Some tap factiods:
Hand taps come in three flavors; Taper, Plug, and Bottoming.
Taper Tap:
This is regular tap most people think of and that you find at the hardware store. It is tapered (duh) with progressive cutters. They are designed to center in the hole to help guide the tap straight. They work best for through holes but are also the starter tap for using plug and bottoming taps.
Plug Tap:
Slightly tapered and will cut threads closer to the bottom of hole. They are an intermediate bewteen the "Taper" and Bottoming" taps. These taps are also used in automated machinery or when you are using a tapping machine
Bottoming Tap:
These only have 1-2 tapered or progressive cutters. They are only used to finishing taping to the bottom of a blind hole after a Taper and/or Plug tap has been used. I've ground the taper off of a taper tap to make a bottoming tap.
Advanced tap factoids:
A spiral flute tap works really well for blind holes but they are somewhat fragile and you're not going to find them at the local hardware store. The spiral flutes pull the chips up and out of the hole similar to the way a drill bit does. The hole does not get jammed with chips and you do not back the tap up as you cut like you do with 4-flute hand taps.
A spiral point tap works really well for through holes because they push the chip in front of the cutter. Like the spiral flute tap you do not back the tap up as you cut.
both of these are difficult to start by hand until you have the right "feel" for tapping. You can also use these in a drill motor because you don't need to back them out as you progress forward.
Your drill press works great as a guide for your tap handle/tap. The small chamfered hole on the handle end is there so you can use something pointed in your drill press to hold the tap/handle steady and straight. Think of the way a "center" works on a lathe. you don't turn the drill press on, you just use the spindle as an alignment guide. I can post a picture of this if you are interested.
You can also add a "tap aligner" to your tool collection that holds the tap/handle perpendicular to your workpiece.
images stolen from mcmaster.com
Hand taps come in three flavors; Taper, Plug, and Bottoming.
Taper Tap:
This is regular tap most people think of and that you find at the hardware store. It is tapered (duh) with progressive cutters. They are designed to center in the hole to help guide the tap straight. They work best for through holes but are also the starter tap for using plug and bottoming taps.
Plug Tap:
Slightly tapered and will cut threads closer to the bottom of hole. They are an intermediate bewteen the "Taper" and Bottoming" taps. These taps are also used in automated machinery or when you are using a tapping machine
Bottoming Tap:
These only have 1-2 tapered or progressive cutters. They are only used to finishing taping to the bottom of a blind hole after a Taper and/or Plug tap has been used. I've ground the taper off of a taper tap to make a bottoming tap.
Advanced tap factoids:
A spiral flute tap works really well for blind holes but they are somewhat fragile and you're not going to find them at the local hardware store. The spiral flutes pull the chips up and out of the hole similar to the way a drill bit does. The hole does not get jammed with chips and you do not back the tap up as you cut like you do with 4-flute hand taps.
A spiral point tap works really well for through holes because they push the chip in front of the cutter. Like the spiral flute tap you do not back the tap up as you cut.
both of these are difficult to start by hand until you have the right "feel" for tapping. You can also use these in a drill motor because you don't need to back them out as you progress forward.
Your drill press works great as a guide for your tap handle/tap. The small chamfered hole on the handle end is there so you can use something pointed in your drill press to hold the tap/handle steady and straight. Think of the way a "center" works on a lathe. you don't turn the drill press on, you just use the spindle as an alignment guide. I can post a picture of this if you are interested.
You can also add a "tap aligner" to your tool collection that holds the tap/handle perpendicular to your workpiece.
images stolen from mcmaster.com
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