M14 and M16 Tap and Dies

[The Critic]

We had a Mac set at school to me the HF seems just as good only the ones with the white case though. The ones with the blue case say not for automotive use.

Quality of the steel is a huge factor.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Quality of the steel is a huge factor.

I haven’t broken one yet luckily. I do notice they are a little rusty if you don’t use them for an extended period of time.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I never cheap out and HF in the same post that’s a classic HF is the definition of cheap out

And it's this mindset that allows companies to outsource production to overseas factories, because people will blindly follow brand recognition despite the actual quality. HF is regarded as junk (often from people that have never used them) because it's not one of the established brands; meanwhile they all (with few exceptions in the consumer space) come from China or some other low wage country.

You're either kidding or you have never used a quality set of taps/dies.

While there's no doubt that higher quality stuff does indeed exist, I think the HF set is a great set for general purpose automotive & around the house type stuff. I've had mine for about ten years and they've gotten plenty of use. A person could do a whole lot worse, IMO.

As automechanic noted, they do have a "value" line of taps that are probably of very dubious quality. At HF, I follow the golden rule: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In other words, stay away from the super cheap stuff; that has always worked for me and I haven't broken a HF tool since.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Everyone has strong opinions on Chinese made stuff but some of the opinions involve 90's made items vs 2020 items. We should send some taps to Project farm. Head to head, thread some holes in a block of steel and check for damage.

Edit: I sent them a note.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Everyone has strong opinions on Chinese made stuff but some of the opinions involve 90's made items vs 2020 items. We should send some taps to Project farm. Head to head, thread some holes in a block of steel and check for damage.

Edit: I sent them a note.

Let us know what he says.

 

[MattPersman]

Get an Irwin or snap on set. quality steel and USA made. There are likely other good brands. Taps are hard and will be brittle due to that fact, you have use them correctly

Most “auto mechanic “ work a rethread set will actually be what you need for most things you encounter.

so yes HF is mostly crummy stuff when viewed through the eyes of an actual professional using this stuff. For a homeowner it’s probably adequate

but I’m sorry the HF breaker bar that everyone raved about years ago that was so good for 11-12 bucks was junk. It didn’t break sure cause it bent when you used it and couldn’t apply enough torque to actually break much loose with it. While I don’t work at a machine shop and maybe someone does here but I’m sure they would be humored by the tap and die quality that’s if they could get a hole drilled with the high quality drill bits they sell first

 

[Snagglefoot]

Let us know what he says.

They did reply, thanking me for the suggestion. It was probably a canned response but who knows.

 

[The Critic]

While there's no doubt that higher quality stuff does indeed exist, I think the HF set is a great set for general purpose automotive & around the house type stuff. I've had mine for about ten years and they've gotten plenty of use. A person could do a whole lot worse, IMO.

As automechanic noted, they do have a "value" line of taps that are probably of very dubious quality. At HF, I follow the golden rule: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In other words, stay away from the super cheap stuff; that has always worked for me and I haven't broken a HF tool since.

I think we're arguing over standards here. What is good enough to one person is not to another. The HF stuff has gotten a lot better over the years but for critical items such as taps and dies, they are still limited to customers who use the items for occasional use only IMO. The quality of the steel used is not desirable for daily/weekly use.

 

[clinebarger]

Get an Irwin or snap on set. quality steel and USA made. There are likely other good brands. Taps are hard and will be brittle due to that fact, you have use them correctly

Most “auto mechanic “ work a rethread set will actually be what you need for most things you encounter.

so yes HF is mostly crummy stuff when viewed through the eyes of an actual professional using this stuff. For a homeowner it’s probably adequate

but I’m sorry the HF breaker bar that everyone raved about years ago that was so good for 11-12 bucks was junk. It didn’t break sure cause it bent when you used it and couldn’t apply enough torque to actually break much loose with it. While I don’t work at a machine shop and maybe someone does here but I’m sure they would be humored by the tap and die quality that’s if they could get a hole drilled with the high quality drill bits they sell first

Irwin/Hanson makes Snap-on & MAC tap & die sets, And Lang makes their thread chaser sets.

 

[MattPersman]

Irwin/Hanson makes Snap-on & MAC tap & die sets, And Lang makes their thread chaser sets.

I know that but snap on gets you warranty on them, Irwin doesn’t and not everyone has a snap on man

seems some think China is the only source but Irwin makes them here in the USA and they are of good quality not HF questionable. They may have a good set today tomorrow it may be sourced from someone else with the same part number and absolutely junk HF is good for that