How to Become a

Professional at

Threading

DIY SERIES

How to Become a Professional 3

at Threading

How To Salvage a Disaster Job 10

Table of Contents

How to Become a Professional at Threading

We all, at some time in our lives,

have stripped out a bolt or nut. Okay,

so now you feel you have a big

problem that you cannot solve no

matter how much time and effort you

have put forth. You have called your

closest friends and still there is no

answer to your problem. Slowly but

surely the realization sets in that you

are going to have to call a professional

in the area in which you are having a

problem. As the realization becomes

more evident, so does a sick feeling in

your stomach because you know there

has to be a simple way to fix this if

TAP AND DIE

only you knew what it was. You call

the professional and he has to make

room for you in his schedule. So, you

wait a few days and finally he shows

up to fix the problem. He fixes the

problem so fast that it makes your head

spin. He then charges you an outra-

geous fee and you reluctantly pay him.

Don’t you wish you could have

avoided all this time, effort and money?

Well, here is the good news, you can do

anything you want to do and with a

little help from articles like these and

the right tools at your disposal, you can

MASONRY DRILL BITS

do it quite easily.

Such is the case when it comes to

threading. We all, at some time in our

lives, have stripped out a bolt or nut.

This happens when a bolt is threaded in

the wrong way into a nut. This is also

known as cross-threading. Or you are

tightening down on a bolt and you put

just a little too much torque and the

head of the bolt snaps off and your left

with part of the bolt in the piece with

which you are working.

What kind of tool can save this day?

Enter the tap and die set. This is a tool

TAP AND DIE

that has a history of centuries behind it

and it can rescue this project previously

doomed for destruction. But just how

does the tap and die set work?

The tap is used to thread the female

portion of a joint and the die is used to

thread the male portion of the joint.

To use the tap and die is very

simple. First, if you have a need of

threading the female portion, drill a

hole just a little smaller than the

diameter needed for your bolt.

You then insert the tap using a

specially constructed handle that comes

MASONRY DRILL BITS

with the set. Apply a little bit of

synthetic lubricating oil to the threads

and slowly begin to turn the handle.

Be careful to make sure the handle

is perfectly vertical to the piece you are

threading. With a little practice you

will become a pro at no time at all.

The die part is used to thread the

bolt or male portion of the joint. Again

buy a rod that is slightly smaller than

the desired diameter and use the other

handle supplied with the set and slowly

begin to twist the die down on the rod.

As you do this, the die cuts threads into

TAP AND DIE

the rod.

As you can see, a tap and die set is

very easy to use and although primarily

used with metal, a tap and die can be

used on other materials as well.

However, if you are working with

concrete it is advised that you use

masonry drill bits instead as they are

more successful with concrete.

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How To Salvage a

Disaster Job

Okay, you are working and on your

car and there is this bolt that is being

stubborn and will not exit no matter

what you have tried. So, you get a

larger ratchet and or maybe a pipe to

help you create more leverage to make

the bolt exit by force. Well, too much

force is exerted and the bolt breaks

with half of the shaft still in the part

you with which you are working. Now

you have a mess.

This is where a lot of people will call

a professional mechanic and pay a lot

of money to have the mechanic fix a

TAP AND DIE

problem that could have been easily

solved if you had the proper equip-

ment. What proper equipment is that? A

problem like this can be easily solved

with a tap and die set.

So, now you have this big problem

but how does this tap and die set fix

your mess? First, you get a regular

twist drill bit with a dependable drill. It

is recommended that if you have access

to a drill press to use this machine for

this job.

A drill press will give you more con-

sistency both with speed and direction.

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With a drill press you do not have to

worry about drilling at a wrong angle

and permanently messing up the part.

So you drill the stud or shaft out of the

part. It is important to use a drill bit of

the exact diameter needed.

Now, that you have a hole suitable

for the job, it is time to go to next step.

There are two parts of the tap and die

set. The tap is used to thread the female

potion or “nut” of the threading process

and the die is used to thread the male

portion or “bolt.” After a hole has been

made of the proper diameter, insert the

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tap into the hole with the “T” handle

attached to the shaft of the tap. Turn the

tap ever so slowly and carefully.

Remember you are cutting threads

into the metal and if you do this wrong

you will have to start the process all

over again and you will have to use a

larger bolt.

As you turn the tap make sure the

shaft of the tap is perfectly vertical to

the piece of equipment in which the

work is being done. It is recommended

that you use a synthetic cutting oil to

lubricate the tap as it cuts into the

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the metal.

When you get to the desired depth

slowly reverse the action and back the

tap out of the hole. Really that is all

there is to it. The “die” part of the

process will be discussed in another

article.

Not only will a tap and die set get

you out of a mess; if you need a brand

new hole and wish to thread it for use

with a bolt, you can use a metal hole

saw to drill a hole in the metal and then

follow up with the tap.

A metal hole saw is a perfect way

TAP AND DIE

to drill a perfect hole in wood or metal.

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For more information about how to use a

tap and die or how they work with masonry drill bits,

please check out

www.hermanscentral.com