Help with Taps and tapping!

scott.livesey said:
Laurence,
you were mentioning wanting to tap carbon fibre and other materials. an idea would be to drill your mounting hole 1/8" larger than you need for tap. fill the hole with JB weld and let it dry overnite. now you can drill and tap the weld. have had to do it here at the office on occasion and it worked well.
scott
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Scott,
Thanks for the tip!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
I decided to make my own tool arm for the small wheel attachment I just got from USA Knifemakers and realized i had no way to keep my tap straight and square.
Watching Craigs List I found this taper, very heavy duty, but can't find any labeling on it.
Price and timing couldn't have been better, just thought I'd share.
Has taps 6-32 to 5/8"
tapper001_zps4293e81f.jpg
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tapper002_zpseae19910.jpg
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laurence, I put a drill chuck in my mill and turn it by hand to tap 2-56 hols, don't know if your new drill press will turn free by hand, have not used it with a 80 tap but do all other sizes in that manner. Deane
 
I recently replaced the 3/4 hp motor on my drill press with a 1 hp 3 phase. I used the VFD on my Nielsen Interchangeable Disk by putting a 4 prong plug on the cable from the output of the VFD and then ran a 4 prong outlet from each motor (disk grinder and drill press). Now I just plug in the desired motor, chuck up a tap in the drill press and run the tap in, then hit the reverse switch and back the tap out. Works almost as well as a Tapmatic. And I have infinite speed control. If you already have a VFD you can do this for way less than a Tapmatic and have a more versatile machine to boot..... or you could get a Nielsen Interchangeable Disk System and just have to get the extra motor and plug and outlets.....or you could do it with the VFD on your belt grinder. Just make sure and use the same hp and rpm rated motor on both machines, and get a fwd/rev switch for your VFD.
 
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Mark,
That is a sweet tapping set up and would handle all of my needs so far.

Dean,
Thanks, I have been using my old press and tapping my 5-56 screws. Works fine.

Wayne, Thanks for sharing that and I will get a reverse switch on the next VFD I order for my 9" disk grinder.
I fried the VFD but have other cash priorities to take care of for now.

Thanks everyone! This is the best bunch of helpful and polite people of any forum I know of.
Its better than family here! LOL :biggrin:

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Laurence, if you have a fried KB VFD they have an 18 month warranty. Otherwise you can probably send it in for repair for less than buying a new one. If you don't want to go that route I can supply you a new one with the fwd/rev switch. As with any electronics, it is a good idea to unplug your VFD when it is not in use. I also do this with all of my digital welders.
Let me know if I can help you
 
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I had some 2-56 holes to tap in a jig I am making and broke the 2 carbon taps I bought for the project after only tapping 6 holes by hand. I went ahead and bought the hand tapping jig from Hawkins Knife Supply that Calvin had recommended along with 2 HSS taps.

The jig works great and is well worth the $35 the jig costs. The folks at Hawkins are great to deal with though they can be little hard to get a hold of.
 
Rade has had some real health problems. He is a really nice guy. He has had to curtail his trips to Knife Shows and conferences.
 
Wayne Coe said:
Rade has had some real health problems. He is a really nice guy. He has had to curtail his trips to Knife Shows and conferences.
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Sorry to hear about Rade.
I've only dealt with him on the phone but it's always been a pleasure to talk to him.

Rudy
 
Thanks guys for all the help and advise.
When it rains it pouiurs and my folder knife prototype has been put on the back burner. I should be back to it soon.

It truly is a family of makers and enthusiasts here at KD's!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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