# New tap wrench



## BigShed (Feb 19, 2012)

Have been playing with kitless pens and came to the conclusion that I didn't like how my tapping of female threads worked.

As per my tutorial uploaded elsewhere, this is how I was doing it.








Basically I used a tap wrench, slightly modified by centre drilling the end, and held in place by a live centre in the tail stock.

This meant I had to turn the tap and keep the tail stock up to the tap wrench simultaneously, which was a bit of a juggle.

It occured to me it would be better if I could have a tool similar to my die holder and got the bright idea to actually modify the die holder to accet the tap wrench.
The die holder has 2 sides, one of which takes 13/16" dies, which I don't own.
So I decided to modify that end by boring it out to accept the tap  wrench, the tap wrench is then held in place by the 3 existing grub  screws.




​

It is then used in the same way that the die holder is used, ie free to  slide on the centre bar, no adjustment of the tail stock needed.






Did a few internal threads this morning and I can declare this tool mod a success, much easier to use.


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## Stevej72 (Feb 19, 2012)

Great idea!  Thanks for the threading tutorial.  I have just started trying to make a kitless pen and have had some difficulty getting good threads.  This looks like just what I need.


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## Dalecamino (Feb 19, 2012)

Good on ya Fred! Genius.... nothing but pure Genius:biggrin: Very slick idea. I may have to make the switch. Thanks for sharing.


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## BigShed (Feb 19, 2012)

dalecamino said:


> Good on ya Fred! Genius.... nothing but pure Genius:biggrin: Very slick idea. I may have to make the switch. Thanks for sharing.



Thanks mate, generally known as a brain f*rt:biggrin:.

Actually got the idea when I was doing that tutorial, looked at that first picture above and knew there had to be a better way to do that.

Then when I was editing some of the die holder pictures it just clicked:wink:


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## Jim15 (Feb 19, 2012)

Thank you for sharing.


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## johncrane (Feb 20, 2012)

Good one Fred! do ya think the tap holder could be cut down for use on small lathes.


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## BigShed (Feb 20, 2012)

johncrane said:


> Good one Fred! do ya think the tap holder could be cut down for use on small lathes.



Not sure what you are asking John?

Cut down in length or diameter?

This tap wrench couldn't be cut down at all, but there are othe (simpler) tap wrenches on the market that will do the same thing.

Such as this one

But I worked with what I had.


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## johncrane (Feb 20, 2012)

Fred what i was thinking  could you shorten the length of the tap holder,


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## BigShed (Feb 20, 2012)

johncrane said:


> Fred what i was thinking  could you shorten the length of the tap holder,



No, not this one John. It has a ratching mechanism inside that allows it to be reversed.

But the other I showed could be shortened.

Or you you could make your own custom tap holder, from mild steel aluminium or even delrin. It would just have a hole to suit the tap one end with a grub screw that fastens on one of the tap flats. The other end would have a hole to match the bar of the die holder.

In fact, thinking aloud, you could make one of those for each of the main taps you use to save swapping them in and out.

Hmm, now you've got me thinking...........


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## Gilrock (Feb 20, 2012)

Yeah I haven't even tried to make a pen yet but I did make my own die holder like George in his tutorial and I've only been practicing making a few threads so far.  I haven't been happy with the weight of the tailstock when tapping so I was also brainstorming how I was going to make something similar to the die holder so I could feel it better.  Seeing what you have come up with is nice to help me figure out what I want to make.

Thanks,
Gil


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## IPD_Mr (Feb 20, 2012)

This is something that should be mass produced.  I can see a great market well outside the pen turning folks.  This is probably one of the slickest ideas to come out in a long time.  Well done Fred.


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## Gilrock (Feb 20, 2012)

Like I said earlier I was planning on making one of these from delrin but my original thought was to just drill a hole directly in the delrin to hold the tap but that probably wouldn't be good for different tap diameters.  Your version gave me the idea to use an actual tap holder so I went out and bought one and made the holder below.  I cut the handle in the middle and used the two halves to fit in holes on the side if extra torque is necessary but they can be pulled out easily.



 

Thanks,
Gil


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## MarkD (Feb 20, 2012)

Looks like a winner!


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## Robert111 (Feb 20, 2012)

Gilrock said:


> Like I said earlier I was planning on making one of these from delrin but my original thought was to just drill a hole directly in the delrin to hold the tap but that probably wouldn't be good for different tap diameters.  Your version gave me the idea to use an actual tap holder so I went out and bought one and made the holder below.  I cut the handle in the middle and used the two halves to fit in holes on the side if extra torque is necessary but they can be pulled out easily.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Cool, Gil! VERY cool! Thanks to you both!


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## TerryDowning (Feb 20, 2012)

Any pics of the cut to /disassembly of the tap holder?  I'm a bit confused


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## Gilrock (Feb 20, 2012)

TerryDowning said:


> Any pics of the cut to /disassembly of the tap holder? I'm a bit confused


 
If you're talking about mine I don't have any other photos right now.  Basically I just started with 2" Delrin and turned it down to about 1.5".  For the width I just wanted a good size to grab with my hand.  You drill a 1/4" hole down the center all the way through.  Then use a Forstner bit to drill a hole deep enough to seat the tap holder.  I bought mine at Ace Hardware...the one that fits 1/4" - 1/2" taps.  I used a hacksaw to cut the handle in half to remove it from the tap holder.  The diameter of the top of the tap holder was 3/4" so I drilled deep enough to seat it...probably about 1.25".  Then drilled four 1/4-20 holes and used allen screws to secure the tap holder head inside the Delrin.  Then I drilled a 5/16" hole on each side around the middle and the handle I cut in half fits in those holes if you need them for extra torque.  Oh and the shaft in the Jacob's chuck is just a 1/4" rod cut to whatever length you want.  So in the end the Delrin can slide freely on this shaft.

So I've got making the helper tools down...if I could only make a pen...

Gil


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## dogcatcher (Feb 21, 2012)

Gilrock said:


> TerryDowning said:
> 
> 
> > Any pics of the cut to /disassembly of the tap holder? I'm a bit confused
> ...



Your gadgets will make your pen.  The better you are as a gadget maker, the easier the penmaking will be.


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## BigShed (Feb 21, 2012)

dogcatcher said:


> Your gadgets will make your pen.  The better you are as a gadget maker, the easier the penmaking will be.



True, however one can easily spend more time on making gadgets than on making pens!

DAMHIKT:wink:


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## Gilrock (Feb 21, 2012)

Yeah I used this new tap holder device last night for threading a couple holes and it worked great.  I now have a pen body I'm proud of and just need to make a section and cap for it.

Gil


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## TerryDowning (Feb 21, 2012)

I see tool/gadget making as part of the hobby.  I don't do shows, sell pens or production work. I just like to spend time in the shop doing stuff whether it's making a useful tool, a pen, or some other project really doesn't matter to me. In the Shopsmith forum it's called making sawdust.


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