Hand taps are cutting tools used in machining and metalworking to create internal threads, or threaded holes, in workpieces. These tools are manually operated and designed to be used without the use of a tapping machine. They come in various sizes and designs to accommodate different screw sizes and threading requirements. Here at Cromwell we have a large selection of hand taps from leading suppliers Sherwood, Dormer & Kennedy.

Plug Tap The final tap in the set is the plug tap. It has a shorter cutting edge and is used to finish the threads close to the bottom of the hole.

To overcome these problems, special tool holders are required to minimize the chances of tap breakage during tapping. These are usually classified as conventional tool holders and CNC tool holders. Metalworking taps and dies were often made by their users during the 18th and 19th centuries (especially if the user was skilled in tool making), using such tools as lathes and files for the shaping, and the smithy for hardening and tempering. Thus builders of, for example, locomotives, firearms, or textile machinery were likely to make their own taps and dies. During the 19th century the machining industries evolved greatly, and the practice of buying taps and dies from suppliers specializing in them gradually supplanted most such in-house work. Joseph Clement was one such early vendor of taps and dies, starting in 1828. [1] With the introduction of more advanced milling practice in the 1860s and 1870s, tasks such as cutting a tap's flutes with a hand file became a thing of the past. In the early 20th century, thread-grinding practice went through significant evolution, further advancing the state of the art (and applied science) of cutting screw threads, including those of taps and dies.

Hand Taps - Hand taps are single taps designed for threading holes of varying depths. They are available a wide range of thread sizes and pitches. There are 3 main tap types: Taper Taps, Second Taps and Plug Taps. Each tap is used at different stages of the tapping process. Intermediate Tap - An intermediate tap is used to further refine and deepen screw threads started by a starter tap.

While modern nuts and bolts are routinely made of metal, this was not the case in earlier ages, when woodworking tools were employed to fashion very large wooden bolts and nuts for use in winches, windmills, watermills, and flour mills of the Middle Ages; the ease of cutting and replacing wooden parts was balanced by the need to resist large amounts of torque, and bear up against ever heavier loads of weight. As the loads grew ever heavier, bigger and stronger bolts were needed to resist breakage. Some nuts and bolts were measured by the foot or yard. This development eventually led to a complete replacement of wood parts with metal parts of an identical measure. When a wooden part broke, it usually snapped, ripped, or tore. With the splinters having been sanded off, the remaining parts were reassembled, encased in a makeshift mold of clay, and molten metal poured into the mold, so that an identical replacement could be made on the spot.

So what are the types of taps? There are 3 main taps you should be familiar with and they are: Taper, Plug, and Bottoming tap. To help with this alignment task, several kinds of jigs and fixtures can be used to provide the correct geometry (i.e., accurate coaxiality with the hole) without having to use freehand skill to approximate it: where T D {\displaystyle TD} is the tap drill size, M D {\displaystyle MD} is the major diameter of the tap (e.g., 10mm for a M10×1.5 tap), and pitch is the pitch of the thread (1.5mm in the case of a standard M10 tap) and so the correct drill size is 8.5mm. This works for both fine and coarse pitches, and also produces an approximate 75 percent thread. Hand Tap Sets - They are designed to provide the necessary taps for different stages of the threading process, ensuring that you have the right tools to create accurate and clean threads. A typical tap set includes a Taper, Second and Plug. Taps and Dies Terminology". TapDie.com. Archived from the original on 2006-11-19 . Retrieved 2006-12-03.

Tap Wrench - Tap wrenches are essential tools used to turn hand taps during the threading process. They provide a secure grip on the tap's square shank and allow you to apply the necessary rotational force to cut threads into the workpiece. There are different types of tap wrenches, each designed for specific applications. Whether manual or automatic, the processing of tapping begins with forming (usually by drilling) and slightly countersinking a hole to a diameter somewhat smaller than the tap's major diameter. The correct hole diameter is listed on a drill and tap size chart, a standard reference in many machine shops. The proper diameter for the drill is called the tap drill size. Without a tap drill chart, you can compute the correct tap drill diameter with: