I broke a Morse tap... again

Fellow Makers, once again my sincere apology as I have once again broken the very same Morse tap (1/4-20) that I broke back in July. I broke it yesterday around 1:00 PM. I guess the silver lining is that I was able to instantly place a repeat order for the same bit from my Amazon history so it will be here Tuesday and I’ll have it back in the box by Tuesday evening as I’m coming for the welding class.

For those that recall the previous thread and all of the suggestions/recommendation… well I read through that thread just before attempting this one just to make sure I was using the correct drill bit before attempting the tap. Yada yada… Oops I did it again. So at this point I know that it comes down to the technique and how far each turn in should be before backing out and going a little further.

Anyway, sorry for the mishap and the replacement will be there Tue.

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Pro-tip: You can set up recurring orders on Amazon

:wink:

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Paul, thanks for reporting it. It happens that’s for sure.

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ditto. 1/4" is easy to break. it’s important to put an even pressure on both sides of the handle when using. The last one I broke, was when I was retracting it.

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Thanks for reporting, things happen. If it breaking, you may want to consider your technique, including a slightly larger hole to reduce stress on tap. If it is a bottom tap consider using a tapered tap and then a bottom tap if you need threads to the bottom of a non-through hole.

Lots of lubricant and backing out at shorter intervals to clear cuttings. I’ve broken 1/4 numerous times when doing steel (I usually buy 3 at a time. Also use a slightly oversize drill when doing steel and when tensile strength not a major consideration). Tapping looks easier than it is.

Sounds like you’re buying quality taps so that’s not an issue. If you like buying cheap taps invest in a tap extractor.

Good luck, don’t give up!

Yep, I know the pain of breaking taps. I worked in the shop of a Radio Transmitter Manufacturer and they bought taps in the box load and would often run them on drills in order to keep up with production. They broke all the time. They no longer tap holes by the way, now they use threaded rivets. This ended up being much cheaper, faster and easier for the production team.

Here is a link to a set of threaded rivets from Horror Freight.


These do a pretty good job and just work. Worst case scenario, you have to drill out a bad rivet. But, you can replace it with the same thread which isn’t an option when you cross up a threaded hole.

FWIW, the Harbor Freight riv-nut tool is at the lower end of HF quality at this point. OTOH, the one on Amazon from Astro (both the pop-rivet style like Nick linked above and the other one that I’ll link below) have been pretty stout in our use on our different race car projects:

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-1442-Setter/dp/B003TODXQW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1519054001&sr=8-3&keywords=astro+rivet+nut+tool

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I have one of these for personal use. I’m a fan. Real easy to get both hands on and lock down bigger rivnuts and the tool itself is solid. A bit inconvenient to maneuver into tight spaces where a 90-degree tool would have an easier time, but that’s a given. It’s been instrumental in getting stuff mounted to the sheet metal in my Nissan.

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