Product Reviews

[maitai11]

Well, what I can say is that along with the trade, comes the necessity to have tools – some obviously more than others, depending on the kind of workman and/or artisan and/or outright genius some of you are.

But for me, I’ve been sucked in on the…what would I call it…”The ‘Love It'” side of things. I just love tools, and the more specialized, the better, it seems. But I can also be taken with good old simple craftsmanship, as in that new tool chest I recently bought from Harbor Freight. I just love a nicely crafted piece. And it makes it all the more fun to do work at the bench

Also, I too spend hours on end comparing and shopping for the various tools I need. I believe I’m sufficiently hooked

Tim

[tmac1956]

More from the DP collection…

David says that he’ll post a lot more when he gets his shop organized.

Tom

[david pierce]

Tim,
I did not know that there was a Harbor Freight store in Hawaii; lucky you.
david

[chris mabbott]

OK, back to the product reviews

I have a couple of small items that I’ve used, not really expensive, but given the sheer volume of selection of these useful tools, it leaves me, at least, pondering forever….Which bloody one to buy 🙄

So, first, are these micro drill bits sets… hundreds of makes and models, but seeing as I was on Cousins UK, I thought I would try the Anchor brand..
A 20 piece set of HSS micro twist drills ranging in size from 0.3mm – 1.5mm

I’ve used them a few times now with great success. The last job was enlarging a hole in hardened steel, I used the 0.80mm bit, expecting it to break, but it didn’t and it cut well..
I can’t remember the price but they are cheap, and they work. The set comes in a plastic box with a slider that allows you to remove the desired bit, one at a time, so you can keep them organized. The slider is tight at first, but hey, for the price, it’s the bits that are important. After a few uses, it slides easier..

I would personally recommend this set based on my own use so far… By the way, I’m not affiliated with Cousins 😆

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[chris mabbott]

I was looking for a micro chuck to hold micro drill bits. I want to use it in the lathe, mill and watchmakers lathe when needed..

Here was another product I added to a recent Cousins purchase. It’s a inexpensive Asian (Indian) collet chuck.
I looked at more expensive models but I didn’t want to spend that much.

Expecting the worst, I recently tried it with the previously mentioned micro drills.

The action is smooth, it easily and squarely mounted into the larger drill chuck, and the alignment was spot on.
It comes with three collets of various size, sorry I don’t have the sizes handy, but it will be sufficient for any micro drills you have.
As is typical of Asian wares, it is not fancy and comes in its oxide black finish. No matter, what counts is that it works accurately.

Here I used it with a 0.80mm bit on a large lathe, clamped in another drill chuck, you can see that it aligns perfectly with the existing hole in the part to be drilled..

Would I buy this again? Yes, for the price, I’m happy..

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[chris mabbott]

I am interested in the classic Myford lathes, and whereas they might not be as technoligically accurate as the modern lathes of today, I like them for their design and staying power, they’re just a well made machine that have stood the test of time and were innovative for their time..

When I saw this book offered, a reprint I think from 1973, I thought I would get it.. Expecting a technical manual only useful for Myford lathes, I was pleasantly proven wrong

It contains 225 pages not only relating to the Myfords, but a nice variety of tips, techniques and jigs that will prove useful for any home shop and budding or seasoned machinist.. It has many B&W photos and diagrams for explanation.

I actually took it with me on a trip and read it 😆

There is a lot of info on the basic lathe tools, how to grind them, sharpen drill bits, lathe maintenance that applies to any lathe really..
So if you’re looking for an interesting shop/light technical manual, I would recommend this one. It cost around 6 pounds, so not expensive for the content..

Here are a few shots of the content..

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[chris mabbott]

3 more

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[chris mabbott]

This is kind of an embarrassing review because firstly, I should know better 🙄 and secondly, it shows that I had a cheap moment 😆

Again, I was on the Cousins UK site refilling some consumible stock, I was also looking at their tap & die sets, which at that time, about 8 months ago, I needed some small sizes…

The Bergeon sets, which I’m sure are very nice, are ridiculously priced between 1200 UK pounds – 1800 pounds $2000 – $2700 😮
The EU sets are, IMHO, still prohibitive in their price, 350 pounds $550 😯

SO I saw the…. where ever set for 20 pounds… I know, I know.. But I took a chance and the result is negative..

Firstly, I am not sure of what material they are made from, but it doesn’t feel like hardened steel, they are kinda black/grey and rough.. That’s the good part.

When I had a look through the loupe 😮 The taps are uneven, some of the tips are dull, some are bent, other are fused together with slag. They are haphazardly ground and uneven. I doubt if they would cut threads in aluminum. If so, then the thread quality would be so poor as to be unusable.
The dies are just as bad, the leading threads are, if present, uneven, they are full of slag and most of the spaces between the threads are full of slag…

So basically, this “set” will go into the garbage. Anyone thinking of purchasing this item should not bother, even though it is cheap, it is unusable with zero accuracy..

I’ve since been purchasing taps and dies in small quantities as I need them, even though most of the selection here is from China, they are of industrial quality and have a good polished finish.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[chris mabbott]

last

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[khoward279]

Hi Chris,
For the type of work were doing I suggest trying OSG brand taps and dies. These are made from the highest quality and I use them daily. The results are amazing. I hope this helps.

Kevin

[stevefitzwater]

Not sure if you have this enable just for the moderators, or not at all, but phpBB has a “sticky” function that allows topics to always remain at the top of the thread list, a thread that pertains to general items like this is what that “sticky function” is meant for.

[chris mabbott]

@khoward279 wrote:

Hi Chris,
For the type of work were doing I suggest trying OSG brand taps and dies. These are made from the highest quality and I use them daily. The results are amazing. I hope this helps.
Kevin

Kevin, please feel free to post some pics, links etc to where you purchased the tools, along with price and your experiences with them.. For me at least, a photo reveals many sins, or blessings
Thanks for the input..

[tmac1956]

@SteveFitzwater wrote:

Not sure if you have this enable just for the moderators, or not at all, but phpBB has a “sticky” function that allows topics to always remain at the top of the thread list, a thread that pertains to general items like this is what that “sticky function” is meant for.

Personally, I’m an ASPdotNet guy.

Tom

[david pierce]

Chris,
OSG, Cleveland, Greenfield all make excellent taps and threading dies. I cannot believe that Bergeon can charge so much for a set of taps and dies. These types of tools purchased individually from an industrial supply house, are generally of much better quality than those offered in sets which is why I never bought a tap and die set. There must be an industrial supply in your area or one that will ship to your area. Check with some of the machine shops in your area as they need to constantly purchase these items. McMaster Carr and MSC should ship internationally so you can probably get what you need if you check on the internet.
david

[chris mabbott]

David, the whole experience left me traumatized, the only thing I remember after reading Bergeon…. was waking up on the floor some time later. It is only now, months later, and after therapy, that I can even broach the topic of those T, T, T TAPS 😆

Like I mentioned, I knew better, and I had a cheap moment, but….
I’ll just stick to my original plan of buying ad hoc per job, that way I get HSS types and not tungsten or slag steel. I also order the die for any tap sets, so eventually I’ll have what I need..

[Author]

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