Floating tap holder

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
If Keith doesn't mind me answering Brad's question...

Most of the chips left on cutters usually get hosed off by the flood coolant.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
My apprentice brushes off the chips while it is chamfering, although I'm not sure he would need to. Yes, I'm tickled to see it work. No more reason to add one more step on the CNC mill to tap a part. Time is money!
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
Just as a follow up. We tapped 405 of the aluminum pieces shown in video. No ruined parts, no broken taps - it worked extremely well and saved us about 405 minutes on this job. The time we saved on this job alone more than pays for the $120 we spent on the proper tool holder. And now we have it to use on all future jobs.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
405 minutes is the better part of a work day. Think of the other stuff you did in that time.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
It was 405 minutes we had the CNC mill available to make parts that could ONLY be run on a mill., instead of using it to make parts that ought to be made on a lathe.

Two of the basic principles I used to emphasize is to (1) use the best process to make the part, and (2) use the lowest cost machine capable of doing the work. For a part that is already on a lathe to get turned the best process is to tap it in the same setup, and our lathe cost about 2/3 as much as our mill and the hourly cost is lower. In a small shop like ours we sometimes have to do things inefficiently but we are always looking for ways to improve our processes guided by basic manufacturing principles.

I realize that a lot of what we do and the tools we use isn't really applicable to the home shop craftsman, just as what General Motors does isn't really applicable to a shop our size and capacity; it's all a matter of scale. But minutes are minutes and have their own cost and are in finite supply, and we try to use them efficiently.
 
F

freebullet

Guest
That is a lot of holes. Very nice solution. Anything to increase production while maintaining quality is a good thing.