A Thread On Tapping

AquariusPanta said:
Are the screws you've been using self-tapping, meaning the threads are angled and sharp?

I considered a similar approach but wanted to test out my mechanical abilities with the tap wrench. Drilling the hole takes a long time for me, while the tapping process is much quicker.

Looks like the Kapton tape will be getting benched for future COB mounting; the stuff I have is no good with EZ PicoMate cords.
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if you can afford it try to invest in drill press, around $80 for a nice one on amazon etc. Not just for taps but they come in handy for many things. They drill slow and straight, and bits last much longer. Hand drills I always used to break those small bits due to my unsteady hands and high speeds lol. RPM is slower but it cuts through alum like butter and drills the holes in a few seconds.
 
I never tap by hand, it takes way to much time. I use two drills one with a tap one with a drill. I drill all holes than tap all holes takes MAYBE 20 sec. A hole.

I've been a tool and die maker for some time and work to +/- .0002 on a daily basis so all this stuff isssecond nature.

always use kerosene on aluminum and bacon fat actually works amazing on harder metals.

if anyone ever needs any help with machine or or anything similar just pm me. Or if you need to borrow a certain tool or want a specific size. I have all drills and taps, reamers, dies, endmills in carbide and hss. Also do tons of manual machine work via lathe, mill, jig borer, surface grinder and cnc with the same and much more.

if anyone needs any type of machine work done and don't mind paying shipping i can do anything you guys need, having access to $300,000 5 axis mills are amazing along with the water jets and wire machines.
 
I just tapped 8 more blind M3 holes and 8 more M4 through holes using the dewalt cordless adjustable speed with clutch and I've just gotta say, I can't really see the point of using a hand chuck if you have one of these. (and who the hell doesn't these days?)

With the clutch set to 1 (the lowest setting), you can basically floor the trigger without breaking the bit or the threads. It's practically idiot proof. In some, out some, in some, out some... in some, all the way out... Zero issue.. and I can't see why I'd ever want to use a hand tap for this.

Having 2 cordless, variable speed drills, with clutch, is so handy regardless so you don't have to switch bits as often. Yellow drill holds the drill bit, then blue drill holds the tap! (or even better, drilling with a drill press..)
 
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Yeah the tap wrench may be a little old school but it takes like 45 seconds to tap small holes. I tapped over 13 holes without breaking the 4-40 tap and I'm new at it.

I'll have to try out your method Church next time I'm mounting COBs (it may be a long time before then after building my last fixture).
 
churchhaze said:
I just tapped 8 more blind M3 holes and 8 more M4 through holes using the dewalt cordless adjustable speed with clutch and I've just gotta say, I can't really see the point of using a hand chuck if you have one of these. (and who the hell doesn't these days?)

With the clutch set to 1 (the lowest setting), you can basically floor the trigger without breaking the bit or the threads. It's practically idiot proof. In some, out some, in some, out some... in some, all the way out... Zero issue.. and I can't see why I'd ever want to use a hand tap for this.

Having 2 cordless, variable speed drills, with clutch, is so handy regardless so you don't have to switch bits as often. Yellow drill holds the drill bit, then blue drill holds the tap! (or even better, drilling with a drill press..)
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That's almost exactly what I did...Drilling and tapping intimidated me for some reason but it was super easy. Ordered some $6 combo drill and tap on amazon, used a center punch, eyeballed plumb on my drill, used wd-40 and drilled right in producing a satisfying spiral sliver. Then I kinda just did the same thing with the tap on my drill...easy peasy
 
Imo if your going to buy tools buy good tools. HF is good for some things. Drills press and lathes are NOT one of them. I remember a buddy of mine nought a lathe and couldn't hold .005 tolerance on a piece which is just said since with mine I hold it to .002 then heat treat and surface grind or jigbore to .0001
 
Red1966 said:
Almost anything will work. Just be sure to remove all traces of it before attaching the cob
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More recently, I've been using the center of a small gear/pulley puller. It's basically just a giant screw with a very hard point... Perfect for smashing!

www.amazon.com/TEKTON-5696-Gear-Puller-3-Piece/dp/B000NPT698

711-y6yeY3L._SL1500_.jpg
 
Not much to ad, but wanted to mention that small drill presses can be found for well under $100. They're not powerful but plenty strong for drilling initial holes into aluminum. I originally started with a hand drill and screwed a few holes up and that's why I started looking around for presses.
 
AquariusPanta said:
Are the screws you've been using self-tapping, meaning the threads are angled and sharp?

I considered a similar approach but wanted to test out my mechanical abilities with the tap wrench. Drilling the hole takes a long time for me, while the tapping process is much quicker.

Looks like the Kapton tape will be getting benched for future COB mounting; the stuff I have is no good with EZ PicoMate cords.
Click to expand...
AP, can you give details on why kapton tape doesn't work with Pico mate connectors for the Veros. Thanks
 
lostenspacecadet said:
AP, can you give details on why kapton tape doesn't work with Pico mate connectors for the Veros. Thanks
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Hello Cadet and welcome to the forum!

Just to be clear, I never said it doesn't work, but rather said it was no good, implicitly stating that it wouldn't work for my configuration.

Without testing it for myself. I assumed that by attaching and reattaching the pico mate to the Vero, that it would create some tension between the bonding of the tape and COB itself, thus resulting in the COB wiggling around overtime, an undesirable outcome in my view.

Plus the appearance of the tape looks terrible. If I'm going to spend all this money buying parts, time learning about what parts work best, and effort to assemble my own COB fixtures, I want the setups looking presentable and not tacky.

Everyone has preferences, alongside standards, and I respect that fact.
 
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