Manual Tapping Machine

[russell]

I made one similar to that described at mikesworkshop from an old Dremel drill stand about seven or eight years ago and haven't broken a tap (down to 12 BA or 1.3 mm in new money) since then.

Russell.

[Tenson]

I'd like to do some M5 thread tapping with my cordless drill. It has the option to gear-down for slower, high torque applications so seem suitable.

In this case do you think it is better to use a spiral tap bit typical for automated tapping, or just go with the usual hand-tapping bits?

If someone is kind enough to send me a little block of steel (see classifieds), I plan to make a guide to start the thread at a nice right-angle.