Walton tap extractor

Batmanacw

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I bought a 3 flute tap extractor for a particular job. Pretty good size to have because it covers 8mm perfectly. I decided to bid on a 4 flute Walton that was barely used with light rust. $17.35 shipped isn't bad.

Can a 4 flute effectively extract a 2 flute broken tap or would I need a 2 flute version?
 
With the Waltons, you just remove two of the leaves (or are they fingers?) from a 4-flute to make a 2-flute remover. John is right if the tap shattered, but it it is, I've been able to shatter it into more pieces with a punch and pick the frags out without further damage to the hole. I think the Walton system is pretty good and have been happy to have it in my bag when I need it.
 
I despise Waltons, and have never seen one work. Near as I can tell they exist to fill the flutes of a stuck tap with sheared off 'fingers', further complicating removal. Which is to say that they are only good for ramping up your frustration.

Carbide burrs (for surface prep) and carbide drills are the way to go - or build a tap burner.

GsT
 
These have never worked for me either . :( Machined them out with carbide or sent them to the EDM .
 
These have never worked for me either . :( Machined them out with carbide or sent them to the EDM .
I'd have to pull the 5 ft x 10 ft 1000 lb conveyor bed out of the machine to machine it or edm it. A $20 tap extractor is something to try. I've had okay luck with them in the past. I'll loosen it up a bit before I try the tap extractor.
 
As a professional tool & die maker, I've tried them maybe 6-8 times. Zero success rate, even with larger size they still just bend/brake. Best if broken tap can be welded to a nut (backs ritght out), bust the tap with punch/pick (hard not mess up the threads a bit), carbide burrs / left hand drill bit works decent if you have a milling machine for the rigidity and positioning.
 
When my taps get stuck , they aren't moving . I'll send you all the broken extractors I have if you need them . :grin: The die cleaner would try to run a tap in each threaded hole to clean the carbon out . Broke off taps in every die and sent them my way to remove . I would peck a carbide end mill thru the tap until I could run another thru to remove the spirals . I failed many times and they went to the EDM . These dies weighed up to 800 lbs . Not fun loading onto an Enco mill .
 
When my taps get stuck , they aren't moving . I'll send you all the broken extractors I have if you need them . :grin: The die cleaner would try to run a tap in each threaded hole to clean the carbon out . Broke off taps in every die and sent them my way to remove . I would peck a carbide end mill thru the tap until I could run another thru to remove the spirals . I failed many times and they went to the EDM . These dies weighed up to 800 lbs . Not fun loading onto an Enco mill .

I figured out really quick why these extractors don't work for Mr Pete on YouTube. He showed inserting the fingers but he didn't slide the body tight to the tap before sliding the sleeve down. No wonder they just bend like crazy.....
 
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