Hand Tap DOM for Radius Rods

I have a local supply of DOM, and have been hand tapping tube for tracking bars and steering for a few years. I sold HR Preacher some Saturday and tried a better way of starting the tap.

I use the taps and drills from Speedway, and make a 12" tapping handle from 1" sq tube --weld a 3/8 drive socket in the middle to use the 3/8 drive sq for the tap, and a handle on each end. I made a tube holder for the press with 2" sq tube, 12" long with 1 1/2" angle for feet and 2 sinch bolts in a corner to hold the tube.

After drilling the tube the rquired size I removed the bit and replaced it with the tap and used the drill press to start the tap while it was on the press. It lined up exact and made 3-4 turns into the tube before the belts started slipping. I then unchucked the tap, leaving it in the tube and then clamped it in a vise and finished the tapping with the handle. It worked much better than the old method where I'd hand start the tap, and had alot of problems with tap alinment, and wallowed out threads for an inch or so.

Good to find a better way.

Heres a pic of the tap handle and the tube holder for the drill press.

PA41

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What's the slowest speed on your drill press? I would be afraid that I would break the tap after a few times of doing this, especially going through steel.

I'm lucky that I have access to a lathe. It makes the job of tapping round stuff so much easier.

hey i'm glad you posted this PA! i realized when i got about half way to your place saturday that i'd forgotten my camera......
anyway the speed was real slow on that press, and it seemed to work well,

looking forward to learning more from this rat-rod engineer[

will post pics of those rods on my "next project" build thread when i get around to it

thanks to PA i get a little closer to "finished" on the ALF 52

HRP

PA,

I dig your T.I.T. tool. Neat, homebuilt, effective. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
Shea

P.S. Hint, check the title of the attachment.

T.I.T. Tapintube---Glad you explained that, Shea, I was gonna have to ACT like I understood.. (I do that alot).

I think the slow on the drill press is a little over 200 rpm--maybe 300. I'd like to get one of those tapping gear reducers for a drill press, but I've not seen one used that'd do 5/8 or 3/4. The 5/8 tap has about a 1/2" shank -- pretty stout, and the belt slippage thing acts like a shear pin to protect the parts. I'd sure like a lathe, but I don't have the coin or the room. This method really makes it better than hand starting the tap--big improvement..

Yo Preacher--Enjoyed the visit--Too many hotrods to talk about and too little time. Looking forward to see them on the truck. Cupcake sez she'll send you the Pics of your son and the waterfall. Shes a big fan of kids--doing tha granny thing. I'm glad you told me what you'd found that stuff was costing!! I'm gonna stop by and see if he's got any more. (I've been bragging about what a good deal I got to anyone who'll listen) Love a good deal!!

Later

PA

yup...i think i got a bargain on that tubing!!!

just curious but could someone out there in ratrod land give us an idea of what 1" DOM is costing ya these days........

(i wonder if this is a good idea...[S.PA may not want to sell me anymore of it!)

What wall thickness? I just got 100 feet of .219" wall today. It was about $4.00 a foot.

Yo Ron, Its .25" wall. I guess the .219 wouldn't need drilling for a 5/8 tap?

I got this from a local guy that buys out stock from factories that are closing. Salvage. 62 cents /ft. I've got quotes for $5/ft a few years ago, and Preacher thought he'd heard $7/ft lately.

Not quite the smokin deal I thought, but I got 80 ft for personal use--prolly enough to last me till I quit messin with it. I check his stock every few months to see what he gets in.. Weird stuff by the pound like a stick of 2"od with a hexagon hole, and a hex solid rod that fits it--Looks like it'd make great bushog driveshafts--I NEED 20' of THAT Fun Scrap.

PA41

With a .219 wall that makes the hole 9/16 and no drill is required to run a 5/8-18 tap in there. We tap ours in a lathe.

Thanks for the input RPM, I checked those 4 sticks I picked up again, and one is a 9/16" hole. I tapped a piece of it without drilling, and it did great. The tap I have has 37/64 stamped on it for the drill size, so its wantin 1/64 larger hole. I have a little wobble in the DeWalt drill press chuck-- and I'm a little concerned it wallows the hole a little with the 37/64 I'm using. I think I'll use a 9/16, maybe even try a 35/64.

PA41

I was directed to a website selling DOM that cuts and ships small amounts. www.discountsteel.com .. Seems like a good deal, about $5/ft for 1" plus shipping, which might be cheeper if the pieces are shorter that 4'-UPS.

Worth checking out.

PA41

d o m

hey , john here. what does dom stand for?

thanks

Drawn over mandrel, which refers to the process by which the round tubes are shaped. Here is an excellent site with a better explanation:

www.ptcalliance.com/dom/default.asp

Don

It seems as though I have the same problem with tapping tubing without having a lathe. I was wondering if you have been able to tap long pieces with your setup? Most of my tapping is on pieces longer than 2' and I'm usually putting a left hand tap on the opposite end. Is there any chance that you have figured out how to reverse your drill press?

My drill press is a 1940's 3-phase Delta with a phase converter on it and if someone knows how to reverse it, I'd love the info.
My Bridgeport has a reverse but I can't justify taking the time to change the table setup just to tap a piece of tube.

The length is not a big deal up to about 3'--theres a hole in the center of the press table.

I never thought about the reverse tapping problem, but as you have 3 phase you should be able to reverse two of the 3 input leads and get the motor spinning backwards.

PA41

With the phase converter I have it would be a major pain. I thought about this today and realized I also have a phase converter on the Bridgeport and it's main power switch has three positions.....reverse to the right, off in the middle, and forward to the left. All I need to do is find one of these switches and wire it in. Thanks for getting my wheels turning today!