While tapping (hack n tap)... tap broke

So yeah, I know first thing everyone is going to say is that I rushed it, when honestly I've tapped several things before, and I was going very easy.

Maybe 360-540 degree turns
then all the way out
spray air into the hole & tap
then oil it up

Rinse + repeat

So now to the point, maybe half of it is sticking 1/3 inch out. How can I go about removing this without loosing the tap in.

Grab the end with a pair of vice grips and twist it back out....

poorboy_616 said:

Grab the end with a pair of vice grips and twist it back out....

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YEP

Wilton Tap Extractors also work well - they've got fingers that go into the flutes of the tap and turn it by the body. Check local MRO houses for them - or you can order them from outfits like MSC Direct.

I've got a few of the smaller ones. They have saved my arse on some projects - usually a project I need that someone else has broken a tap off into...

Well, I grabbed it with the vice grips but it broke almost instantly.

So tomorrow I will look for a tap extractor, it sounds like a great idea. Maybe my dad's neighbor might even have them.

in the off chance I can't get a hold of one, 5-90, would you be willing to help me out one of these days next week or Sunday? I'll bring a beer I'm in Tracy right now working on it, but I will be back in Fremont late tomorrow or Sunday morning.

Tenny said:

Well, I grabbed it with the vice grips but it broke almost instantly.

So tomorrow I will look for a tap extractor, it sounds like a great idea. Maybe my dad's neighbor might even have them.

in the off chance I can't get a hold of one, 5-90, would you be willing to help me out one of these days next week or Sunday? I'll bring a beer I'm in Tracy right now working on it, but I will be back in Fremont late tomorrow or Sunday morning.

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I got a spare (uncut) output shaft for a 231 if it'll help you out!
PM me if you want it,
Billy

Tenny said:

Well, I grabbed it with the vice grips but it broke almost instantly.

So tomorrow I will look for a tap extractor, it sounds like a great idea. Maybe my dad's neighbor might even have them.

in the off chance I can't get a hold of one, 5-90, would you be willing to help me out one of these days next week or Sunday? I'll bring a beer I'm in Tracy right now working on it, but I will be back in Fremont late tomorrow or Sunday morning.

Click to expand...

I'll be out of town next week. Besides, I don't have a tap extractor on hand that big (I'd have to order it, so you might as well) and Billy's offer sounds helpful as well. Failing all else, replace the shaft with Billy's, have the tap EDM'd out of the shaft it broke in, and then finish tapping (larger taps make larger chips - you should back it out to break them every 180-270*, if it's around 3/4"-1-1/2". Even less if it's larger - but up around that size, I usually prefer chucking it in a lathe anyhow...)

There are various MRO places in Santa Clara off of De La Cruz and in that area. And MSC's shipping is usually pretty quick, considering they're in New York (I think they have a warehouse in NV somewhere, tho.) You shouldn't have any trouble finding a tap extractor in the size and flute count you need and getting it in before the Fourth, I'd think.

The two things you need to know to select a tap extractor - what size, and how many flutes. Searching up "tap extractor" at MSC turned up just over a hundred hits, so they'll probably have you covered (www.mscdirect.com - if nothing else, you should have their catalogue on the shelf anyhow.)

You can also use a pencil grinder to drill a hole in the end of the tap, and then use an easy out to get it out. If the easy out won't work, you can continue to use the pencil grinder and collapse the tap from the inside out.

put something soft-ish as a buffer between metal-to-metal?

Well so far I was unable to find any store that carries a tap extractor. There is a MSC in Hayward, but I am not sure if they'd carry this. I tried calling them a few times but no answer (it is Saturday though).

I was looking at the screw removers and thinking that those might work, but regardless my dad's neighbor took off sometime while I was gone, so I am kind of waiting for him to get back. He has a ton of tools, and hopefully he will have this, as he always seems to have whatever I ask to borrow.

So far my options (it seems), some of these are from other places online:
Tap Extractor
Screw Out
Dremel a slot into it, and try using a screw driver.
Cut output shaft 1/4" more and then remove the tap (this worked for someone on jeepforum)
Destroy Tap (drill, pencil grinder, etc)

weld something onto it and use that as your moment arm. taps are hardened steel and are very brittle. i'm not surprised that when you grabbed it with vice grips it broke. never heard of a tap extractor, but if you find and use one let us know how it works. i wonder if the drill bit supplied with a HnT is a few thousandths too small for the tap size and that's what's causing so many people to break theirs. it's pretty hard to break a big tap...

Next time use carnuba instead of oil when you tap.

I just broke a 1/2"-13 tap doing the same thing. Luckily I was able to barely grab it with some vise grips and unscrew it. I also had enough threads already tapped, so it was ok.

Well I was able to get it out. I tried many things and many were unsuccessful, but I ended up getting some needle nose pliers, and shoved those in, and then used another set of pliers and grabbed as close to the tap as I could and twisted, took a long time, but it is out.

I have everything else done, except the drive shaft on. I was planning on using a front drive shaft, so I bought the Spicer 211229X, but I am having troubles on figuring out how to put it on... so I am searching the web right now if anyone happens to read this and know be sure to post