# Tap turning



## Sunami (Feb 24, 2016)

What do you all use to turn the taps on your lathes? I got to that part of my project and realized I really didn't know how to turn it. I took it out of the lathe and did it by hand and wrench.


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## bobleibo (Feb 24, 2016)

Stick the tap in the tailstock and slowly turn the headstock with the blank mounted in it by hand while advancing your tailstock in unison or let it float free if it will cooperate. Pretty much like drilling blanks on the lathe.


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## mredburn (Feb 24, 2016)

OR 

Buy a tap guide from one of the various places and possibly a tap wrench.
Like this one on Ebay as a guide
Fowler Micro Tap Guide 52 490 100 0 | eBay
put it in the drill chuck and push the point into the back of the tap if it has a hole or a tap handle if it doesnt.


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## mredburn (Feb 24, 2016)

Found the article I wanted
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/dummies-guide-tapping-lathe-59693/


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## bobleibo (Feb 24, 2016)

mredburn said:


> Found the article I wanted
> http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/dummies-guide-tapping-lathe-59693/



That article has my name allllll over it! I wish I knew about it before. Sure would have saved me a bunch of grief. 
Thanks Mike!


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## mredburn (Feb 24, 2016)

I can change it to "BOb's guide to tapping a dummy" if that would help


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## magpens (Feb 24, 2016)

What would we do without Skip ?


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## jalbert (Feb 24, 2016)

I use one of these guys to turn the part while threading:
https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3897&category=

Seriously one of the best accessory purchases I've made for my lathe. 

My approach to threading on the lathe is as follows:

1.UNPLUG lathe
2. Insert crank in the back of the headstock spindle and tighten
3. Insert tap or die holder in tailstock Jacob's chuck. 
4. Make sure tailstock is not locked down, and can slide freely. 
5. Gently butt tap or die up against piece to be threaded, and turn crank counter clockwise a few times to make sure the tap or die is nicely centered up on the workpiece.
6. Turn crank clockwise and thread the work piece, while simultaneously applying enough pressure to move the tailstock forward as the tap or die gets pulled into the work piece. Back off the tap or die off a bit after every couple of turns to break the chips loose. 

This has worked very well for me. The key is to move the tailstock with your right hand while threading. Don't let the movement of the work piece pulling in the tap or die move the tailstock, or that could potentially lead to some nasty breakages. 

-John


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## bobleibo (Feb 24, 2016)

mredburn said:


> I can change it to "BOb's guide to tapping a dummy" if that would help



Dummy will work, everyone will know who it's for~


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## duncsuss (Feb 24, 2016)

What I do: "this works for me", YMMV, etc, etc.

I put the tap into my MT2 Jacob's (drill-bit) chuck and slide it into the tailstock, just a little loose so that I can rotate it by hand but not so loose that it wobbles.

The tap has to be pushed in far enough that the chuck grips on the round part of the shank (beyond the squared-off part).

I lock the headstock and slide the tailstock up so the nose of the tap is touching the hole, then simply grab hold of the chuck and turn the tap into the part.

I don't worry about the back end of the Morse taper sliding out of the tailstock, by the time it's moved far enough to where it could begin to tilt, enough threads have been cut to keep things running true. (And I'm holding the chuck anyway, I don't let it drop.)


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