Tapping head or rigid tapping

[Gregory_C]

I am trying to find out what people are using to tap. I am tappinga very small hole 0.0400 and then using a 1.2mm tap. Has anyone here used a tapping head like the one Tormach sells. Any info would be helpful

[kenealym]

I have been using the Tapmatic 50x on the Syil SX3 with success. Even with the small collet though you can only go down to shank size of 3.5mm.

According to their web site their 30x model will take shanks down to just over 1mm but then limits you on larger sized taps.

The system works very well but the unit and collets are expensive unless you can pick them up second hand. I have found this unit works better than the built in tapping function of the SX3 which often stripped threads for me.

(http://www.tapmatic.com/pdfs/46449_2..._rev'd.pdf)

[metalworkz]

I have a Buck tapping head to use on up to 1/2 inch taps, but I really like the feel and ease of setup of the Procunier tapping heads. You can find used tapping heads often on eBay selling at reasonable prices. That's where I got my Buck tapping head at a very good price. I have used the Tapmatic tap heads at work and they work fine, but I prefer the Procunier brand as the collets are size specific and the tapping head is more compact.
Regards,