Best/preferred tap brand for the smaller sizes?

[gishooter]

"Polish stuff has gotten a lot better in the last ten years but due to past bad experience I avoid them"

M-tecs, I don't want to get on a tangent but this caught my attention. I've only used a few of the TMX brand taps and a few of their split style threading dies over past 4 years or so. Usually from MSC or KBC. And satisfied with them. I'm curious where you got those earlier ones you had problems with. I want to avoid them if at all possible. You can PM so as not to clutter this thread. But I'm sure other members would be curious to know.

[M-Tecs]

Before I retired I managed a military machine shop. They were purchased though the the GSA system. Whenever possible we would try to local purchase or sole source so we could control the quality but due to funding streams that was not always possible. The same Federal Stock Number could be sourced from various manufactures. Some good and some not so good. The Polish stuff varied from OK to bad but as i stated the early stuff was mostly all bad and latter some of it was OK.

[Rifle 57]

I buy American made taps from MSC .

[uscra112]

I can recall buying some custom taps made in Poland via Victor Machinery when I first got into Ballards, a good 15 years ago. They were literally made-to-order. Lead time was only a couple of weeks, and they were perfectly fine. I'm sure I still have them as they got used only once or twice.

When it comes to metalworking, Poland is not a third world country.

[JSnover]

Before I retired I managed a military machine shop. They were purchased though the the GSA system. Whenever possible we would try to local purchase or sole source so we could control the quality but due to funding streams that was not always possible. The same Federal Stock Number could be sourced from various manufactures. Some good and some not so good. The Polish stuff varied from OK to bad but as i stated the early stuff was mostly all bad and latter some of it was OK.

I had the same experience. We received a box of 3/4" drill bits stamped "Bosnia" (no manufacturer info) that were pretty impressive.

[JSnover]

Form or Roll Taps don't make chips. They reform the hole into a threaded hole. If you are working soft or very ductile metals Roll Taps are the way to go. They are by far the strongest design of tap.

As stated above 6-32 taps are the weakest. You really need to pay attention when using them as they are prone to ruin your day.

Randy

The one time I used form taps I really liked them! I was a little skeptical when it come to drilling a larger hole but it made sense and they worked perfectly. Unfortunately they don't seem as common and I haven't seen them in the smaller sizes yet.

[uscra112]

Best way in the world if you have to thread some of the gummier aluminum alloys.