Thread tapping machine

admin

Not much of a welding project, but thought I would share. Needed something to help tap 400 holes, 1/8 and 1/4 NPT. I had a couple low rpm reversable motors and picked up a small benchtop drill press off Craigslist to come up with this solution. The video (although a little dark) explains everything. Attached Images
Reply:The old radial arm drill we had at work had a nice tapping function.  When you turned it on it would spin backwards.  You would line up your part and then hit the momentary forward button and pull down on the handle.  When you tapped as deep as you wanted you would release the forward button and it would back itself out.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Brlliant!Now look for a used Procunier or some such tapping head on eBay and put it on your mill (if you have enough z-axis height). They are not that expensive."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:I have a motor and reduction gear  just like that, was wondering what to do with it. Was gonna use it to push the old lady off a pier. but i guess the sharks will have to wait. Nice application . really nice.
Reply:Just saw the reply above about the radial arm drilling machine. A friend has had one in the corner of his shop for 15  years gathering dust,,,,,,,think I am off to do some wheeling and dealing. I hope he cant find the pneumatic stapler he borrowed 5 years ago.....lol
Reply:Absolutely awesome! Now you need to fit some limit switches to automate the operation. A couple years ago I modified a pneumatic ratchet for tapping a bunch of 3/8" and 3/4" NPT holes. It has worked great. I now have a large Tapmatic but I generally use the ratchet because it's fast to setup. http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=44524I'm in the process of setting up my VMC and it supports thread milling.  Soon I will retire all my hand tapping tools. Here's my tap ratchet in action. Enjoy.[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EOaajzdEHY[/ame]
Reply:Nice work on that.  If time is worth money you really should look into a tapping head attachment.  You are able to set depth stops on them, which is really needed for consistency on pipe taps.  They also run at a faster speed when they reverse out.  On the cheap, your idea is a lot better than doing it by hand though.
Reply:Forhire, why don't you just power tap with the mill?
Reply:Mark... I didn't intend to hijack your thread.  Originally Posted by OxfordForhire, why don't you just power tap with the mill?
Reply:No hijack perceievd, just more ideas for others to see. Actually, you gave me an idea: make another adapter to sit permanently in the drill chuck and allow "quick change" of the taps. The chuck on the benchtop is small and doesn't properly hold the 1/4" tap and I hadn't thought about an adapter until watcing your video.Making a foot pedal is also a great idea, it would be nice to have two hands free.These fuel blocks I'm building are a new venture I just got started on. The interest from the first generation Powerstoke community is good and I've sold several kits since announcing my product. If sales continue and my tapping machine proves too slow then I'll look into faster (more costly) solutions.If you're interested in the end product I'm building it can be seen here:
Reply:Originally Posted by markfugaNo hijack perceievd, just more ideas for others to see. Actually, you gave me an idea: make another adapter to sit permanently in the drill chuck and allow "quick change" of the taps. The chuck on the benchtop is small and doesn't properly hold the 1/4" tap and I hadn't thought about an adapter until watcing your video.