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Tag: Cutting Taps

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Tapping Tuesday – Tap Chamfer

Some time ago we published a blog entitled, "CUTTING TAP CHAMFER 101”.  It described what the chamfer’s purpose is, and what standard lengths are offered on off the shelf taps. They are Bottoming, Plug, and Taper. This blog builds on that information and goes into more depth so you can optimize the chamfer based on your application. Although we stock many common special taps with standard chamfer lengths, we can design and manufacture a special tap for your application. Optimizing the chamfer results in, longer tap life, reduced tapping torque, better finish, and make the difference

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Categories: Blog, Taps

Tap Drill Size for NPT & NPTF Taper Threads

Tap Drill Size for NPT and NPTF Taper Threads

You got the job. You ordered and received material. You ordered and received taps and gages from North American Tool. The job is now out in the shop to be manufactured and the first operation is to produce a hole before tapping. How do you determine what tooling to do that with?

Holes before tapping pipe threads are produced either straight or tapered. The choice of method is

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Categories: Blog, Taps, Uncategorized

Cutting Tap Chamfers 101

Most cutting taps are available in three chamfers. Taper, plug and bottom are how they are referred to in most of the current literature. Why do we choose one over the other and what are the advantages?

Unlike a drill or center cutting end mill, taps introduce the cutting edges by means of a chamfer. Drills are cutting on the tip (axial), center cutting end mills plunge (axial) then may traverse to cut radially on the workpiece. Most end mills are cutting on the radius, but they are to leave a “straight” or “smooth” finish.

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Categories: Blog, Taps

Cutting Taps vs. Forming Taps

A significant majority of the threads produced in manufacturing today are machined with cutting tools: typically taps and thread-mills for the internal threads, and threading dies and thread-mills for the external threads. These tools are the historical standard for this purpose and a familiar go-to for machinists. As machined materials and applications change with customer demand, alternatives for tooling follow suit. Although both cutting tools and forming tools produce essentially the same thread, and are gaged in the same manner, the requirements for their use, and results achieved, are in many ways different. 

Historically, internal threads were created by

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Categories: Blog, Taps
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