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Hand tap vs spiral flute tap for aluminum - night and day difference
I've been fighting with hand taps in 6061 aluminum for months, always breaking them and getting rough threads. Finally grabbed a set of spiral flute taps from McMaster-Carr last week, and man, the chips just flow right out instead of jamming up. For through holes in softer metals, I don't think I'll ever go back. Anyone else find a specific tap style that just clicked?
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stellat465d ago
Ah man, hell yeah. Spiral flute taps are a total game changer in aluminum, I swear by them now. Honestly, hand taps just bind up and snap because the chips got nowhere to go in a soft gummy metal like 6061. Tbh once you go spiral flute for through holes you'll never look back, it's that simple. Ngl I keep a set of spiral points too for blind holes and they work just as smooth.
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the_robin4d ago
Stripping out in blind holes is just frustration waiting to happen.
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