Quote Originally Posted by Davek0974 View Post
I have a tapping head, TapMatic SPD5 - http://www.tapmatic.co.uk/products/p_12.php

It's a self-reversing unit in mint condition.

But it was for a manual machine - you feed in to a quill depth stop, the thread pulls the tap down which disengages the clutch then you pull up which engages reverse and the tap screws out. You need to pull up slightly more than the thread pitch in order to keep reverse engaged.

Now, I don't have rigid tapping, probably never will on this machine, so is it possible to create the feeds/retracts to use this device in CNC or not?

Or, other options?

Yes you can, but you need to figure out the depth you are going to end with. I had trouble with Vertex job.

Personally I prefer the tread milling approach. Quicker and cleaner.