work!!
> 
> I recently bought this set. I did not realize how handy these tools can be. I use it all the time.
> It's especially nice on small parts because you can feel your way and all is square with the world.
> If you make a set for round dies are you going to use steel?


Thank you sir,
Yes definitely will be using steel if I do one of these for round dies.  David made some really good points earlier in the thread, so I've been thinking about doing that.  I like to buy parts in sets (thanks to my OCD ), but good quality round dies in sets for standard and/or metric are not easy to find.  

BTW, I see a couple of items in your kit that I need to get myself.  Thanks very much for sharing!!

- Mitch


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## firemaker76 (Jan 19, 2022)

DavidR8 said:


> Dang that is some beautiful work there!


Thanks very much David!


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## woodchucker (Jan 19, 2022)

davidpbest said:


> More nice work.  At some point, you may want to consider using round adjustable dies.  With round dies, I get more control over thread fit, but the _*holder*_ really needs to be harder than 6061 to secure round dies. I love your design, and agree with you about Clickspring. When are you starting his clock build?





firemaker76 said:


> Thank you David,
> Dually noted sir!  I'm sure I will build a second one in the near future out of something more fit for the round dies.  As far as the clock build, I think I'll leave that one alone LOL.  That is over the top!
> 
> -Mitch H.


Based on image 20201218_185543.JPG it already looks like you have a round holder, I see 3 screw holes, and it appears to hold the hex in.
My holder is made of Aluminum and it's lasted years. The only thing I wish I had done initially is sleeve it with brass to slide.


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## firemaker76 (Jan 19, 2022)

woodchucker said:


> Based on image 20201218_185543.JPG it already looks like you have a round holder, I see 3 screw holes, and it appears to hold the hex in.
> My holder is made of Aluminum and it's lasted years. The only thing I wish I had done initially is sleeve it with brass to slide.


Yes sir you are correct,
The holes are drilled and tapped to work with the setscrew layout from round dies.

So.......... I initially bored that end of the main body to accept round dies as well as the "hex die" adapter, but I then made plans to build another one out of steel.  I also never found a good set of round dies so have not yet had the chance to try one. With what I need them for, it probably would work well in that aluminum die holder.  I appreciate the info.  I like the idea of using a brass sleeve....I may just have to update mine with a brass or bronze sleeve now.  

Thanks very much!
-Mitch


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## davidpbest (Jan 19, 2022)

firemaker76 said:


> Thank you David,
> Dually noted sir!  I'm sure I will build a second one in the near future out of something more fit for the round dies.  As far as the clock build, I think I'll leave that one alone LOL.  That is over the top!
> 
> -Mitch H.


Mitch, if you do decide to make one in steel, you might want to read _*this post*_.  I have posted details of my own version of this tool including detailed drawings that will provide you with the standard dimensions for round dies which you can* find here*.  My version uses the same tap holders as yours, and is implemented in 4041 steel.  



I ran into the same wall myself trying to find quality round dies in sets.  In spite of my OCD, I succumbed to buying individual dies on eBay, typically NOS, and now have a complete collection of very nice collection of units that don't match each other.  LOL.  It took a year to build the set, but all the dies were from quality makers and were new old stock.


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## firemaker76 (Jan 19, 2022)

Excellent, thanks David!
I have all but succumbed to the same harsh reality lol.  I'll definitely check out your post on this.  BTW, your drawings for the spindle LED worked out awesome! Thank you very much, I truly appreciate you taking time to post and share your knowledge.

-Mitch


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## Charles scozzari (Jan 31, 2022)

Beautiful work and very useful.


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## firemaker76 (Jan 31, 2022)

Charles scozzari said:


> Beautiful work and very useful.


Thanks Charles


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## Charles scozzari (Mar 23, 2022)

firemaker76 said:


> So another tool that has been a life-saver for me is this tap & die holder for the tailstock on my lathe.  The plans for the main body I got from Clickspring, who does absolutely amazing work.  I stayed pretty close to his plans with the exception of a die adapter that I decided to make for versatility purposes.
> I started off with a piece of 1.625" 6061, turned it down to 1.500" and then drilled and reamed the center .500".  I bored one end 1.000". This would allow me to use the round 1", split-style dies or the adapter that I would be building to hold the hex shaped dies that are more common (Craftsman, etc).
> The other end I bored out to .810" to hold an Irwin adjustable tap socket.  Once done on the lathe, I mounted the body in the dividing head and milled (24) .062" deep grooves for a nice grip.  After that I drilled and tapped holes on both ends at 0, 45, 90 and 180 degrees for setscrews.
> Then I turned a small piece of 01 Drill Rod for the handle and added some grooves.
> ...


beautiful work.


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## Harry Knutz (Jan 3, 2023)

Fabulous, Just Fabulous!


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## firemaker76 (Jan 3, 2023)

Harry Knutz said:


> Fabulous, Just Fabulous!


Thanks very much Harry.  BTW, I love the profile picture.  I know this is off topic, but is that a Leupold Mark IV on top of an AI chassi? Just very curious about some specs on that.  I only ask because precision rifle is the whole reason I ventured into machining in the first place.  Thanks for posting sir


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## Harry Knutz (Jan 3, 2023)

firemaker76 said:


> Thanks very much Harry.  BTW, I love the profile picture.  I know this is off topic, but is that a Leupold Mark IV on top of an AI chassi? Just very curious about some specs on that.  I only ask because precision rifle is the whole reason I ventured into machining in the first place.  Thanks for posting sir


You're welcome my friend, You are doing some beautiful work! That is a Leupold Mark IV, But the rifle, You probably wouldn't believe me, But that is a 1942 Mosin Nagant that has several 1000 yard wins under it's belt, And just won a Gold Medal last year at 1000 yards. I built the rifle in 2011. Those are pics from shortly after I built it. I have had several other scopes and other mods etc since then. It's the only rifle I have that has shot 5 shots into the exact same hole in the exact center of the bullseye. And I have some very high end rifles that won't do that. I cant find a pic of that target, But here are some pics that it routinely shoots.


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## firemaker76 (Jan 3, 2023)

Harry Knutz said:


> You're welcome my friend, You are doing some beautiful work! That is a Leupold Mark IV, But the rifle, You probably wouldn't believe me, But that is a 1942 Mosin Nagant that has several 1000 yard wins under it's belt, And just won a Gold Medal last year at 1000 yards. I built the rifle in 2011. Those are pics from shortly after I built it. I have had several other scopes and other mods etc since then. It's the only rifle I have that has shot 5 shots into the exact same hole in the exact center of the bullseye. And I have some very high end rifles that won't do that. I cant find a pic of that target, But here are some pics that it routinely shoots.


Thank you for the support, I truly appreciate it.
Wow, beautiful rifle and targets.  I'm curious, what size groups will that gun hold at 1,000 yards?  Sorry for the direct question, but I'm a sucker for precision and am dying to know.


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## Harry Knutz (Jan 3, 2023)

It will easily hold a half moa out there and even better if I read the wind good on a good day. I just finished a 6.5x54R and a .30x54R Improved also.


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## firemaker76 (Jan 3, 2023)

Amazing.  That is impressive, especially considering being able to compensate for wind and/or changes in wind at that distance.


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