# There's an idiot ordering stuff for me.



## dow (May 15, 2012)

/Begin rant

So I'm getting everything together to give component-less pens a shot, and I make up my list:


m12x.75 die
m12x.75 tap
12mm -.75 pitch = 11.25mm bit
m9x.75 die
m9x.75 tap
9mm -.75 pitch = 8.25mm bit
So I check and double check my numbers and my math and I re-do my list and.... I ordered a 9.25 mm bit instead of 8.25mm :mad-tongue:


Of course, I was clueless about this until the order came in yesterday.  Now, if I want to exchange one $2.00 bit for another $2.00 bit, I have to pay shipping both ways to New Jersey.


Anybody have an 8.25 mm jobber length bit that they're willing to part with?


/end Rant


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## pianomanpj (May 15, 2012)

I don't have a bit to give you, but you can have my sympathy - I, too, have an idiot do all my ordering! I got tired of it so I decided to start double checking. But once in a while a mistake still happens - turns out the guy doing the checking is a moron! :redface:


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## dow (May 15, 2012)

pianomanpj said:


> I don't have a bit to give you, but you can have my sympathy - I, too, have an idiot do all my ordering! I got tired of it so I decided to start double checking. But once in a while a mistake still happens - turns out the guy doing the checking is a moron! :redface:



Must be my checker's brother, cause mine's a moron too.


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## Timebandit (May 15, 2012)

Ive found that you can use a 21/64". Thats what i use. You dont have to be exact for this kind of stuff. In fact you want a little bit of wiggle room. There is a general 65-75% rule. Check out this calculator, it might help Tap Drill Size Calculator -- Technical Notes
If you have a 21/64 bit, i would just use it, it will work fine. Same goes for all of your metric taps. You can just use a fractional/number/letter bit that is closest and it will work. You dont have to order all of these special metric bits in order to get started in this.


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## mredburn (May 15, 2012)

I would spray paint the offending drill bit gold and mount it on a plaque where you can see it when you order stuff.


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## dow (May 15, 2012)

Timebandit said:


> Ive found that you can use a 21/64". Thats what i use. You dont have to be exact for this kind of stuff. In fact you want a little bit of wiggle room. There is a general 65-75% rule. Check out this calculator, it might help Tap Drill Size Calculator -- Technical Notes
> If you have a 21/64 bit, i would just use it, it will work fine. Same goes for all of your metric taps. You can just use a fractional/number/letter bit that is closest and it will work. You dont have to order all of these special metric bits in order to get started in this.



Well, my initial idea was to do just that, but I had to make the $25 minimum order to avoid that "little bitty order" tax of $10.00.  I just found a really good conversion chart (attached) that told me the same thing, and it was way faster than taking the decimal equivalent of .3248 and backing out the fractional part by hand.

21/64 bit it is.


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## BSea (May 15, 2012)

Actually, if you ever get a 10mm X .75 for larger nib sections, the bit will be perfect.


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## dow (May 15, 2012)

mredburn said:


> I would spray paint the offending drill bit gold and mount it on a plaque where you can see it when you order stuff.



Good idea.  Now I've just got to figure out where to mount it so that it's always in front of me when I'm ordering something. lol.


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## Timebandit (May 15, 2012)

dow said:


> Timebandit said:
> 
> 
> > Ive found that you can use a 21/64". Thats what i use. You dont have to be exact for this kind of stuff. In fact you want a little bit of wiggle room. There is a general 65-75% rule. Check out this calculator, it might help Tap Drill Size Calculator -- Technical Notes
> ...



Yeah victor is a bugger like that. Thanks for the chart. I have a similar chart, but it doesnt have the MM decimal conversions in there, just the basic metric numbers. This is excellent:biggrin:


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## dow (May 15, 2012)

BSea said:


> Actually, if you ever get a 10mm X .75 for larger nib sections, the bit will be perfect.



THAT'S what I can use it for!  Thanks for the reminder! :biggrin:  Sometimes even when you mess up, it comes out alright.


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## dow (May 15, 2012)

Timebandit said:


> Yeah victor is a bugger like that. Thanks for the chart. I have a similar chart, but it doesnt have the MM decimal conversions in there, just the basic metric numbers. This is excellent:biggrin:



Glad to share it.  Google's your buddy, Google's your pal.  Google told my wife that she was pregnant when she didn't have a clue.  Google seems to be all-knowing.  Kind of scary, huh.


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## glycerine (May 15, 2012)

I forgot to order a bit when I purchased some taps/dies, I believe it was from the same place that you ordered.  I got on Amazon and found the bit I needed, no minimum order, but had to pay shipping of course.  And it still came from the same place that I ordered my other stuff from!


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## LL Woodworks (May 15, 2012)

*Drill it Chart*

I have this one laminated and posted between my drill press and lathe.  Shows almost everything you need, or at least everything I need.


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## Justturnin (May 15, 2012)

yea, I think that guy orders for me sometimes too.


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## ctubbs (May 15, 2012)

At least yours was close, my guy switches number positions.  Strange sizes and quantities show up on my door step.
Thanks for the two conversion charts.  They will come in very handy for more than pen turning.

Charles


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## Haynie (May 15, 2012)

The person who orders for me is not an idiot.  Some hussy spending her sugar daddy's money is more like it.  Every time I get an order I think, did I really order this much stuff?

I am going through the multitude of taps and dies at the shop right now trying to figure out what I actually need to order.  If I can keep the hussy away from any idiots I should be alright.  Other wise I will end up with 2 of each of the wrong stuff.


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## frank123 (May 15, 2012)

I find a letter P bit works out very well for me on the M9 x .75 tap I'm using, and .355 - .360 for the tenon for the die.  I've used it on brass, aluminum and urethane (alumilite) and it produces a very nice thread contact and smooth threading.

Bits are cheap if you buy them at a local machine shop or fastener supply house, but I already had a P handy so I haven't bought a specific metric bit yet.


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