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Speed,Combat,Scale,Racing => Speed Talk => Topic started by: Dennis Saydak on July 21, 2020, 05:16:11 PM

Title: Cutting Threads
Post by: Dennis Saydak on July 21, 2020, 05:16:11 PM
Guys, I have a Harters C/D speed pan that has three drilled holes that I need to tap for the hold down bolts. I don't have any actual cutting oil and I don't want to buy a gallon of the stuff just to do three holes. A buddy has some but he lives a long way from me and we haven't been able to connect for many months because of this virus situation.

What other oil can I use to tap the holes? Is any oil good enough for the job?
Title: Re: Cutting Threads
Post by: Mike Hazel on July 21, 2020, 05:40:30 PM
WD-40 works fine for me.  Plus the pressure from the container helps clear the chips and grindings.   ZZ
Title: Re: Cutting Threads
Post by: Tim Wescott on July 21, 2020, 06:17:50 PM
Any old oil works good enough for home shop use.  Unless you're tapping some really difficult metal like stainless, in which case you're out of luck anyway.

Super duper cutting oil is for when you're doing the work all the time.
Title: Re: Cutting Threads
Post by: Tom Vieira on July 22, 2020, 06:07:41 AM
standard household 3-in-1 oil works great, as does good ol engine oil.

in a production environment, i'd change my tune because you are counting on tap life.  for hobby purposes, you'll never notice the decrease.  In our case, it's there to keep the aluminum and mag from sticking to the tap, locking it in the hole and making for a very long day.  Don't sweat it, even some veggie oil or Crisco would do the trick in a pinch.

Speaking of Crisco (the white goop, not the liquid), it makes an excellent lapping compound when you're trying to get that last fraction of a micron out of something.  we use it all the time at work on machine components at work that are just a touch oversize for our assembly preferences.  Arm and Hammer toothpaste is also great if you need to be more aggressive with it.  Machine shop hacks 101 hahahaha
Title: Re: Cutting Threads
Post by: Ken Culbertson on July 22, 2020, 01:56:57 PM
Unless you are using a press or a drill to tap it which I don't recommend, anything slippery or for that matter nothing at all will work.  I have used dish soap.

Ken
Title: Re: Cutting Threads
Post by: Dennis Saydak on July 22, 2020, 05:17:35 PM
Thanks guys, I had 3 in 1 oil on hand and it worked really well. I'm now mad at myself for delaying my Twister project waiting for cutting oil. You can probably tell working with metal ain't my cup of tea.  ;D.
Title: Re: Cutting Threads
Post by: 944_Jim on July 22, 2020, 06:29:15 PM
Dennis,
I like the way you clamped the pan down. I'll need to remember that little trick the next time I have a piece requiring "massaging."
Oh, and while a little late, nice guitar! (Been running side open lately)