Making my own tap and die set.

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chartle

chartle

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Ok for a kitless pen i'm thinking about I need a tap and die set of about 9mm in size.

I really don't want to buy a set just for this one little project so has anyone made a set from a bolt and nut. I think I can get a hardened metric bolt and a regular nut and just cut some relief slots in them. These threads will only be used for replacing the cartridge so they don't have to be deep and they will be in wood.

Probably going to see what I can find at Home Depot after work and before the snow starts.
 
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M8 is one of the most common standard metric sizes. Therefore one of the cheapest.
I doubt that a modified nut and bolt will work properly. I suspect that the effort of making and hardening, combined with the final result will prove the proper tool more cost effective and yield far superior results.

But that doesn't mean you can't have a go....:biggrin:
 
skiprat said:
M8 is one of the most common standard metric sizes. Therefore one of the cheapest.
I doubt that a modified nut and bolt will work properly. I suspect that the effort of making and hardening, combined with the final result will prove the proper tool more cost effective and yield far superior results.

But that doesn't mean you can't have a go....:biggrin:
Click to expand...

yea Harbor freight has a $15 set m3 to m12 course and fine for $15.99 and I have a 20% so I may just go that route but I may already have a SAE that may work in fine threads.
 
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I think the sets available from diy shops are capable of 'cleaning up' existing threads at best. . :wink:

But just have some fun. That's the important thing.
Maybe just practice on crappy freebie blanks before using any special ones.:wink:
 
I would buy a metric set from Harbor Freight to "play" with. Once I find/decide the exact ones I will be using for pens I would go to my local hardware store and buy their better brands of individual tap and dies.
 
You don't need the best of taps and dies to work adequately on plastic materials, look around on eBay to see if you can find what you want without having to buy a whole set of taps (and actually the ones I've bought there have worked well on brass and steel as well but I wouldn't count on them for much use on harder materials).

You can usually find the finer thread pitches there as well which are hard to find in the sets (finer thread pitches mean you can have thinner walls without them too thin for strength).
 
Well all you need for the kitless pens are a 12mm x .75 or 1 for the cap and body and a 8.5 mm x 1 if your going to use a Schmidt or similar section. 8mm will work for a rollerball but not for a Fountain pen if you use a converter.
If you want to use a 10 mm x 1 section than you may want to use a 13 or 14 mm thread for the cap.
Keep in mind that the greater the TPI the more easier the cap will come off.
Victor Machinery - Metalworking tools and supplies these guys have everything you need at a great price.
 
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