Appropriate Tap for work on 40? (1 Viewer)

[tlaporte]

I'm looking at getting a few taps to clean up the threads on my Troopy where there have been some busted bolts, in particular in the rear corner soft top supports.

The corresponding bolt part # is 91651-40620, which I think I worked out to be M6 x 1.0.

I'd like to find something USA-made, and I'd probably like to buy more than one since they charge $6 for the tap and $8.50 for shipping. But finding a tap set with the right tap(s) in it is proving challenging for me, as there seem to be so many different variations (size, shape, coarse/fine, etc.). I previously bought a Japanese Metric Tap and Die set from eBay, thinking with 40 pieces it would have most of what I needed, but alas it did not.

Is this tap appropriate for that bolt?

Amazon product ASIN B00WI6F28Y
Kodiak Cutting Tools KCT210978 USA Made Plug Tap, D5 Limit, Metric 4 Flute, Ground Threads, High Speed Steel, M6 x 1.0 Size

 

[Shark56]

I have an older Craftsman set that has that size. It is at least 20 years old though. Made in U.S.A. back then.
Just a quick google search shows that price for a single tap is not that far off.
A good one will last awhile if you lube it for use.

I have had good luck finding tools at Flea/Farmers type markets. Usually older American made and priced well.

 

[65swb45]

Tom

I just buy them individually. It’s less painful, because a set is only a set until the first one fails, and then you’re back to buying individual taps anyways.

And I like to sometimes cut the tapered end off to make my own bottom taps, and have no guilt about screwing up a set to do so.

 

[1969FJ]

Home depot has them.

 

[3_puppies]

I was thinking he was asking about micro brews, and setting up a beer tap in the garage.

 

[65swb45]

I was thinking he was asking about micro brews, and setting up a beer tap in the garage.

You must know Tom!

 

[tlaporte]

I do enjoy a good brew, though I’m a lightweight. Or, as my wife says, “a cheap date.”

With regard to this type of tap, I see words like “plug” and “flute” and “bottom,” how do I know what is the right kind? I'm mostly looking to just clean/chase the threads once I extract the several bolts I broken when removing the soft top.

 

[1911]

With regard to this type of tap, I see words like “plug” and “flute” and “bottom,” how do I know what is the right kind? I'm mostly looking to just clean/chase the threads once I extract the several bolts I broken when removing the soft top.

You can buy chasing taps made specifically for that. They don't have near as much taper as a regular tap made for cutting threads.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

Thread chasers are indeed different and better for the job. Having said that I don't have any and use taps for cleanup even if they tend to remove a little metal.

Flutes refers to how many cutting edges there are - 2 or 4 typically.

Taper has the most lead in and is what you use for creating threads the first time. Bottoming has the least lead in and is meant to allow you to get to the bottom of a blind hole. But you don't want to start cutting threads in a drilled hole with this. Plug is somewhere in between.

For cleaning up existing threads you would want bottoming.

 

[ntsqd]

My suggestion is to get away from hand taps altogether. They're too brittle and easy to break. Buy machine taps made for production work. They're a little more expensive, and they'll last far longer than a hand tap could ever dream of. If you spring for those that are TiN coated (gold color for those unaware) they'll likely last decades or longer in home use.
One vendor: https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...287924451#navid=4287924451+43&searchterm=taps
Another: Search Results
I set both of these searches to look for made in the US, Spiral Point taps. The purpose of the spiral point is to push the chips down the hole ahead of the tap rather than gumming up the flutes with them.

Buy and use a dedicated cutting fluid in steel. Can use WD-40 quite well in occasional aluminum. For a lot of aluminum tapped holes use an AL specific cutting lube. All of the home-brew "cutting fluids" that I've tried over the years come in a poor second to the right stuff for the job.

Lastly, you should know about these sockets if you do not already: Amazon product ASIN B0002SRFOECouple them with a speed handle if you have a lot of holes to chase and the job goes a lot faster!

 

[Prairie Swamp]

Thanks I didn't know those sockets existed.

 

[tlaporte]

Awesome info, thanks @ntsqd!

 

[jblueridge]

I get stuff like this from McMaster Carr.
I bought separate taps and dies to get the ones to work on my BJ74.
Almost all the fasteners on these trucks are JIS, Japanese Industrial Standard.
If you get a JIS M8 tap, it will have the right thread pitch for your cruiser.
When searching on the McMaster Carr site, you can choose JIS as one of the filters (under the Pitch Diameter Limit tab). Makes it easy to narrow the search.
They have the various tap types (bottoming, etc) as well as thread chasers. I like using taps and dies, not chasers.

 

[ntsqd]

McMaster is easy to find what you need and to buy from, they're just not the least expensive option out there. My work averages $1200-$1500 a day in McMaster purchases. They can be a bad habit.......

 

[jblueridge]

I agree. With me, it is always the shipping fees that burn me.
BUT their stuff gets to me out here in the boondocks very very quickly.

Sometimes I use them as a research tool and make my purchase elsewhere.

Thanks for the tap socket info. I ran into trouble with tap handle accessibility just last weekend.

 

[ntsqd]

The right size 12 point socket can usually work, but the good tap sockets have an o-ring in them to retain the tap.

 

[jblueridge]

I searched for the correct 12pt and found only 6pts.
I have an old speed handle driver... good to put it to use.

 

[ntsqd]

I have to test fit each tap in the selection of sockets to find a 12 pt. that works, and not all taps will fit in a 12 pt. Some are just a little off in square drive size to be a good fit in any of them. Even wierder, somewhere I accquired some 8 pt. sockets, but they fit even fewer taps. I've yet to find a tap that didn't fit in one of the tap sockets.

 

[jblueridge]

SOLD!
I'll order a set.