Good Tap wrenches

I have never in my life owned or used a tap handle/wrench that I liked. Maybe that is why I hate tapping. What are the best tap wrenches out there? I do not want anything cast...thats out of the question. I want something hardened, I want something will hold the tap firmly until I WANT TO RELEASE IT and not before. I want to take it to my grave. I want to be able to place in on a the railroad tracks and let it get run over and still be usable. Do you get my drift...who in the world makes good machinist hand tools any more?

I like Starrett tap wrenches and t-handles. Not that I like tapping either, but when I have to go at it by hand, that's what I use. Straight handle for the tough materials, bigger taps, etc., and t-handles for the small stuff.

http://www.brownells.com/1/1/15545-t...-starrett.html

Though not germane to your question, I can't help but reply as to what I use for a tap wrench.

Guess what I use...

A CRESCENT WRENCH! HAHAHA! :D

No really! Try it some time! They work great for hand tapping! :)

after ruining some nuts on my bicycle with crescent wrench when i was kid, i swore I would never own or use one again, and have pretty much kept that promise to myself. I would think that would apply to much torque to one side of the tap causing it to snap, but if works, more power to you.

I bought off of ebay, a brown and sharpe tap wrench. I did not want to buy off of ebay, but after I found it, i went searching for brown and sharpe tap wrenches at their site, and could not find them. Is this an old product product that they no longer make?

I hope its a good one.

I saw an article on greenfield tap wrenches, seems they made good ones in the 40's and 50's, now they not so good.

Maybe I should make my own, but I just cant find a boring bar or drill bits that make a square hole...LOL

I own one each of the complete array of Starrett No.91 (A, B, C, & D) tap wrenches, and the tiny No.174 flat style. For the T-handle style when there's enough height to use them, I have the Starrett No.93 A, B, C, and one of the long ones (the D).

I've used many different styles over the years, including the ratcheting T-handle styles, but have given or thrown them all away n favor of the Starretts. Nicest looking, best-gripping, most rugged tap wrenches ever.

The No.91's are the ones on the left in this photo. Missing are the No.93's (other than the A) and the little No.174 which looks a lot like a No.91.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...p/IMG_0282.jpg

And no, I don't own stock in Starrett. ;) In that drawer, the combination square set and its 12" scale and the Acme thread tool gauge are Brown & Sharpe, the planer gauge is Lufkin. The scales, center punches, short and long pin punches, protractor, small hole gauges, telescopic gauges, 60º screw thread fishtail, and pin vises are all Starrett bought at yard sales, flea markets, Ebay and Craigslist.

BTW, for comparison, the most common design for T-handle style tap wrenches are like the one on this page from Brownell's: http://www.brownells.com/1/1/24635-t...brownells.html

The Starrett No.93's are a solid body, not slotted like that. They use hardened jaws to grip the tap, and work not unlike a Jacobs drill chuck.

Greenfield Tap and Die make machined steel tap wrenches that work great.

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Originally Posted by djr76

Greenfield Tap and Die make machined steel tap wrenches that work great.

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The one on the right is a Greenfield No.332 that I recently picked up at a flea market (and subsequently resold.) Not even in the same class as a Starrett No. 93C that's about the same size.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...IMG_0531_1.jpg

Starrett Catalog 32

Don't know why this link won't take you to the page I was on for the No.93 tap wrenches. Just page forward to Pg.337. Unlike a No.93, you can't remove the handle from the body nor slide all the way over. The mechanical jaws of the No.93 work so much smoother.

Ive used Starret for 30 Yrs. still love them.

You owe it to yourself to get a set of Starrett 91's if you work in the machining biz.

Anything less is self abuse - yes it will cost you some coin, but you will not regret it. :)

And yet one more vote for Starret tap wrenches.

Like Skullworks said, a bit more coin, but you won't regret it at all once you've had a chance to use it. Had Craftsman tap wrenches for a long time, but was always plagued with them loosening up, and having the tap slip out moving from one hole to the next. Never had that problem with the Starret tap wrench.

Mark

I've got an old Lufkin tap wrench that belonged to my old man... very well built piece, but then, Lufkin use to make a lot of nice tools.

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Originally Posted by tootalew

I have never in my life owned or used a tap handle/wrench that I liked. Maybe that is why I hate tapping. What are the best tap wrenches out there? I do not want anything cast...thats out of the question. I want something hardened, I want something will hold the tap firmly until I WANT TO RELEASE IT and not before. I want to take it to my grave. I want to be able to place in on a the railroad tracks and let it get run over and still be usable. Do you get my drift...who in the world makes good machinist hand tools any more?

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We truly feel that our tap wrench which is produced by a machine shop and designed by a machine shop is the best straight handled tap wrench you will find. The jaws are 4140 Nitride harden which have been used in our own shop and show minimal signs of wear. The other reason for minimal wear is that both jaws are tightened in place and tend not to loosen like most in the market as your using them. Our jaws remain snug on the tap. The largest selling point of our wrench is its ability to always keep the tap centralized with the center of the tap wrench body allowing the user to support the tap wrench in a spindle or supported with a center in a spindle or tailstock whether the tap has a center hole in it or not.

Tap Wrench | Northern Machining Inc