High quality Tap and Die?

Indy · Post by **Indy** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:47 pm

Hey everyone, I'm looking for metric tap and die sets. Need a high quality set, I'm looking for something that will last a very long time. I've been looking at used Blu Point/Snapon sets, as I've used these before and know that the quality is stellar. My dad was an A/P for a long time and ran a shop, so I ended up with a bunch of Snap-on tools in the garage and I love them ( :puke: Craftsman). Obviously I can't go out and drop $650 for a brand new Snap-on tap and die set, but prices for used newer-condition sets aren't bad at all. I'm going to check out Mac as well.

Any recommendations? Where do you guys go to get a half-decent price on this stuff?

Thanks.

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:53 pm

My dad uses SK in his shop, not sure what the prices are, but great quality.

Darkmage · Post by **Darkmage** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 3:45 am

i have a snap on set, and the other guy in my shop has a mac set.... we borrow stuff from eachothers sets sometimes, there are minor differences.... i think we decided that in general the snap on set is better, but not by much....

Indy · Post by **Indy** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:32 pm

Bump, any other opinions that I'll probably ignore anyway?

F8I6EgRtO · Post by **F8I6EgRtO** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:15 pm

i have a snap-on set. i like it alot

Boscolingus · Post by **Boscolingus** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:07 pm

Crafstman becasue if they break you can just go to the mall and replace it, not chase down or wait around for a tool truck and leave it to the driver's dicression as far as the applicable warranty

dratts · Post by **dratts** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:30 am

I think craftsman is a decent quality, but if the issue is breakage, you don't want a broken tap in the hole you're working on even if they'll give you a new one for free.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:41 am

Make sure they are covered under Craftsman's warranty. They are starting to be REAL bitches about returns lately. I broke a screwdriver, and they wouldn't take it back saying I was not using it for its intended purpose. I ended up getting a new one, but it took nearly an hour of very angry arguing with the manager.

The Dark Side of Will · Sat Jun 02, 2007 11:34 am

Were you prying with it?

whipped · Post by **whipped** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 11:44 am

I bought some spiral taps from mcmaster carr..... At $10ea they're not cheap (for #4-40 size), but probably cheaper than snapon... Let me tell you what, these things are awesome. They glide through metal like butter. Where a standard tap would have dulled, bound up and broken by now, these things just kept going...

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 11:56 am

The Dark Side of Will wrote:Were you prying with it?

Sort of kind of.

It looks like a prybar!

teamlseep13 · Post by **teamlseep13** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 2:12 pm

Use the right tool the first time....and go by a pry bar, that is why the sell them.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 2:17 pm

I have an entire set of prybars, the 3 piece set with red handles that are like over 1/2" thick of solid hardened steel. But they were too big. Insert screwdriver :thumbleft:

The Dark Side of Will · Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:21 pm

2) break screwdriver

3) get correct prybar

I usually just skip to step 3.

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:35 pm

Back on topic.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 9:47 pm

However most of the time you can stop right after step 1: Use screwdriver, get job done.

But yah, let's stay on topic, how dare we talk about Craftsman Tools in a Tap and Dye thread.

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:28 am

Fine, Feel free to hijack.....

Starlite528 · Post by **Starlite528** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:03 pm

Harsh

Post by **eHoward** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:21 am

I have a craftsman tap and die set. I'm sure it's not as good as a snap-on set, but at 2AM when you've got to get the car on the road by morning, they do the job at half the price.

If I was working in a machine shop, I would buy a better set, but I'm not.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.as ... apon-store

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/subcat.d ... Cookie=Yes