Tool tip - tapping a thread

[scottg]

Carry on bodging! Nice one. It's so easy to throw money money at solving problems (assuming yo have the money in the first place) but it's so much more satisfying to come up with a creative solution which not only saves money and material resources, but also often time.

So many people these days have no idea on how to forge tools, or how simple it is to make steel
in your backyard. Then again grandad didn't think much of steel, too modern.
He used proper flint tools.

[mattsccm]

Those nasty circular spoke keys have half a dozen slots. Bet some fit.

[simonineaston]

My grandpa was a fitter, and I remember comeing across his tool-chest, sometime after he passed and being quite taken aback that, even to my untutored eye, a lot of his tools were clearly home-made. And equally, when I turn around and look the other way, I'm quite surprised by how many tools in use today are digital...

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
The technique is to line up the tap perpendicular (normally by eye though you could use a square on a large tap, even a smaller one too)
.......Then you stand 90 degrees to left or right and line up again......continue till the tap has good hold.

I have used a battery driver some times when just cleaning up some nuts that are a bit stiff on even a new bolt, especially if the nut is a special to the norm and needed for that job.
eg cleaning rust from a ferrous spoke nipple's on a motorcycle wheel.......with a modified spoke.

External threads are of course incredible difficult to form with a die......and keep true with out ending up "Drunken"

As said right size tool for the job like spanners and socket drivers etc.

I don't have many special tools (for last 45 years just bought what I needed to do whatever I had to do) designed hand tools for special uses and had a budget to buy any hand tool as part of job) some I have made with simple to hand basic file and hacksaw.........but they normally have one use every blue moon.
I also have many tools I have bought but never found a use for, but that one time use saves your bacon so I keep hold.
Lots of tools are gimmicks, advantageous if you have been through basic training, worked industrially and or worked professionally with hand tools.

As of late I have been using carbon steel cutting tools for cleaning up threads, they don't cut so clean and true size like High Speed Steel (HSS), so they don't remove much material and you end up with oversized holes.

Just remember to use a cutting fluid when cutting threads and don't do it too fast, always when cutting aluminium off course

When I have cleaned up a thread I try to use several new mating nuts and bolts to gauge the fit, then try the original mating bit but replace if its now stiff.
New holes to tap require correct tapping drill.

Its easy to stretch a bolt thread made of steel in a aluminium tapped hole if you have enough thread engagement so watch out for that.

[wirral_cyclist]

My grandpa was a fitter, and I remember comeing across his tool-chest, sometime after he passed and being quite taken aback that, even to my untutored eye, a lot of his tools were clearly home-made. <SNIP>

I still use my apprentice pieces (from 1977-80) and logically my first is my toolbox, made from folded steel, and in that :- several tap wrenches, and as has been mentioned they're proportional to the size used as this is best for feel. Then a drill bit stand, which is nothing more than steel plate with holes drilled, albeit labelled, and as I'm a metric imp, mine can tell the difference between 1/8" and 3 mm (well it has those holes and I can tell the difference). Many clamps, scribing guages, masses of stuff in fact, hell I've even got a sciccor jack somewhere from when I was in tec college - I think it was there I made rolled paint kettles, multiple scribers then centre punches/nail punches, all 'home made'

Home made - a term used today in catering to describe any industral process that's similar to a home one, so think Kenwood Chef and cement mixer being similar

[David9694]

A new (to me) frame - came with a fragment of rear dropout adjuster stuck and a centre pull brake adjuster also stuck. Thanks for mentioning those, Mr Vendor - still, nice headset that I wasn’t expecting.

I’ve tried drilling stuck adjusters before and it’s always gone wrong - I assume it needs the frame and the drill secured in a jig to stand any chance of keeping the drill on track. Previously, I’ve Araldited in a round plastic gizmo that was part of the packaging for a Topeak accessory, and that fits the space nicely.

The brake adjuster sheered when I got serious with it, so I drilled out the remains as best I could (another tight fit) and the tapping operation was to clean out the remaining remains and clean up the threads. It was a success.

It was interesting to read the thread - I did a bit of metalwork at school, so I’ve enjoyed bringing a stand drill down on a workpiece secured on the base. I needed something like that when I tried to repair a l/h crank threads - I got there with the helicoil method, but it was fractionally “off” - you could feel it when re-assembled. I guess that sort of equipment, and the necessary space is a retirement project for me.

[Brucey]

if you want to shift stuck wheel adjusters drilling should be the last resort. Things that help include;

-heat
- repeatedly tapping the adjusters lengthwise using a small hammer (in both directions)
- penetrating oil

Obviously it is easy to shear an M3 threaded adjuster off simply by turning it a bit too hard. It is (IMHO) a very good idea to practice on cheap M3 machine screws to see how it feels when you do this, if you are in any doubt about how it feels to shear an M3 screw off, and what kind of load does it.

A good way of adding heat where is matters (without wrecking the paint) is to use a MIG welder on the end of the screw (provided it isn't 12.9 grade) and to make a small build-up; the heat will run down the length of the screw and will help release the bonds of corrosion/allow penetrating oil to do its work.

Using a gas torch on the dropout will almost certainly release even the most corroded adjuster screw, and it isn't that big a deal to repaint the dropout, so best to leave yourself the option of doing this before you shear the screw off flush at both ends....

Obviously once the screw will turn freely in the dropout, one end can be cut off the screw and then it can be unscrewed. This means it doesn't really matter if the end of the screw is burred over or built up with lots of MIG weld metal.

cheers

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
You can also get these in ratchet type

[AndyA]

I often use those 8 sided nipple wreckers/spoke keys as tap wrenches. Just the job when there isn't enough room for a normal or ratchet tap handle. Particularily useful for chainstay/seatstay bridge mudguard eyelets. 11ga fits my M5 taps well