Lidls Tap and Die Set @ £12.99 - Will Totally Wreck Your Equipment - AVOID!!!

[Brucey]

the photographs clearly show signs of poor manufacture. I don't know the exact manufacturing sequence but the darkened colour of the burrs suggests that the flutes were ground after hardening. I would expect these burrs to be very hard/brittle; so much so that it might be possible to remove them with nothing more than your thumbnail.

Whilst burrs are clearly undesirable, there are much worse flaws that a tap might have.

[irc]

Thread drift.

Being very much a basics spannerer this thread prompts a question.

Last time I flew with my bike I removed the rear derailleur. On arrival I couldn't get to engage with the threads.

Eventually I removed the wheel, screwed it in from the wrong side. Then when I tried again from the correct side it went in

Would it benefit from a tap being run through or will it be ok?

If yes is it easy enough to do or for a one off job just get my LBS to do it?

[Jdsk]

It sounds as if the female thread only needs chasing if anything, not retapping with anything fiercer. And it's an easy job.

I'll be very interested to see the responses from experts...

Jonathan

[Carlton green]

Thread drift.

Being very much a basics spannerer this thread prompts a question.

Last time I flew with my bike I removed the rear derailleur. On arrival I couldn't get to engage with the threads.

Eventually I removed the wheel, screwed it in from the wrong side. Then when I tried again from the correct side it went in

Would it benefit from a tap being run through or will it be ok?

If yes is it easy enough to do or for a one off job just get my LBS to do it?

It’ll likely be ok and it’s anybody’s guess why you initially struggled - good idea trying the bolt from the other side. Running a tap through it shouldn’t hurt (if a skilled person does the job) but the tap is a special (so needs to be the right one and they aren’t cheap). I’d just give it a good clean and ensure there’s no damage visible anywhere, whatever the issue was it might have now gone away.

[irc]

Cheers. Next time I pack my bike for flying I will try threading it after removing it.

Before boxing the bike.

[swagman]

Id reckon that tap set probably made in India very cheaply for about £2.
You can make yourself a tap by grinding down two sides of a appropriate sized bolt!

[Cugel]

Unless one is a bicycle mechanic, the tools bought and used for cycle maintenance are used very infrequently. Contrast this with the tools used in hobbies such as woodworking, metal working, leathercraft, sewing and similar. In these pursuits, tools are used far, far more frequently and for various purposes than are the tools employed to keep a bicycle fit for purpose.

So .... its tempting to a lot of cyclists to buy cheap tools as they can and do last for a long while because used so infrequently. However, cheap tools beyond a certain condition of "not-so-good" only need to be used once to demonstrate their inadequacy. And even the slightly better ones will likely fail suddenly and at the worst possible moment, as per Sod's Law. They can also damage what they're used on.

Woodworking taught me to buy better quality tools, for three reasons: they work well without degrading themselves or what's worked on; they last a long time even if frequently used; they retain or even increase their cash value because they retain their high functional value.

This habit has crossed over into my cycling tool purchases somewhat. I have had and used cheap tools to fix bikes and got away with it (because of that infrequently-used factor) but they go phut eventually and have occasionally damaged what they were applied to. (Poor Allen keys rounding over what they're used on as well as themselves, for example).

**************
All the tools I have now will be worth their inheritance by whoever gets them when I rot away. Until then I have the pleasure and good results of using them myself. I recommend this approach to all, despite the expense. In the very long term, that expense is worth it in usage-per-quid, even if some of the usage is by the next five owners after the initial buyer is dead & gorn.

There are chisels, hammers and a number of other woodworking tools in my shed that are old but still excellent, probably owned by several users perhaps over nearly 100 years in some cases. On the other hand, will there be bicycles like ours in 100 years; or even any humans to maintain & ride them!?