Tapmatic tapping head

After being not so satisfied with manual tapping, I decided to give a try to see if a tapping head like tapmatic 50x would do something good.

I downloaded a manual, but it was quite hard to understand. also googled this newsgroup. Does anyone know of a very short primer on how to use such tapping heads like tapmatic 50x?

thanks

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14797
Loading thread data ...

I take it you don't have one yet so I'll skip the tiny details. Chuck the unit in the drillpress and fix the arm to the column with a loop of wire. Load a tap in the collet. Set the drillpress speed to a lower speed than used for drilling (if a beginner). The tip of the tap must be somewhat higher than the hole in your part. Now you can do tapping two basic ways. Eye, hand coordination is the key. The idea here is to have the clutch disengage at the needed depth either by retracting the clutch by your raising the spindle as you see it reach a suitable depth or set the drillpress depth stop to the point where the clutch disengages. This takes some load off your mind. So, as you lower the spindle, the tap will engage the hole and now screw itself into the hole. At some point you must raise the spindle, have the clutch disengage and enter the reverse clutch (a dog clutch) to cause the tap to unscrew. This is all very easy to do. Words are much more cumbersome. Just be sure the unit is high enough that the clutch has room to operate. It's easy to see by pulling the tap down with fingers as you twist to find the edge. I have tapped many thousands of holes from 2-56 to 1/4-20 with nary a broken tap. RichD

Ignoramus14797 wrote:

Reply to
RichD

And use gun taps, the kind that "shoot" the chips ahead of the tap.

GWE

RichD wrote:

Reply to
Grant Erwin

I do.

Rich, this is great. Thank you.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14797

And what is really important: There are several types. Ones with reversing gear, ones with a torque limiter, ones with a axial moving head and combinations of that.

Nick

Reply to
Nick Müller

Mine is a 50x model. I think that there is a torque limiter.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14797

Iggy, do this:

First, drill a hole that doesn't go all the way through the work piece. Select a taper tap that will cut 95% threads. Chuck the tap up as tight as you can get it. Then set your drill press on its lowest speed, start it up and jam the tap into the hole. You will ( I will ) love the results.

Bob (your friendly post reader) Swinney

Reply to
Robert Swinney

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.