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Tapping and Threading

Tapping and Threading

Tapping
Taps
(a hearty thank you to wikipedia)
A tap cuts a thread on the inside surface of a hole, creating a female surface which functions like a
nut. There are three basic types of tap commonly used in the shop:

Bottoming Tap: has a continuous cutting edge with no taper. This feature enables a bottoming
tap to cut threads to the bottom of a blind hole. A bottoming tap is never used to cut threads in
an unthreaded hole, as the cutting edges lack the taper required to successfully start into such
a hole.
Plug Tap: Also known as an intermediate tap, it has tapered cutting edges, which assist in
aligning and starting the tap into an untapped hole. Plug taps are the most commonly used
type of tap in the shop and can be found out on the shop floor in various sizes at all times.
Taper Tap: very similar to a plug tap but has a more pronounced taper to the cutting edges.
This feature gives the taper tap a very gradual cutting action that is less aggressive than that of
the plug tap. A taper tap is most often used when the material to be tapped is difficult to work
(e.g., alloy steel) or the tap is of a very small diameter and thus prone to breakage.
The taps used in the shop are all hand taps, since they are, by design, intended to be manually
operated. During operation, it is necessary with a hand tap to periodically reverse rotation to break the
chip formed during the cutting process, thus preventing an effect called "crowding" that may cause tap
breakage.

Using a tap
Tapping begins with drilling a hole with a diameter slightly smaller than the tap's major diameter. The
correct hole diameter may be determined by consulting the chart further down on this page. If the hole
is to be drilled, the proper diameter is called the tap drill size.
To calculate the tap drill size by hand, use this formula:
TD = MD - (1/N)
where TD is the tap drill size, MD is the major diameter of the tap (e.g., 3/8 inch for a 3/8"-16 tap), and
N is the number of threads per inch (16 in the case of a 3/8"-16 tap). For a 3/8"-16 tap, the above
formula would produce 5/16 as a result, which is the correct tap drill diameter for a 3/8"-16 tap. The
result produces a tap drill size that results in an approximate 75 percent thread (recommended for
most applications).
Hand tapping can be performed on several different machines: the lathe, the mill, or the Tapping
Table.

The setup is exactly the same for both the mill and
lathe, except that the mill setup will be vertical and
the lathe setup will be horizontal. Mount a
[[Centers|center]] in the keyless chuck (in the
spindle on the mill or in the tailstock on the lathe)
to keep the setup centered and stable. Find a tap
handle that fits your tap, tighten it, and insert the
tap/handle setup between the center and your
hole to be tapped. Using the quill to apply slight
pressure on the mill, or by advancing the tailstock
on the lathe (make sure it's locked down first!) turn
the handle clockwise a few turns to get the tap
started. Back the tap out 1/2-1 full turn, and then
proceed tapping by turning the handle in one full
turn and backing out 1/2 turn. Backing out will
break up chips and prevent tap breakage.

Why use the mill or the lathe to tap? Sometimes it is convenient when the spindle is already centered
around the hole you want to tap and when your part is already well fixtured. It is a matter of personal
preference, though!
With soft or average hardness materials, such as plastic, aluminum or steel, the common practice is
to use a plug tap to cut the threads. If the threads are to extend to the bottom of a blind hole, the plug
tap will be used to cut threads until the point of the tap reaches bottom, after which a bottoming tap
will be used to finish the hole. Frequent ejection of the chips must be made in such an operation to
avoid jamming and possibly breaking the tap.
With hard materials, it is recommended to start with a taper tap, whose less severe diameter transition
reduces the amount of torque required to cut the threads. If threads are to be cut to the bottom of a
blind hole, the taper tap will be followed by an intermediate (plug) tap and then a bottoming tap to
finish the operation.
In tapping metals (except brass), using a lube like Tap Magic is essential to achieve cleanly formed
threads and to minimize friction while tapping. Without it, you may end up with ragged threads, as well
as a substantial increase in the amount of torque required to turn the tap, possibly resulting in
breakage. As you can probably guess, having a tap break off in your part is a big bummer, particularly
if it's a blind hole.

Using a Helicoil
coming soon!

Tap Sizes
A tap is named by the following convention: major diameter - pitch. For example, a 3/8"-16 tap has a
major diameter of 3/8" and a pitch of 16 threads per inch. Incidentally, a 3/8"-16 tap has NC threads.
NC refers to the thread form. NF and NPT can also be found in the PRL, and if you need another type
of tap, you may have to buy it yourself. Consult a TA if this is the case.

Tap and Drill Bit Size Table


Tap Fractional Drill Bit Number Drill Bit Letter Drill Bit
0-80 3/64 - -
1-64 - 53 -
2-56 - 50 -
3-48 - 47 -
4-40 3/32 43 -
5-40 - 38 -
6-32 7/64 35 -
8-32 - 29 -
10-24 5/32 25 -
10-32 5/32 21 -
12-24 11/64 16 -
1/4-20 13/64 7 -
1/4-28 7/32 3 -
5/16-18 17/64 - F
5/16-24 - - I
3/8-16 5/16 - -
3/8-24 21/64 - Q
7/16-14 23/64 - U
7/16-20 25/64 - -
1/2-13 27/64 - -
1/2-20 29/64 - -
9/16-12 31/64 - -
9/16-18 33/64 - -
5/8-11 17/32 - -
5/8-18 37/64 - -
3/4-10 21/32 - -
3/4-16 11/16 - -
Drill sizes are for 75% depth of thread.
Thread Geometry
All you need to figure out the geometry of a thread is: a) knowledge that the conventional UNC or UNF
thread is a 60degree thread, and b) a reference table like the one found here:
http://www.engineershandbook.com/Tables/threadlimits.htm. Thread depth can be found by
subtracting the minor from the major diameter.

Threading
Threads can be either cut with a tap and/or die (see above) or chased manually. In order to cut your
own threads, internal or external, it's important to know both the major and minor diameter of the
threads you want to cut.

Major and Minor Thread Diameter Table


Basic Basic
Basic minor dia minor
effective of ext. dia of int.
NF/NC Threads Basic major dia threads threads Drill
Tap size UNF/UNC per inch dia (inches) (inches) (inches) (inches) size
0-80 UNF 80 .0600 .0519 .0447 .0465 3/64

1-64 UNC 64 .0730 .0629 .0538 .0561 #54


2-56 UNC 56 .0860 .0744 .0641 .0667 #50
2-64 UNF 64 .0860 .0759 .0668 .0691 #50
4-40 UNC 40 .1120 .0958 .0813 .0849 #43
4-48 UNF 48 .1120 .0985 .0864 .0894 #42
5-40 UNC 40 .1250 .1088 .0943 .0979 #38
5-44 UNF 44 .1250 .1102 .0971 .1004 #37
6-32 UNC 32 .1360 .1177 .0997 .1042 #36
6-40 UNF 40 .1360 .1218 .1073 .1109 #33
8-32 UNC 32 .1640 .1437 .1257 .1302 #29
8-36 UNF 36 .1640 .1460 .1299 .1339 #29
10-24 UNC 24 .1900 .1629 .1389 .1449 #25

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