Tapping and drilling

[Roscoe]

Gentlemen all:
After reading a post on drilling and tapping the Brunswick turret ring, I am wondering how many of our community are aware of a product called "Tap Magic", and the advancment in the realm of taps, (so denoted as TIN), A real improvement in taps, especially in the two fluted variety. All are available from Graingers. The newer versions of tap magic, are good for most all metals.Use of this product, when machining of any varity, makes all the difference in successful outcomes. Just a helpful hint to those less familiar with metal work.
Your friend in the business.
Roscoe

[shamefowjze]

Re: Tapping and drilling

roscoe, excuse my ignorance but what is the difference between "standard" taps and tap magic? thanks for the tip and i'll be looking into them regardless.

alex

[KL Kevin]

Re: Tapping and drilling

Roscoe:

Please give grainger p/n from the catalog, or a good lookup phrase for the web site.

I've vowed that I will NEVER again work on a turret ring while it's in the machine. Bought the zot ring jig, and have a spare spider assembled, tapped 1/4-20, ready to go.

Now, I'm gonna just pull the entire spider, and drill out the busted dinky bolts and all on the bench, using a drill press. The other benefit is that the bearings and ring get a good cleaning while disassembled, which they desperately need after a lot of years of service.

Getting the starter hole drilled straight and dead nuts into the meat of the ring is the whole key to the process, much easier to achieve when you aren't standing inside the machine with a hand drill playing human plumb bob:

Kevin

[Roscoe]

Re: Tapping and drilling

Alex:
Tap Magic is a cutting and drilling fluid. Grainger number, 4F963, 16 oz can, approx$6.50.
TIN taps mean,Titanium Nitride coated, I prefer the two flute designs, owing to the additional chip clearance they provide.
KL:
I agree the drill press is the optimum method, however, in my suitation, I may have four turrets requiring repair, and only one day to accomplish this along with any other repairs that become obivious. Therefore I made a drill guide that slips down over ring and clamps in place, thus ensuring a perpendicular hole.
Roscoe.

[KL Kevin]

Re: Tapping and drilling

That's why it's great to have a travelling field mechanic on the site ... we all get the benefit of someone who's ALMOST seen it all. (I'm afraid if i say you've seen it all, some new wierd problem will show up to jinx you :p ) 4 Turrets in one day ... you da man!!!

Gotta ask, roscoe, what's the dumbest excuse for a "rigging" you've seen ... and also, the smartest one ... as you've worked a lot of different centers:

Kevin

[TheGMan143]

Re: Tapping and drilling

Tap Magic is good stuff... I've been using it for quite a while. Makes the cutting easier, and reduces the chance that the tap will dry-bind, overtorque, and break.

For taps, we have a set of industrial taps made for threading hardened steel and stainless. They cut through regular steel and iron like butter. They were expensive as hell, but I've never dulled or broken one yet.

[Drillmn300]

Re: Tapping and drilling

Got to have the juice or you end up costing a job more, I use a tapmatic head on my mill and a benchtop tapping head on the bench for smaller items. Without the proper cutting fluid you will damage your taps in the long run. I purchased some left hand tap & dies along with some left handed bits awhile back.

Drill

[1mechanic1]

Re: Tapping and drilling

Something to think about. Whenever I drill and re-tap a turret ring to 1/4 - 20, I cut "studs" from 1/4" all thread and insert in the ring, rather than use bolts. Once the clamp ring and 5 pin chute are back on, you simply need lockwashers and nuts. Just one of the places on the machine where studs seem to be handier than bolts

[KL Kevin]

Re: Tapping and drilling

1Mech:

Trouble with that is that most threaded rod is at best, grade 5 and more likely grade 2.

This application takes such a beating that I wouldn't settle for any hardware less than grade 8 personally ... but that's only my opinion:

Kevin

[TheGMan143]

Re: Tapping and drilling

Simple solution... you can get grade-8 1/4-20 bolts in lengths up to 5". Just cut the heads off and you have 5" of #8 threaded rod.

[1mechanic1]

Re: Tapping and drilling

True the all thread may not be grade 8, but the fact that you are increasing the bolt size from 10/24 to 1/4-20. I think the addaed size more than makes up for it.