Where to buy mid-grade Bottom Taps

[mattthemuppet2]

Amazon is rife with counterfeit products - particularly in backwater territories like taps. Not everything from Amazon is fake, but why would you not buy from a reputable dealer instead, where you know what you're getting is the "real deal"? Boggles the mind. Amazon knows zilch about taps. Carbide Depot, or McMaster, or MSC, or even KBC are better sources. They may not offer free Prime shipping, but IMO, it's worth the difference to deal with a distributor in the machining segment - or deal direct with the manufacturer. Just my 2 sense. I'm sure others have found pure gold at the bottom of the eBay pond - including me at times.

not true in this case. They're genuine taps that have been heavily discounted as they are the last ones in stock. You ever see those posts where people go "I got such and such for a crazy low price" and then when everyone else looks the price has gone back up to normal? These are those deals. The only downside is that you don't get to choose what's on offer, you can only pick from what is there, so if you're after a particular pitch/ style you are most likely going to be unsuccessful.

However, if you want to pay full retail for the same thing, power to you

 

[Liljoebrshooter]

I got my taps from here, genuine YG taps:

25.56US $ 8% OFF|M3 M4 M5 M6 M8 5pcs/set 100% Original Yg-1 T1191 Hss-ex Spiral Tap Processing: Stainless Steel - Tap & Die - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

8.8US $ 20% OFF|1/5/10 Yg1 Hss Spiral Tap T2809 M2 M3 M4 M6 M16 M20 Processing Stainless Iron Plate Copper Aluminum Cnc Lathe Blind Hole Tapping - Tap & Die - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

17.74US $ 8% OFF|M1.6 M2 M2.5 M3 M4 M5 M6 M8 M10 M12 M14 M16 M`8 M20 M22 M24 M27 M30 100% Korea YG 1 T2829 Combo HSS EX Apex Tap|Tap & Die| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Now these look like a counterfeit item. Shipped directly from China.
Joe

 

[Ken from ontario]

I

Now these look like a counterfeit item. Shipped directly from China.
Joe

Joe, we don't know either way, I don't know how to tell if they are counterfeit or not to be honest but I've had them for years, they are still sharp and still do their job as reliably as the the day I bought them, the seller claims they are genuine from Korea. have not broken one yet.

 

[davidpbest]

Now these look like a counterfeit item. Shipped directly from China.
Joe

Totally.

 

[Batmanacw]

Totally.

If the taps ship directly from China they are almost certainly made in China. That does not automatically mean they are bad but I don't buy any taps shipping from China. All my quality taps ship from the US or Europe.

I buy Chinese inserts often. Reputable companies have set up manufacturing in China and the inserts I do buy have proven to be quality.


What I don't do is look down on folks who buy from China to save money like I do. Just be ready to get a dud from time to time.

 

[ericc]

We get our YG1 taps from the local Fastenal. They are expensive and clearly marked "China". They work fine and are 100x better than the US marked ones from Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[projectnut]

YG1 is headquartered in Inchon Korea. I have several dozen of different imperial sizes. They are ALL marked MADE IN SOUTH KOREA. They now say they have "manufacturing partners" in the United States, South Korea Ireland, and China

 

[Batmanacw]

YG1 is headquartered in Inchon Korea. I have several dozen of different imperial sizes. They are ALL marked MADE IN SOUTH KOREA. They now say they have "manufacturing partners" in the United States, South Korea Ireland, and China

All the YG I've bought so far were made in Korea but that will probably change.

I bought some Johansen metric drill bits off Ebay last week thinking they were USA made. The listing description clearly stated made in China so its my fault for not noticing. They were ground as nicely as any I've ever encountered. Closer to Morse or Norseman than Harbor freight. China can make good stuff if required to.

 

[Ischgl99]

China can make good stuff if required to.

When I worked for FAG, the parent company INA was having trouble finding bearing grade steel around 2006 from traditional western suppliers and had to buy the steel from China. The head of procurement did a presentation at our annual sales meeting showing their testing showed it was just as good as what they were getting from American and German mills.

 

[projectnut]

There's no doubt China is capable of making quality products. The problem is that the Chinese government subsidizes the manufacturers so they can sell their products for less than it costs to make them. Competition from other countries is either not or is minimally subsidized by their governments. Thus, the same quality product from China is less expensive to the consumer. This is and has been a common practice until the competition disappears. Once the competition is gone the prices rise.