Model Engineering Exhibition @ Ally Pally

[irving2008]

You must be well equipped. I bought 1.125" x 12 taps and dies to match my Myford nose and tooling, then I had to go back to buy monster tap and die holders before I could use the blighters

:D Just used a 15" adjustabke spanner to turn the tap! I wasnt trying to create a new thread just clean up what was there...

I'll probably make a die holder on the mill now I'm nearly set up to use it...

One of the first things I might make is a 1.25"x12tpi (internal) to 1.5"x 8tpi (external) sleeve so I can use Boxford fittings... I can cut the external thread in situ on the lathe once I've tapped the internal...

[Robin Hewitt]

An adjustable?

You have no soul :D

[irving2008]

An adjustable?

You have no soul :D

I'm an engineer... I do what's pragmatic... and anyway what else would you turn a 1" square drive with? If I owned something as large as a 1" AF spanner I'd have used that!

When I use it in anger I'll have to make some sort of holder/carrier poss on an MT3 arbor to put in the mill spindle or an MT1 arbor to hold in the lathe tailstock. I'll clamp the new backplate on the faceplate to first bore then tap it, or do it vertically on the mill...

[Robin Hewitt]

My nose tap was a 3/4" shank, the 15" tap wrench to fit was not expensive and is now my firm favorite for as small as 8mm ISO. It also made 16mm threads a doddle, took all the effort out of it and put me back in control.

[irving2008]

Couldn't get 2 adjustables on there!

I did have a quick look for a big enough tap wrench but didnt see anything at a price I wanted to pay... new, they were quite a lot more expensive than the tap and dies together and he didnt have any s/hand ones... dont think there's much demand for such big wrenches.

But I will look for one on ebay i promise ;) to save my soul :D