Last week I went to a local machinery auction and for once there were
more lots than interested bidders. I bid and won a bench grinder for
$5, the auctioneer included the two prior lots that did not sell for
$5. One of those two lots consisted of an antique tapping head. The
brand name is ETTCO, Eastern Tube & Tool Co. w/ a patent lable of Aug
1924. I have never used a tapping head before - I have occasionaly
tapped using my Bridgeport w/ a tap in a collet. In playing with the
tapping head by hand, I have been able to make it reverse direction
but I am unsure of exactly what makes it change direction - is it
torque based or is it when the unit receives an axial load (tap
botomed out)? Do tapping heads typically have any adjustments? THere
are a couple of set screws that might be intended for ajustment but
there are no markings on the body nor any indication that there has
been frequent adjustments made to these set screws.

BTW, a mini gloat. I had 6 winning bids, all of them bottom feeder
types for odd lots. One of them was for a box or boring bars for $5
(there was only one bar in teh lot that I could use on my 12x36
Clausing. I resold the boring bars the next day. As I was loading
stuff into my vehicle to the people that bought the huge Monach lathe
for $100 (no joke!) came by and offered me $30. I bought a lot of misc
electical for $5. The lot consisted mostly dirty extension cords.
Under the pile of cords was a small, 1.2A Dumore hand grinder - that
works good!

In playing with the tapping head by hand, I have been able to
make it reverse direction but I am unsure of exactly what makes
it change direction - is it torque based or is it when the unit
receives an axial load (tap botomed out)?

The ones I have seen reverse direction when the axial
pressure on the top changes direction from downfeed
to upwards, so that you can forward and reverse by
pulling up or down on the drill press quill feed handle...
--Glenn Lyford

"Aribert" wrote in message
om...
Last week I went to a local machinery auction and for once there were
more lots than interested bidders. I bid and won a bench grinder for
$5, the auctioneer included the two prior lots that did not sell for
$5. One of those two lots consisted of an antique tapping head. The
brand name is ETTCO, Eastern Tube & Tool Co. w/ a patent lable of Aug
1924. I have never used a tapping head before - I have occasionaly
tapped using my Bridgeport w/ a tap in a collet. In playing with the
tapping head by hand, I have been able to make it reverse direction
but I am unsure of exactly what makes it change direction - is it
torque based or is it when the unit receives an axial load (tap
botomed out)? Do tapping heads typically have any adjustments? THere
are a couple of set screws that might be intended for ajustment but
there are no markings on the body nor any indication that there has
been frequent adjustments made to these set screws.

BTW, a mini gloat. I had 6 winning bids, all of them bottom feeder
types for odd lots. One of them was for a box or boring bars for $5
(there was only one bar in teh lot that I could use on my 12x36
Clausing. I resold the boring bars the next day. As I was loading
stuff into my vehicle to the people that bought the huge Monach lathe
for $100 (no joke!) came by and offered me $30. I bought a lot of misc
electical for $5. The lot consisted mostly dirty extension cords.
Under the pile of cords was a small, 1.2A Dumore hand grinder - that
works good!

Without being familiar with that particular tapping head, I'm not sure there
are any direct answers. Some tapping heads rely on the operator to not
break taps, others have adjustments that limit driving force. As has
already been suggested, when tapping, all you have to do is lift up on the
quill feed handle and the tapping head reverses, usually at a greater speed
than the tapping speed, so you can get out of a hole very quickly. Best
way to learn how to use yours if you have no literature on which to call for
information is to get your hands dirty on a practice piece that has little
to no value to you. You'll probably find you can still break taps, it just
makes it faster to do so. g

Make sure you use taps intended to be power driven. The typical hand tap
will usually lead to nothing but broken taps because they rely on reversal
constantly to break the chips. Nothing taps quite as well as a gun tap,
even in blind holes. Just make sure you have enough depth of hole to
accommodate the chip, which can usually be removed after tapping by using a
needle in an air hose nozzle. I keep several sizes of them in my toolbox
for just such an occasion. It's also a good idea to use only sharp taps.
Once they are dull, they usually lead to trouble, and are difficult to
re-sharpen with good results. Most attempts generally fail miserably.

Harold

Aribert writes:

BTW, a mini gloat.

Oh, you want advice AND to gloat in the same thread? Puh-leeze.

Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:
Make sure you use taps intended to be power driven. The typical hand tap
will usually lead to nothing but broken taps because they rely on reversal
constantly to break the chips. Nothing taps quite as well as a gun tap,
even in blind holes. Just make sure you have enough depth of hole to
accommodate the chip, which can usually be removed after tapping by using a
needle in an air hose nozzle. I keep several sizes of them in my toolbox
for just such an occasion. It's also a good idea to use only sharp taps.
Once they are dull, they usually lead to trouble, and are difficult to
re-sharpen with good results. Most attempts generally fail miserably.

I have a Procunier "CNC" tapping head. The difference is this one has no
overload clutch, and depends on the CNC to control plunge depth.

I do a LOT of blind holes, and the spiral FLUTE taps are incredible!
These bring the chip up the flutes and out the hole.

There are also thread forming taps, that make no chip. You need to
start with a larger hole, and these are for softer materials only.

It is just WILD to tap a bunch of holes at 300 -600 RPM, just zoom
in, zoom out, and on to the next hole.

Jon

"Jon Elson" wrote in message
...


Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:
Make sure you use taps intended to be power driven. The typical hand
tap
will usually lead to nothing but broken taps because they rely on
reversal
constantly to break the chips. Nothing taps quite as well as a gun
tap,
even in blind holes. Just make sure you have enough depth of hole to
accommodate the chip, which can usually be removed after tapping by
using a
needle in an air hose nozzle. I keep several sizes of them in my
toolbox
for just such an occasion. It's also a good idea to use only sharp
taps.
Once they are dull, they usually lead to trouble, and are difficult to
re-sharpen with good results. Most attempts generally fail miserably.

I have a Procunier "CNC" tapping head. The difference is this one has no
overload clutch, and depends on the CNC to control plunge depth.

I do a LOT of blind holes, and the spiral FLUTE taps are incredible!
These bring the chip up the flutes and out the hole.

There are also thread forming taps, that make no chip. You need to
start with a larger hole, and these are for softer materials only.

It is just WILD to tap a bunch of holes at 300 -600 RPM, just zoom
in, zoom out, and on to the next hole.

Jon

My first choice in tapping heads is the Procunier, too. Great devices
regardless of the machine on which they are used. To my knowledge, none of
their tapping heads have torque limiting devices. Get ham handed and
you're likely to bust taps. They're certainly capable, although they have a
very nice feel if your quill isn't tight. I've had outstanding luck with
them. I've used spiral fluted taps, but I still prefer the gun tap for
general use, especially when tapping tougher material. I've had a few
failures with them, unlike the gun types.

Harold

You probably know this, but Ettco is still in business,
http://www.ettco.com/
and they still make tapping heads.

You might contact them. They sent me a parts diagram for my 1930's model

-- Greg

"Aribert" wrote in message
om...
Last week I went to a local machinery auction and for once there were
more lots than interested bidders. I bid and won a bench grinder for
$5, the auctioneer included the two prior lots that did not sell for
$5. One of those two lots consisted of an antique tapping head. The
brand name is ETTCO, Eastern Tube & Tool Co. w/ a patent lable of Aug
1924. I have never used a tapping head before - I have occasionaly
....

All the tap heads I have rebuilt by Procunier and Ettco use a cork lined
double cone clutch and a set of planetary gears inside. The tap is driven
into the work by one side of the cone clutch until the body of the tapper is
stopped by a physical limiter on the drill press or other machine. The tap
loses driving friction at this point by the cone clutch disengaging, and
goes into a "neutral", which limits tapping depth. You can pause tapping at
this point if you desire, by keeping the head floating in this neutral zone,
with your feed handle. Whenever downward pressure is released, the other
face of the cone clutch, along with the planetary gears come into play,
reversing the taps rotation to back out of the hole. The gearing speeds up
this process of getting out of the hole more quickly. Once the tap clears
the work, it automatically switches directions via a coil spring against the
cone clutch to once again drive in a right hand direction. The screws you
see around the lower end of the tapping head are the spindles of the
planetary gears. Take the top off. It won't explode. Parts are not cheap. I
just spent over $400 converting a Procunier from Morse taper mounting over
for use on a Burgmaster 2BH with a threaded spindle.

RJ

--
"Have no one say it, and say it to your shame, that all was well here, until
YOU came."




"Aribert" wrote in message
om...
Last week I went to a local machinery auction and for once there were
more lots than interested bidders. I bid and won a bench grinder for
$5, the auctioneer included the two prior lots that did not sell for
$5. One of those two lots consisted of an antique tapping head. The
brand name is ETTCO, Eastern Tube & Tool Co. w/ a patent lable of Aug
1924. I have never used a tapping head before - I have occasionaly
tapped using my Bridgeport w/ a tap in a collet. In playing with the
tapping head by hand, I have been able to make it reverse direction
but I am unsure of exactly what makes it change direction - is it
torque based or is it when the unit receives an axial load (tap
botomed out)? Do tapping heads typically have any adjustments? THere
are a couple of set screws that might be intended for ajustment but
there are no markings on the body nor any indication that there has
been frequent adjustments made to these set screws.

Backlash wrote:

All the tap heads I have rebuilt by Procunier and Ettco use a cork lined
double cone clutch and a set of planetary gears inside. The tap is driven
into the work by one side of the cone clutch until the body of the tapper is
stopped by a physical limiter on the drill press or other machine. The tap
loses driving friction at this point by the cone clutch disengaging, and
goes into a "neutral", which limits tapping depth. You can pause tapping at
this point if you desire, by keeping the head floating in this neutral zone,
with your feed handle. Whenever downward pressure is released, the other
face of the cone clutch, along with the planetary gears come into play,
reversing the taps rotation to back out of the hole. The gearing speeds up
this process of getting out of the hole more quickly. Once the tap clears
the work, it automatically switches directions via a coil spring against the
cone clutch to once again drive in a right hand direction. The screws you
see around the lower end of the tapping head are the spindles of the
planetary gears. Take the top off. It won't explode. Parts are not cheap. I
just spent over $400 converting a Procunier from Morse taper mounting over
for use on a Burgmaster 2BH with a threaded spindle.

RJ

--
"Have no one say it, and say it to your shame, that all was well here, until
YOU came."

"Aribert" wrote in message
om...
Last week I went to a local machinery auction and for once there were
more lots than interested bidders. I bid and won a bench grinder for
$5, the auctioneer included the two prior lots that did not sell for
$5. One of those two lots consisted of an antique tapping head. The
brand name is ETTCO, Eastern Tube & Tool Co. w/ a patent lable of Aug
1924. I have never used a tapping head before - I have occasionaly
tapped using my Bridgeport w/ a tap in a collet. In playing with the
tapping head by hand, I have been able to make it reverse direction
but I am unsure of exactly what makes it change direction - is it
torque based or is it when the unit receives an axial load (tap
botomed out)? Do tapping heads typically have any adjustments? THere
are a couple of set screws that might be intended for ajustment but
there are no markings on the body nor any indication that there has
been frequent adjustments made to these set screws.


And store them in an upright position to keep oil from getting on the clutch.

michael

I checked a Procunier tapping head today, and found that it backs the tap
out of the work at 2X the speed that it feeds into the work, for those
interested.

RJ

--
"Have no one say it, and say it to your shame, that all was well here, until
YOU came."

Greg, Backlash, others: Thanks for the wealth of info - now I know a
bit on how to use it and how it works. I hope to be able to play with
it this week end. Since this is a small unit, the tap head chuck only
opens up to 0.25 inch, I need to rumage thru my misc tap bucket for a
spare or two that I don't mind sacrificing - it seems that I have many
more duplicate taps that are greater than 0.25 than smaller.

And no, I will admit that I did not even think of looking to see if
ETTCO was still in business, I just assumed that most companies have
either gone under or have been consolodated / renamed in the past 80
years. In looking in a couple of catalogs to see if I could visually
identify "gun" taps, I came across current ETTCO tapping heads.


"Backlash" wrote in message ...
All the tap heads I have rebuilt by Procunier and Ettco use a cork lined
double cone clutch and a set of planetary gears inside. The tap is driven
into the work by one side of the cone clutch until the body of the tapper is
stopped by a physical limiter on the drill press or other machine. The tap
loses driving friction at this point by the cone clutch disengaging, and
goes into a "neutral", which limits tapping depth. You can pause tapping at
this point if you desire, by keeping the head floating in this neutral zone,
with your feed handle. Whenever downward pressure is released, the other
face of the cone clutch, along with the planetary gears come into play,
reversing the taps rotation to back out of the hole. The gearing speeds up
this process of getting out of the hole more quickly. Once the tap clears
the work, it automatically switches directions via a coil spring against the
cone clutch to once again drive in a right hand direction. The screws you
see around the lower end of the tapping head are the spindles of the
planetary gears....