Hands-On: GearWrench’s 75-Pc. Tap and Die Set
By Chuck CageIn Use
When we heard about GearWrench’s ratcheting T-handle, we wondered why we didn’t have one of these years ago as the back-and-forth motion required during the tapping process — and the annoyance of having to turn the T-handle ’round 360-degrees — is legendary. The GearWrench didn’t disappoint.
Over a very short period, the GearWrench came to replace the other tap and die sets we’d been using for years. Even when we had to raid one of our other sets for a tap, we’d still grab the ratcheting T-handle.
The ratcheting action is very smooth and tight, requiring only a few degrees to engage. While this kind of accuracy is handy when driving a socket, it’s necessary when tapping as any “floppiness” in the drive mechanism can lead to an inaccurate tap. We didn’t have any problems with the GearWrench at all. It felt as sturdy as a standard T-handle.
As you tap, it’s generally necessary to stop and back up every so often to clear metal chips from the hole, so the ratcheting motion is very natural. After a while, you don’t really notice that you’re doing it. What you do notice, however, is that you no longer have to contort your body into strange positions or let go of the T-handle to keep the tap moving smoothly.
The pass-through style die holder works great as well, though we tend to use the taps more often. One funny situation, however: we found ourselfs in need of a tiny bolt to insert into a tapped hole on one of our cars in order to remove a component. (The component was threaded backwards so you could remove it with a standard bolt.) We didn’t have the necessary bolt around, so we pulled out the caliper micrometer and started checking everything we could find in the shop. Low and behold, we had a common nail that was the right size, and the GearWrench set included the correct die. While you probably don’t want to do something like this all the time, we cut threads in the nail and it worked perfectly as our one-shot-throw-away solution to the problem.
The taps and dies held up reasonably well, though we did manage to break one of the taps. In GearWrench’s defense, however, I believe this was my fault. I was tapping dozens of holes in a project, and was too lazy to go and get a second bottle of cutting oil when the first ran out. After tapping about ten holes in quick succession without cutting oil, I broke it. My bad.
Read on to page three for our conclusions.
March 31st, 2007 at 5:55 pm
If you buy “real” HSS split adjustable dies (which adjust so you can get a thread dead on) and “gun” or spiral fluted taps (which eject the chips out the front or the back of the hole depending on the style, so you don’t have to back up every couple of revolutions), you will never go back to the rethreading style in the gearwrench set. I’m sure they’re good, but you can do a lot better if you are going to thread a lot of holes. Heck, look into fluteless or form taps as well - they don’t cut but cold forge the threads! Great for tiny sizes as they’re a lot stronger.
And then get a tapping head (Tapmatic) for your drill press…
April 7th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I wish these came with the right complement of drills.
April 7th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Bill: This is a great reason to own a decent 115-piece drill set. You’ll hear some argument that you should never buy anything but the best drills available, but I’ve always believed that you’re better off having a lesser bit that’ll work for what you need right now than having just a few great bits — that are useless because you don’t have the size you need.
You can find a decent 115-piece (all lettered, numbered, and fractional sizes) for under $100 (and sometimes as low as $50). At those prices they won’t last forever, but you can always replace the ones that fail with better bits; they’re the ones you’re using a lot anyway, right?
April 8th, 2007 at 8:44 am
1) The ratcheting action is not a reason to buy this set. I have a set of ratcheting tap wrenches and 99% of the time I use them in the non-ratcheting mode. Every time you have to back the tap out you have to switch modes, gets to be no fun very fast.
2) It is much more economical and practical to buy only the taps and dies you will actually use. Probably 75% of these taps will never be used. Buy what you need when you need it and buy a quality tool, you’ll be better off in the long run.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I managed to pick up the 5 piece handle set at Sears a few weeks ago for $30. After trying it a few times, I love it!
I do find it a bit annoying to back out the tap due to the ratcheting mechanism, but that’s something I could live with since the overall usage is a wonderful experience.
October 21st, 2007 at 2:59 pm
they’ll have you suicidal suicida. Huda Swithun.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Looks like the KD 3885 40 pc tap & dye set at http://www.denlorstools.com/ GearWrench has really came out with some neat stuff lately.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Woops I it’s a 75 piece set that’s the KD 3887.