Kyle,
High Speed Steel (HSS) is generally considered to be near the
top-of-the-line in general engineering circles. Carbon steel, and to some
extent the cobalt and tungsten steel alloys advertised in low cost trade
journals are generally inferior to HSS (there are some exotic tungstens
that are considered better than HSS, but you ain't going to see them in
Sears). The problem with HSS is that it is somewhat brittle (although in
general use you will never see a problem - it's when you try to fix another
problem like clearing a fouled tapping that you see this characteristic)
but the good thing about Sears is that you take it back and say "hey, it
broke .... where's the new one?"
If you are buying/selecting a tap/die set for a TR6, the biggest problem
you will face is the variety of tappings in use: The 74 uses UNC, UNF, BA,
Metric, BSP, Whitworth and BSF threads (and, yea, I bet I forgotten some
like a butress or Acme as well). In the main, UNC/UNF will get you on the
way. Incidentally, I have a variety of tap/die sets, and I only use the
UNC/F set on the TR6 regularly, and even then, it is mostly to clean
threaded parts before re-assembly. If you are contemplating more extensive
use of taps and dies, forget it, since you are on your way to my dream
garage with a 8" lathe and Bridgport mill!
Tony Gordon
72 TR6 Midland, MI
************************* snip *****************
Listers,
Can anyone give me a recomendation for a Tap and Die set. I looked at Sears
and I only saw Highspeed steel and I am not sure how that would hold up. I
would spend about $100 to $200 for a set. I do not need a huge set but one
that would cover most auto repairs (mostly my 74 TR6).
Thanks for any help you can give.
Kyle
kkrice@earthlink.net
|