Inexpensive but good Tap & Die sets..

[ELake]

What are all of you guys using?

The snap-on and mac stuff doesnt really appeal to me it seems expensive and probably just another companys stuff with there name on it...

Looking for a decent sized set. . 6/32 thru 1/2 course & fine thread... m3 thru m12 fine and course and 1/8 NPT and 1/4 NPT



Just curious to see what else is out there... I'm kinda scared to buy the sears stuff because im unsure of the quality... . same goes for drill bits if you guys could post some info on where you got your drill sets it would be sweet too... . fractional/decimal/numbered sets... I'm not too fond on the snap-on thunderbit crap whats the point of spending all that money on a drill bit if they dont even warrenty it when it breaks?

tired of looking thru my heavily picked over selection and I want to finish up my pryo installation

Need an excuse to buy some tools

 

[Paychk]

Hanson make some nice affordable sets:



http://froogle.google.com/froogle?hl=en&lr=&tab=wf&scoring=p&q=hanson+24606&btnG=Search+Froogle



http://froogle.google.com/froogle?hl=en&lr=&tab=wf&scoring=p&q=hanson+26317&btnG=Search+Froogle



http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=hanson+26376&hl=en&lr=&tab=wf&scoring=p

 

[ELake]

sweet!

Looks identical to the MAC set I use at work and I know for a fact they werent $156...



Thanks!!!

 

[Dl5treez]

Snap-on and MAC sets I know for a fact are rebadged Hanson sets.



I got my Hanson set at a Pawn shop---used, but dirt cheap & still has the lifetime warranty.

 

[rbattelle]

My only set (so far) is this one. (which unfortunatly is not pictured). I've owned it exactly 2 years tomorrow (wedding gift).



I believe they're HSS (certainly not cobalt). I take very good care of them, and use plenty of cutting fluid. The ones I use most commonly - 1/4-20, 3/8-16, 1/8 NPT and M10x1. 5 - are still sharp and work well. BUT, I mostly tap aluminum. I expect they'd be in worse shape if I did more steel tapping.



If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have registered for titanium nitride coated. I'm very impressed with the twist drills I have that are so coated. I have not (yet) broken one of my taps (and I've done a couple stupid things with them trying to tap a hole that's slightly undersized).



As for drill bits, I buy them right from Harbor Freight! I know that's an evil word for a tool man, but the way I figure it twist drills (and any other cutting or abrasive bits/blades) are disposable (they all wear out eventually), so why spend a small fortune? I have 2 sets of titanium nitride coated blades from HF: a 29 piece set, and I just got their 115 piece set. The 29 piece set I've had for over 3 years and I use them exclusively for drilling metal (about 60% aluminum, 40% steel). I even used one to attempt drilling through a socket (hardened). I overheated it, but it still seems sharp. I really like that titanium nitride coating. As with my taps, I take great care to use plenty of cutting fluid, which I really think extends tool life a lot.



If you're mostly going to use the set for rethreading and cleanup, you might also consider getting something like this set from Snap-On (one of only 2 Snap-On items I own!). These things are the greatest since sliced bread if you're doing a lot of fastener restoration work.



-Ryan