Any one ever use a mag drill to Tap with? Was thinking of using the same method Fireball is using on the newest DIY table to secure 4 x 8 top on the table that I’m still working on.
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I might try it with mine if it was a through hole, as it does not have a way to control RPMs
I did use it with a tap guide to hold my tap while doing some blind holes in 3/4" plate.
Any one ever use a mag drill to Tap with?
I have not yet. I would think you would just need the right features - reversible and speed control, but I could be wrong.
yea that’s what I was thinking. the beast Milwaukee I have has all that. I think that’s going to be the cheapest route I can go to secure the top. Those leveling studs Fireball sells are awesome and would be way easier but on 1 foot spacing it was gonna be pretty pricey. I’ll 100 % wish I had spent the money the first time i break a tape…
taps | McMaster-Carr
I’m no machinist but was figuring on using the chip clearing tape here as it is a through hole i’ll be taping. I talked to a buddy of mine who is an outside machinist, and he did recommend trying to use mag drill on anything less than 1/2-inch taps. that why I figured on the 1/2- 13 thread. a little bigger than what comes with the DIY kit i believe.
I tapped some blind holes in my table by hand. I did use my mag drill to get the tap started straight. Drilling a straight hole or starting a tap by hand is something I can no longer do well.
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I can’t find evidence of it anywhere, but I’ve definitely used mine to run a tap and we’ve got the same mag drill as I recall. It wasn’t a great experience in some ways, but it beat turning a cheap tap by hand as it didn’t want to cut. It got significantly better once I got a good tap. If you’ve got a high quality tap, it makes a huge difference. Go with a nice spiral flute bottoming tap if you can (US, German or Japanese made) and be sure you use lots of tapping oil is all I can say.