http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Tap and die work? en Wed, 13 May 2026 02:49:12 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-30017 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:33:12 +0000 wingpig 30017@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This week LIDL appear to have more tools in the form of drill bit sets, screwdriver sets, variable pliers, screwdriver bit sets, wall-box organiser-tray things, toolkits, hose/Jubilee clips, trainer socks, arc welders and sack barrows.<br /> I'd only popped in to see if they still had the odd pannier sitting about but (from the choice above) can only really justify getting some more drill bits after losing, snapping or burring most of my last cheap set (bought in 1997). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27891 Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:15:20 +0000 chdot 27891@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chdot/5560672359"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5029/5560672359_116afbbec6.jpg"></a><br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chdot/5560673377"><br /> <img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5266/5560673377_8d811b6974.jpg"><br /> </a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27740 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:05 +0000 LaidBack 27740@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><strong>Dave</strong> <em>shifts crisply enough between 50 and 70t</em></p> <p>That's an impressive jump. Though I had a bike that did 39 to 60t - a 21t step! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27723 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:48:35 +0000 chdot 27723@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Might one enquire how this tool is put to use on or around the bike frame?"</p> <p>Basic - mudguard eyes - paint, gunge or metric instead of BA - sometimes thread for first time. </p> <p>I also have some nice brakes where the adjuster screw has seized and broken off. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27721 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:27:46 +0000 recombodna 27721@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ooooh calipers look good... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27719 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:21:35 +0000 wingpig 27719@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Erm. You could tap yourself some extra bottle-attachment points, if you don't mind weakening the frame <strike>a wee bit</strike> considerably?<br /> I'm going to use mine to chase out the gunged thread on the tension-adjusting thing on my front brake. Might also be useful when constructing myself an Ortlieb-defeating quick-release light-holding handlebar-addendum. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27713 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:10:46 +0000 kaputnik 27713@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Might one enquire how this tool is put to use on or around the bike frame? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27712 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:07:11 +0000 chdot 27712@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>18</p> <p><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5263/5556102042_9fc5f684b9.jpg"> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27699 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:16:24 +0000 wingpig 27699@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>19 left in Dairy after I take mine. Lots of calipers left, too. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27679 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:52:25 +0000 wingpig 27679@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Almost forgot. I'll be heading to Dalry shortly and popping past either Granton and Leith or Craigmillar and Musselburgh on the way home if unsuccessful. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27673 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:34:21 +0000 chdot 27673@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ooops</p> <p>Nicholson Street Lidl is now 'food only'.</p> <p>Can't get to another store before about 2.30 - how are stocks?? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27319 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:39:38 +0000 Dave 27319@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Interestingly the original impetus for this project has largely evaporated, since my bike shifts crisply enough between 50 and 70t chainrings without outside DIY assistance :-| </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27304 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:41:56 +0000 recombodna 27304@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>No workshop's complete without one! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27302 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:35:46 +0000 Dave 27302@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Good spot! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27283 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:26:51 +0000 steveo 27283@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm not sure why <em>I need</em> a tap and die set but i <em>know</em> i need one... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-27280 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:18:00 +0000 wingpig 27280@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><blockquote><em>"I can confirm that the LIDL tap and die set for £5.99 is £5.99 well spent."</em></blockquote></p> <p>It's back on <a href="http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_19203.htm">Thursday</a>, though now for £6.99. Still worth getting? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21691 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:16:16 +0000 ruggtomcat 21691@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>as a cutting fluid iron bru works well, if a little smelly. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21690 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:11:33 +0000 steveo 21690@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>3-1 would probably be better than bike lube.</p> <p>Actually i'm not really sure why i say that its just a hunch. 3in1 is cheaper though.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21686 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:44:21 +0000 Dave 21686@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>OK - so it sounds possible. I even have a spare worn chainring or two to experiment on first!</p> <p>I was thinking M4 as the chainring is quite bulky - it's a 70 toother and weighs about 350g! </p> <p>Can you not just use chain oil as a lubricant, or is that a terrible idea?</p> <p>I did previously have reasonable results shifting up onto the ring as it is, but it was more temperamental than I'd have liked. It's a big jump from 50 to 70 teeth! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21683 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:05:41 +0000 recombodna 21683@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I can confirm that the lidl tap and die set for £5.99 is £5.99 well spent. Santa gave me one for christmas and it works well in 8mm flat bar steel so chain rings should be no probs. Engineers drill bits are what you need....go to wilkinsons in arthur st.</p> <p>"A proper tapping wrench doesn't use a collet chuck anyway, but two v-clamps and a leadscrew. You don't get those in Lidl"</p> <p>The set I got did......... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21682 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:49:18 +0000 Arellcat 21682@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>A spanner is not going to let you apply force to two sides at the one time...</em></p> <p>Hand tapping by its very nature relies on precise alignment of tap and pilot hole. Of course you can't put a spanner on the end of a tap and just crank on it; it takes much more care and attention to apply torque <em>and</em> compensate for the tendency for lateral movement. I've been doing this stuff for years. :-)</p> <p>A proper tapping wrench doesn't use a collet chuck anyway, but two v-clamps and a leadscrew. You don't get those in Lidl! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21679 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:34:19 +0000 gembo 21679@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>LIDL were selling a tap and die set for £5.99 - no idea of quality, I believe likely to be inferior but cheap. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21677 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:00:47 +0000 wee folding bike 21677@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em> My tapping wrench though was one of the cheap collet chuck designs and died a while ago, but my 5" adjustable spanner works better in some cases.</em></p> <p>A spanner is not going to let you apply force to two sides at the one time which Vic (of Vic's Tools, Dumbarton Rd, Partick) said was important. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21674 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:36:14 +0000 Arellcat 21674@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have a tap and die set. I'm quite pleased actually because my lost M5 tap turned up today. My tapping wrench though was one of the cheap collet chuck designs and died a while ago, but my 5" adjustable spanner works better in some cases.</p> <p>I imagine that for creating chainring shift pins you'd want M3, possibly M4, since the machine screw heads will need to be quite small. I'm not sure if I still have my M3 tap or not. The process for tapping a thread in metal is quite straightforward but precise and relies heavily on feeling the tap biting and tightening. I've broken off too many taps in blind holes to be slapdash about it! But in a chainring you have only a small thickness of material to work with, so that risk is pretty small. You also need to have the right size of drill to create the pilot hole. In aluminium, and in a thin section, you can fudge it a wee bit more. M3 will take a 2.5mm bit; M4 will use 3.2mm (Edit: strictly speaking it's 3.3mm, but you never see that size in DIY multisets).</p> <p>The rule of thumb for hand tapping, once the tap is engaged, is half a turn of cutting, then a quarter turn of reverse to clear swarf, repeat, rinse as required, and use cutting paste. In a pinch you can use lithium or moly grease, and if cutting into nylon or glass-filled nylon, you often don't need any lubricant. On a lathe or machining centre you can constantly douse the workpiece with cutting fluid and just keep on turning.</p> <p>Given the small thickness and resultingly few turns of thread (M3 pitch is 0.5mm, remember), you might also want a dash of threadlocking compound to ensure it doesn't back itself out. Loctite 243 usually covers most bases. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2052#post-21645 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:44:35 +0000 Dave 21645@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I read today of an interesting bit of DIY where someone made custom chainring shifting pins by drilling holes in the chainring, tapping them, putting in a small screw and then filing the screw down.</p> <p>I'd like to give this a bash on a spare ring but I don't know the first thing about tapping (nor do I want to spend a fortune on equipment for something that might not work!</p> <p>Can anybody help? </p>