Small Taps

[macrnr]

I have chimed in on the "To Admit Defete" thread, and it brings back some very stark memories for me. Back in the late 80's you couldn't buy a job in my home town in New Mexico and my unemployment had run out, so I hired on as a mill wright mechanic at a manufacturing plant in Southern California. I had just started and I was very nervous and trying to make a good impression. I was working with my supervisor and he handed about 25 small clamping devices, some drill bits and some 3/32" taps and told me to tap two holes in each assembly. He cautioned me to be very careful as the taps where very fragile. I was about 3/4 of the way done when I broke my first tap, I then proceeded to break the rest of the taps on hand on the same piece. The farther I got into this mess the more nervous I became and I was sure I was going to be fired. Finally my supervisor took me aside, handed me a couple of taps from his personal stash and told me to calm down. With that I completed the task. It felt to me at the time, my whole future was revolving around a 3/32" tap. What a crappy feeling!

 

[macrnr]

It is just a story, I didn't break 25 taps. Probably eight. I think the moral to my story is, sometimes you need to slow down. Particularly when dealing with small taps.

 

[burnrider]

Start with a quality tap, especially that small.

 

[8ntsane]

Maybe we could use a post about the different types of taps?
Straight, spiral tipped, spiral fluted, from starter on through. Blind holes, and through holes. Just a thought. Could be interesting