"Rick Cook" wrote in message
ink.net...
carl mciver wrote:
"Dave August" wrote in message
. com...
| I read a few posts here in the last month or so, complaining about
broken
| taps or tapped holes that weren't square so I thought I'd post this
link..
| it's ho to build a 'do it yourself' tapping fixture that I wrote
several
| years ago for ou r Live Steam web site.. This is a direct link to
the
| article since the site uses 'frames' and there is no other easy was to
get
| there.
| http://www.ggls.org/TappingFixture/index.html

Very cool. At work lately I've been using a pneumatic hand drill
looking tool that runs taps. Push it in the tap goes forward. Pull it
back, it goes backwards. Pretty fast if you pull the trigger all the
way.
Very cool. It's big and heavy, which makes it far more stable. Doesn't
mean I haven't broken a tap, but it certainly makes quick work of dozens
of
holes! Lubricant a necessity here. Otherwise I'd be using a cordless
drill.

What about chucking the tap in a drill press, checking for center, and
then running the tap in by hand?

--RC (who doesn't do much tapping)

I have done that often, but it is very difficult with a small tap because
you have to deal with the drill press return spring wanting to pull the
tap out of the work. I often start a tap that way then finish it by hand.
Works better if you drop the drive belt off -- always do that by hand
or you will be experimenting with how to remove a broken tap.

mikey