Best TAP & DIE Set? Craftsman vs Irwin, Bosch, Draper, Vermont American, Tekton, GearWrench

a good tapping die set has helped me many times so the question is is that twenty dollar tap and die set just as good as the one that cost two hundred and thirty dollars let's find out in the first test we'll see which brand makes easiest work of tapping half inch aluminum then we'll see which brand delivers the best thread tolerances we'll see which dies perform the best making all thread finally we'll see which tap survives from spring steel at a price of only 20 the least expensive brand we'll be testing is made by pittsburgh and sold at harbor freight lifetime warranty made of carbon steel heat treated and hardened precision ground cuts and renews external and internal threads to exacting standards include 17 taps 17 dies adjustable tap wrench t-handle tap wrench adjustable die wrench screwdriver screw pitch gauge the pittsburgh is made in china the pittsburgh tap weighs 14.19 grams and the die weighs 21.38 let's kick off our first test to see how the taps compare on some half inch aluminum i'll first drill 30 holes using the recommended twist drill size of 1764. i'll use some cutting oil throughout this test that we previously tested in another video i'll start the harbor freight pittsburgh tap in the drill press just to make sure the tap is perfectly aligned with the hole i'll be using the adapter out of the irwin set to hold the taps i'll also be using a torque adapter to keep track of how much torque it takes to drive in the tap the torque adapter does reset if i let off the torque but the torque measurements are stored in memory and the pittsburgh had no problem cutting through the soft aluminum and the torque peaked at 114 inch pounds on the first hole and it took a little bit more torque on the second hole with a torque adapter peaking at 125 inch pounds or 11 inch pounds more than the first hole and the pittsburgh performed nearly the same on a third hole as it did on the first hole with the torque peaking at 115 inch pounds so the pittsburgh tab averaged 118 inch pounds let's use a nut and a bolt as our control we'll first check the fit of the nut and bolt and then we'll compare it to the tap threads there's very little slop with the nut and the bolt they're both threaded very easily into the pittsburgh tapped hole but unfortunately there's a very loose fit with quite a bit of movement at a price of 57 is this 12 piece vermont american tappan dye set when i ordered the tap and die set i thought it was made in usa but it's made in china drill size laser marked on taps fully heat treated and tempered taps for long life the 12-piece set includes 12 taps and 12 dies size one-quarter inch all the way up to a half inch a tap wrench and a die stock the tap and die set for the vermont american is quite a bit heavier than the pittsburgh at 20.84 grams for the tap and 26.32 for the die and the vermont american made very easy work with a half inch aluminum cutting threads and only reaching 60 inch pounds of torque or about half the torque of the pittsburgh once again the vermont american made very easy work of the aluminum and performed nearly the same as the first set of threads at 59 inch pounds tapping the third set of threads took a little bit more effort than the first two 69 inch pounds for an average of 60. threading in the bolt was just as effortless as the pittsburgh just like the pittsburgh there's quite a bit of movement with the bolt at a price of 60 dollars is this 14-piece erwin hanson set includes five taps and five dies sizes one quarter to three-eighths performance threading system self-aligning tap and die set the tap start straight we're going to test that made of high carbon steel for hand threading applications and a variety of materials alignment plate for straight starts every time versatile base can be driven with die stock 3 8 inch ratchet or t handle the die lock eliminates set screws with a simple twist to insert and remove die includes a very nice carrying case the tabs and dies are made in usa the drive tools are made in china the irwin tap weighs 20.73 grams and the die weighs 39.94 which is by far the heaviest yet just like the vermont american the irwin made very easy work of the aluminum only reaching 62 inch pounds on the first set of threads the irwin performed nearly the same on a second set of threads at 63 inch pounds and it took slightly more torque on the third set of threads at 71 inch pounds so 65 inch pounds on average or 2 inch pounds more than the vermont american and the irwin has by far the best fit yet far less movement with the bolt compared to the pittsburgh and the vermont american at a price of 105 dollars for just 24 pieces is this sentry drill and tool tap and die set on the inside of the case is a very helpful chart which shows the size of the twist drill needed in order to use the tap heat treated and tempered for file hard threads and longer life the plug style tap is the most commonly used style of tap three to five threads chamfered at tip 75 thread engagement the century brand is made in japan the century tap weighs 19.16 and the die was 27.57 grams driving this entry tap through the aluminum was nearly effortless on the first hole at only 43 inch pounds the second set of threads took a little bit more effort but still less torque compared to the pittsburgh and vermont american and the irwin at only 57 inch pounds and the third set of threads took the most torque yet of the three at 60 inch pounds so the sentry moves into the lead at only 53 inch pounds on average the sentry offers a little bit better fit compared to the pittsburgh and the vermont american but there's still quite a bit more play compared to the irwin also at a price of 105 the same price as a century brand is this tekken brand however instead of just getting 24 pieces you get 45. harden tungsten alloy high speed steel construction these taps and dies will cut mild carbon and alloy steel stainless steel cast iron aluminum brass and bronze tapered coarse and fine threads start easily and prevent over threading 3 4 five and even six flute taps and dies for hand threading applications unfortunately looks like they forgot to cut the threads in the die the tecton brand is made in china the text in tap weighs 14.7 grams and the die weighs 74.86 driving the tecton tap required more torque than most of the other brands tapping the first set of threads at 70 inch pounds tapping the second set of threads took nearly the same amount of torque as the first at 69 inch pounds tapping the third set of threads took more torque than the first two at 90 inch pounds so the texting required 76 inch pounds on average and the amount of slop with the tecton seems very close to the same as the sentry tap at a price of 130 is this bosch 40 piece tap and die set rolled threads delivers more accuracy and are cleaner than machine threads heat treated carbon steel provides superior durability and speed commonly used for threading rods bolts and studs the bosch is made in china the bosch tap weighs 21.32 grams and 26.34 for the die tapping the first set of threads with the bosch required 70 inch pounds of torque about the same as the tecton just like detecting the bosch did better on the second set of threads at 57 inch pounds tapping the third hole required the least amount of torque of the 3 and 55 inch pounds so the bosch averaged 61 inch pounds the amount of side to side movement seems slightly better compared to the tecton at a price of 134 dollars is this draper 52-piece combination tap and die set unfortunately the draper kit doesn't have a 5 16 with an 18 thread pitch but it does include a 24 thread pitch definitely not a perfect apples to apples comparison but let's test it anyway i'm not entirely sure what the draper set is made but i believe it's made in europe made of high carbon steel supplied with the correct drill bits for tapping manufactured to eu standards the draper tap weighs 14.71 grams and the die weighs 21.52 and the draper made very easy work of tapping the threads at only 39 inch pounds the least amount of torque yet and the draper did even better tapping the second hole at only 33 inch pounds and it took the draper 38 inch pounds on the third hole for an average of 37 inch pounds and the draper definitely has the least amount of slot but then again it's not really an apples to apples comparison with a 24 thread pitch tap at a price of 144 dollars is this 77 piece gearwrench brand ratcheting tee handles wine dies with a 5 degree arc and have a reversing lever to eliminate hand over hand turning twist lock guide system reduces walk back of the die guide and keeps the dies centered while cutting die adapters work with a 3 8 inch drive pass-through ratchet and socket system as well as socket accessories auto locking feature allow for the tap adapters to be removed safely packaged in taiwan with goods from taiwan and china the gearwrench tap is the lightest yet at 13.45 grams and the dies about average at 26.43 and the gearwrench needed less torque than average to cut the threads on the first hole at only 56 inch pounds the gear inch required slightly more torque on the second hole at 68 inch pounds which is about average for the different brands and the gearwrench only needed 56 inch pounds to cut the threads on the third hole so the gearwrench averaged 60 inch pounds and moves into second place behind the sentry brand compared to most of the other brands the gearwrench seems to have done a very good job with very little side to side play and the most expensive kit we'll be testing at 221 dollars is this craftsman 75 piece tap and die set combines inch and metric sizes in one convenient kit hex-shaped dies permit use of sockets and wrenches as well as die stocks hardened precision ground and polished carbon steel surfaces make chip removal easy rust resistant satin finish for smooth cuts with less friction we're going to test that the craftsman set is made in china the craftsman tap is also very light at 13.64 grams and the die weighs 26.07 for the taps with an 18 thread pitch the craftsman required the least amount of torque yet at only 42 inch pounds on the first hole and a craftsman needed right at 42 inch pounds again on the second hole to cut the threads and a craftsman needed right at 52 inch pounds to cut the threads on the third hole so the craftsman average 45 inch pounds the least amount of torque for the taps that have an 18 thread pitch the craftsman also seems to have very close to the same amount of side to side movement as the irwin the torque it takes to cut threads is just one indicator of tap quality and sharpness and the draper with a 24 thread pitch came in on top at 37 inch pounds on average comparing the brands with an 18 thread pitch though the craftsman came in on top at 45 inch pounds sentry 53 gear rinse 60 and boss 61. let's compare the taps as they cut through some quarter inch 4140 which is a lot harder than aluminum but only half the thickness at a quarter inch just like the first test i'll start the taps in the drill press to make sure that the tap is perfectly aligned with the hole i'll use a larger torque adapter just in case more torque is needed and the pittsburgh needed 122 inch pounds or four inch pounds more on average to tap the quarter inch steel compared to the half inch aluminum so let's measure the side to side play using a feeler gauge using a nut to serve as our control 1.18 millimeters of side to side movement the pittsburgh is on the left and the nut is on the right the pittsburgh has 2.93 millimeters of side to side movement or nearly three times as much as the nut the vermont america needed less than half the torque compared to the pittsburgh at only 55 inch pounds to tap the threads unfortunately there's slightly more movement at 3.18 millimeters compared to only 2.92 for the pittsburgh and the irwin required even less torque than the vermont american and only 49-inch pounds and the irwin only has 1.28 millimeters of side to side travel which is nearly as good as the nut very impressive the sentry needed one pound less than the irwin at 48 inch pounds to tap the threads does have more side to side movement compared to the irwin at 1.55 millimeters the tekken needed 21 more inch pounds of torque to tap the threads compared to the century at 67 inch pounds however the tekken has the same amount of side to side movement as the sentry at 1.55 millimeters the bosch needed 49 inch pounds of torque to tap the threads and the bosch moves into second place behind the irwin with the least amount of side to side play at only 1.5 millimeters definitely not an apples to apples comparison with a 24 thread pitch but the draper only needed 35 inch pounds to tap the threads as you'd expect with a 24 thread pitch there's very little side to side travel at only 0.63 millimeters and the gear wrench only needed 43 inch pounds of torque to cut the threads or slightly less than the century the gearwrench moves into second place with only 1.45 millimeters of side to side movement and the craftsman needed the least amount of torque yet at only 40 inch pounds to cut the threads and the craftsman barely edges out the irwin to move into first place with only 1.23 millimeters of side to side movement very impressive once again the draper came in on top with 35 inch pounds of torque for the 24 thread pitch tap the craftsman came in on top for the brands with an 18 thread pitch at 40 inch pounds gearwrench 43 century 48 and irwin and bosch 49 inch pounds an even better indicator of thread tap performance is the bolt fit and the craftsman came out on top with only 1.23 millimeters of side to side movement the irwin did nearly as well at 1.28 gear inch 1.45 and bosch 1.5 millimeters let's test the dies next using this low carbon steel 5 16 inch rod the rods are right at 18 inches in length before we test out the dies let's thread it in a bolt to see if the taps take away any good material from a new bolt with the pittsburgh it took 17 inch pounds to drive in a new bolt and the dye removed the zinc plating from the bolt to test the dies i'll be using a drill and a torque adapter to rotate the steel rod i'll apply cutting oil to the die as well as a steel rod we'll see how much thread we can make before the die gives up beginning with the pittsburgh brand and the pittsburgh made about an inch and a half thread before it gave up and began shredding the rod and the torque reached 231 inch pounds during the test unfortunately the nut fits very loosely on the portion of the threads made by the pittsburgh there's also quite a bit of damage to the threads on the leading edge of the flutes 12 inch pounds of torque for the vermont american tap and it removed most of the zinc plating from the bolt and the vermont american performed a lot better than the pittsburgh lasting 13.5 inches and only needing 134 inch pounds of torque in fairness to the vermont american the dye wrench prevented the chips from escaping and that probably contributed to the failure of the dye the nut is very loose on all the threads and there's quite a bit of damage to the die the bolt threaded into the irwin with very little resistance at only four inch pounds and the zinc plating was not removed and the irwin started off great but it suddenly came to a stop at 413 inch pounds after about two inches the irwin die only allows chips to escape from one side of the die the die wrench partially blocks chips from escaping on the other side so unfortunately the buildup of chips caused some damage to the die i went ahead and removed the damaged die from the die wrench and still managed to cut another 12 inches of thread before the irwin gave up at 148 inch pounds there's very little side to side movement with the irwin at 1.9 millimeters compared to 4.71 for the vermont american and the torque adapter didn't measure any torque to drive the new bolt and the sentry survived the entire test with a peak torque of 166 inch pounds however there's 4.13 millimeters of side to side movement with the century there's a small amount of visible wear to the die but is still in good shape unfortunately the tecton die with the 18 thread pitch wasn't properly machined so i'll go ahead and test a 24 thread pitch die i was able to thread the bolt into the tecton die by hand and detected made it 14.5 inches of thread before stripping out the threads and giving up the torque topped out at 181 inch pounds the tecton actually did a pretty good job and there's very little side to side movement there's a small amount of visible wear to the die but is still in good shape and it took 39 inch pounds to thread the bolt with the bosch die and the bosch removed the zinc coating and the boss survived the entire test with a peak torque of 143 inch pounds there's 4.13 millimeters of side to side movement and there's some damage to the die and the new bolt easily threaded into the 24 pitch die by hand and the draper survived the test and the torque peaked at 160 inch pounds unfortunately the nut is pretty loose on the threads however the die is in pretty good shape with a small amount of doling to the leading edge of the flutes the new bolt threaded into the gearwrench tap at 29 inch pounds and the gearwrench survived the entire test with a peak torque at 111 inch pounds the least amount of torque yet and the side to side movement with the gear wrench is very close to the same as the irwin at 2.25 millimeters the die is still in really good shape it took 19 inch pounds to thread the bolt into the craftsman die and the craftsman survived the entire test and did nearly the same as the gear wrench at only 110 inch pounds the amount of side to side movement is also very similar to gear wrench at 2.1 millimeters the die is still in really good shape in fairness to all the brands this was a durability test designed to accelerate wear five of the nine brands survived the entire test unfortunately the dye wrenches for some of the brands such as the irwin prevented adequate chip removal this caused damage to the die and really hurt the performance out of all the dies with a thread pitch of 18 the irwin came out on top and only 1.9 millimeters of side to side movement the craftsman performed nearly as well at 2.1 and gearwrench 2.25 millimeters and the final test let's see which of the taps can survive threading some very hard half-inch spring steel while attempting to drive the pittsburgh tap i broke the irwin tap holder and had to switch over to the gearwrench tap holder and the pittsburgh survived the test but it did take a lot of torque to get the job done at 358 inch pounds unfortunately there's a lot of damage to the pittsburgh tap after it came into contact with the spring steel and the vermont american survived this task and it took a lot less effort compared to the pittsburgh at only 182 inch pounds the vermont american did experience quite a bit of wear but not as much as the pittsburgh and the irwin survived the test and made very easy work of tapping the hole at only 120 inch pounds very impressive and there is some visible wear to the irwin tap but it's in better shape than the pittsburgh and the vermont american just like the irwin the century made very easy work of the spring steel at 129 inch pounds just like the irwin the sentry held up really well with only very minor wear and it took quite a bit more effort to tap the threads with the tecton the shaft on the tecton tap has a lot smaller diameter than most of the other brands and unfortunately it broke at 202 inch pounds and there's pretty significant wear as well as damage to the tecton tap and the bosch required quite a bit more force than the irwin and century at 250 inch pounds there's also quite a bit more wear to the bosch compared to the irwin and the century and the 24 thread pitch draper tap performed very well at 162 inch pounds of torque however the tap did experience quite a bit of wear and it took quite a bit of effort to drive the gearwrench tap at 233 inch pounds the gearings did perform very well on the aluminum and medium hardness steel but the spring steel did cause quite a bit of wear compared to the gear wrench the craftsman took quite a bit less effort at 183 inch pounds the craftsman also held up much better than the gearwrench with minimal wear to the leading edge of the flutes so the irwin required the least amount of torque at 120 inch pounds but the sensory did nearly as well at 129. draper with a 24 thread pitch did well at 162 vermont american 182 and craftsman 183 inch pounds so which brand is the overall best that's a really tough one to call in my opinion the irwin is probably slightly better than the craftsman but then again the craftsman performed extremely well both the irwin as well as the craftsman provided very tight tolerances which is exactly what i want at least when it comes to tapping some threads all the videos in this channel including this one are viewer suggested so if you have a video idea i hope you take time to leave a comment thanks so much for watching please take care and look forward to next time

Channel: Project Farm

Views: 1,790,657

Keywords: Tap & Die, Best Tap & Die, Tap & Die Set, Best Tap & Die Set, Tap and Die, Best Tap and Die, Tap and Die Set, Tap & Die comparison, Tap and die comparison, tap and die shootout, tap & die shootout, craftsman tap & die review, irwin tap & die review, GearWrench tap & Die review, Draper tap & Die review, Bosch tap & die review, bosch tap & die review, tekton tap & die review, century tap & die review, project farm tap & die review, project farm thread tap review

Id: lE346z7HOnk

Length: 17min 15sec (1035 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 13 2022