Thread: Recommended brand for tap & die set

Originally Posted by Killer

I know of one Dave, but I am not sure that the owner is willing to part with it though. I do know that he will never drive it again. It does need some work, it has been sitting under a tarp for the last eleven years. Current owner is a founding member of the 120 / 1800 club.
Perhaps his Son in law should work on it for him.

Cheers, Mick.

Hi Mick, I do know of that car and I believe the owner attended the club event last weekend in a significantly more modern Volvo. From what I'm told the car would need a full restoration. There is an article in a recent Practical Classics about the restoration of "The Saint" car and it looked like a frightening task. Engine and drivetrain is all fairly simple, but the body, interior and trim is seriously complex and expensive. A restoration specialist company spent 3 months just putting the body back together

Then again, if you were keen, took it easy, and kept at it, you could probably knock it over.

If you have any recent pics, the club would love to see them.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Tungsten Alloy Steel and Chrome tungsten Steel are the flash marketing terms for carbon steel cheapies.

that said, they are pretty good for the price you pay for them and if you use a little trefolex or other cutting fluid they behave perfectly well for the average joe with an iq above 5 that doesn't attack stuff like a bull at a gate...

Originally Posted by Dave_S

This has been quite an eye opener. I don't have a gauge to tell me exactly what I need anyway and I believe that some threads are easily confused with others. At the moment I only need one tap to get a car back on the road, but will have to start looking at a more comprehensive collection.

Get yourself some screw pitch gauges, Metric and UN will do, and one of those cheap plastic vernier calipers that reads in inch fractions and millimetres. Then sit down with a bucket of bolts and thread charts and teach yourself to identify them. If spotty faced recalcitrant first year apprentices can be quickly taught this then you can teach yourself quickly.

I would suggest you buy only the tap and/or die you need as you need it. Unless you are setting up a home machine shop and need a range this will keep the cost down.

Thread charts are attached.

Sorry, the system won't let me attach them. Says they already are elsewhere. Search for thread charts.

Originally Posted by Dave_S

Hi Mick, I do know of that car and I believe the owner attended the club event last weekend in a significantly more modern Volvo. From what I'm told the car would need a full restoration. There is an article in a recent Practical Classics about the restoration of "The Saint" car and it looked like a frightening task. Engine and drivetrain is all fairly simple, but the body, interior and trim is seriously complex and expensive. A restoration specialist company spent 3 months just putting the body back together

Then again, if you were keen, took it easy, and kept at it, you could probably knock it over.

If you have any recent pics, the club would love to see them.

I haven't seen the car except for the tarp for over ten years. I think you would be right, there would be a lot of work. A real pity. I think he enjoys driving the modern version though, and he does like the fact that the rear window is a throwback to the P1800 ES.

Cheers, Mick.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

None of the local places here had it .... oh well... About $15aud delivered for a HSS UK made intermediate tap. M5 x 0.75 (used on 50's and early 60's Citroen D's, they went to M5 x 0.8 in the mid 60's).

seeya
Shane L

Might have been Citroen's own creation. Whilst taps are available, the size is not mentioned in any of the recognised guides such as Machinery's Handbook and Sidder's Guide to World Screw Threads.

This wonderful metric system was going to save us from the confusion of having so many different thread systems in use. Ha bloody ha. How many metric systems are there? Start with these - ISO, French Metric, French Automotive, British Standard ISO, DIN, Swiss, Swedish Marine Engineer's, Swiss, French, and German Horological. Probably a few more I have forgotten or not yet encountered. My personal preference is NC, NF, NEF.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Might have been Citroen's own creation. Whilst taps are available, the size is not mentioned in any of the recognised guides such as Machinery's Handbook and Sidder's Guide to World Screw Threads.

This wonderful metric system was going to save us from the confusion of having so many different thread systems in use. Ha bloody ha. How many metric systems are there? Start with these - ISO, French Metric, French Automotive, British Standard ISO, DIN, Swiss, Swedish Marine Engineer's, Swiss, French, and German Horological. Probably a few more I have forgotten or not yet encountered. My personal preference is NC, NF, NEF.

How many of those standards overlap? I can't see my self having to use a horological thread on the same thing I would use a Marine engineers one on. Trust the French to come up with two that probably do overlap.

Well I did as suggested and went out to buy the tap I needed. I had limited time and the nearest bolt shop had only one brand. In any case it worked fine. I cleaned up all 10 threads in the casing and the bolts went in easily. I even managed to get that satisfying sensation of being covered in gear oil and filth by accidentally rolling in a puddle of the stuff.

Thanks for all the help!

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Might have been Citroen's own creation. Whilst taps are available, the size is not mentioned in any of the recognised guides such as Machinery's Handbook and Sidder's Guide to World Screw Threads.

This wonderful metric system was going to save us from the confusion of having so many different thread systems in use. Ha bloody ha. How many metric systems are there? Start with these - ISO, French Metric, French Automotive, British Standard ISO, DIN, Swiss, Swedish Marine Engineer's, Swiss, French, and German Horological. Probably a few more I have forgotten or not yet encountered. My personal preference is NC, NF, NEF.

I think the M5 x 0.75 is a very early metric "standard" pitch... Everyone started using M5 x 0.8 so they moved to that ............. Part way through the production of a vehicle Who does that ?? (it could be worse, bloody landrover appears to have mixed metric and imperial on the same vehicles ... bloody crazyness I tell you!) Yes I'm always using metric thread gauges to work out what the hell is what. On the one car I found these sizes. M5 x 0.75, M5 x 0.8, M5 x 0.9 and M5 x 1.0 ....

I spend hours sorting out fasteners from a 1963 metric car ... Here's some piccies I took of the sizes found

Is this the best project car you have ever seen? - Page 9

M10 x 1.0 anyone ?? sigh ... Lucky the majority of threads that I cleaned up were M5 x 0.75 and M7 x 1.0 (which I had taps & dies for ).

seeya,
Shane L.