Off shore taps

Bandit

Super User
So I am needing some smaller metric taps, 3, 3.5, 4 mm, anyone having any luck with" Amazone"stuff? Any particular make/brand?
Plan on trip to Lethbridge tomorrow, will see what Fastenal has, as have to get some threaded hard ware anyway there or at one or 2 of other place. Hope for 1 stop shop, but, ya, rite.
Will be to Calgary next week, anyone been getting stuff from Thomas Skinner there? Or need company account?
Anyway a enquiring mind would like to know.
 

Tom O

Ultra Member
I’m not sure what Thomas Skinner has anytime I have gone there they have always ordered it in.
 

Susquatch

Ultra Member
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Moderator
Premium Member
The better taps at Amazon are fine and quite competively priced. Eg.

Sowa Tool 123308 1/4"-20 UNC Yellow Ring HSSE-V3 Spiral Point Tap https://a.co/d/bkZ3PZs

But if I'm really fussy, I'll pay big bucks for taps at Varco or KBC.
 

PeterT

Ultra Member
Premium Member
That's good to know Sowa is selling on Amazon. I use these same taps & they are awesome. These seem a bit spendy but could be the designation, mine are blue ring & these are yellow ring. I'd have to look up what the designation referred to. Shipping is very high even with Prime. SOWA is a distributer so any machine shop supplier should be able to source or stocks. Even so, didtributer prices vary.

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I recently bought these YG from Ali. Whether they are the real deal I cant say but they are razor sharp & very well made, very comparable to the Sowa. The coating can influence the price too, typically I look for uncoated but these were well prices (same M6x1 to compare above). There is a lot of junk taps on Ali so beware, try & avoid the hardware stores.
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Aliva

Super User
I've had very good luck with Clarkson Osborne taps from BDI Canada'
Here's a tap colour code chart.
 

gerritv

Gerrit
Yes, any decent, as in European, machining book will show: This is from Mechanical and Metal Trades Handbook, excellent and much better than Machinery's Handbook for real world use (but of course metric centric)
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Susquatch

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Yes, any decent, as in European, machining book will show: This is from Mechanical and Metal Trades Handbook, excellent and much better than Machinery's Handbook for real world use (but of course metric centric)

That's Awesome Gerrit! Thank you!

Love the euro shot! Why didn't I guess that was coming from someone! It also explains why I could not find a lot of such things. I need to crawl out from under my imperial rock a bit more often. Good 2024 goal.

Just Great - another book to lust after! Better than Machinery's Handbook eh.... That's a tall order and a very strong recommendation.
 

Susquatch

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@gerritv - it seems there are two versions of this book. Can you post a cover photo or the isbn number?
 

gerritv

Gerrit
Search for "metal trades handbook lehrmittel" on Abebooks. My ISBN is 978-3-8085-195-8 english version. Also available on Amazon.ca
 

Ironman

Ultra Member
I have this book in PDF format at 159 MB and it's too big to post here. I,ll do it if there is a way
 
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