7 Ways to Avoid Breaking Taps

Is there anything worse than breaking a tap?

Crashing a CNC machine in a way that does costly damage is worse, certainly, but breaking a tap off in an expensive part that’s nearly finished has got to come in a close 2nd.

I just finished the 11th episode of CNC Chef for Cutting Tool Engineering. This video provides some insight on how to avoid breaking taps:

My seven ways to avoid breaking a tap include:

  1. Choosing the best hole size
  2. Using form taps when possible
  3. Thread mill critical and tough jobs
  4. Use purpose-made tapping lubricants
  5. Use the right tool holder
  6. Extract chips with a spiral-fluted tap
  7. Mind the depth on blind holes

Taken together these tips provide a wealth of techniques that will make breaking taps far less likely in your shop.

This post originally appeared on the CNC Cookbook blog.