Best Tap and Die Sets - Top Picks, Reviews & Complete Buying Guide
by Scott Miller Updated on
In case you are interested in repairing old bolts and nuts what you will need is a great tap and die set.
No one of us want to make a bad decision and pay quite an amount of money for something not worth it or something that will stop working or break after a short period of time.
We know how important it is to get familiar with the significant features related to each tool, so we have created a short guide which will make you a well-informed buyer prior to purchase the tap and die set and we believe that you would not regret that decision.
Manufacturers only emphasize the good things about their products and avoid mentioning the downsides, so we have gone through the reviews of both satisfied and dissatisfied users and make a list of top five tap and die sets available on the market.
Number one and definitely the best model is the GearWrench 82812 114 Piece Set.
Once you get this set, you will be able to create or repair just about any nut or bolt.
As the manufacturer has emphasized the number of pieces included it can be said that 48 sets of taps and dies represent a good number of useful parts.
What this model further has are two great ratcheting T wrenches, which have a 5-degree ratcheting arc, designed to be used in areas when you do not have a lot of space to move around.
The taps and dies are made from carbon steel, making them the most durable and strongest, so purchasing them you will be sure to have tools that will last a long time. The taps come in plug and taper configurations.
There is also one and only problem with this set – it comes with a cheap and not so strong case, but this is not so important, as the tools inside are of great quality.
The runner-up on our list is the IRWIN Tools 117 Piece Set 26377.
This is a quality tap and die set, but it has to have some small problems which affected our decision to put it on the second place.
The great thing is that taps and dies are made from carbon steel, making these tools strong and durable, which would thus lead to high-quality nut and bolt machining being that this is the aim of your work.
The IRWIN Tools 117 Piece Tap & Die Set This set include sizes for both metric and customary sizes, as well as a great set of spiral screw extractors.
This makes this model a great value for the money and you will certainly not regret buying it.
What makes it less great than the first model on our list is the fact that it has fewer taps and dies and the ratchets in this set are not as good as GearWrench’s.
This model is expensive and if you know that the tool has some quality control problems, you might consider purchasing the first one.
The GearWrench 3887 75 Piece Set is made by the same manufacturer as our top pick, and we can just say that it is almost as good as the first one.
Being that it is on the third position, there has to be something wrong with it.
It comes with many of the same parts as our top choice, but has less of them.
Furthermore, it comes with one of the same great ratchets included in our top model with as little as a 5-degree twist.
This makes this model easy to use, especially in tight situations.
This model also comes with both plug and taper taps and you would think that there is nothing more you can expect from a tap and die set.
But, you are wrong.
The absolute best thing about this set is its price as it is twice less expensive than our top two models.
The disadvantages of this model are that it is missing some common sizes so does not offer that great variety as larger sets, but the majority of people will be happy with this model.
The Neiko 00912A 40-Piece Set is considered great set for beginners.
It is a good choice for those who cannot spend too much money on more expesive tool, but still want a quality set to purchase.
There are only 40 pieces inside, but the price is quite lower than the price of the third-place model on our list, so you will be getting more pieces per dollar than in any other set on our list.
We consider it an amazing starter kit as beginners would not need so many parts, being that they will just be trying the tools out and experiment with them.
The disadvantages of this set are that it only contains metric-sized tools and the pieces are made from alloy steel instead of carbon steel, which causes them not to be as durable as the others on our list.
The set comes in a cheap case which will not hold up well in the long run.
All in all, this is the best set for the money if you are not looking for a lot of variety or something that will last for a long period of time.
The last on our list is the TEKTON 7559 39-Piece Set.
It comes at a very low price, which means that we cannot expect too much from it.
Actually, it is the cheapest on our list, and the price equals both its quality and quantity. When it comes to quality, this is the set which should be avoided if you are serious in working with this set frequently and for a longer period of time.
The only real reason to buy this set, as it is more economical, is that you need it for some simple occasional tasks at home.
It can be useful for you if you are not going to use your tap and die set all that often, as it will not cost you a lot of money and if it breaks after a while, you will not regret spending too much on it.
The parts are made of steel whose quality is overall very low, and there are quality control problems in the casting, causing that parts break randomly.
If you have gone through our reviews you probably got the idea of what kind of tap and die set you want to purchase.
But before buying that set, we advise you to go through the buyer’s guide as well, and become even more informed about the possible advantages and disadvantages of this tool.
We will talk about features and qualities that you should look for in a great tap and die set, and we believe that it will help you understand these products in general.
How significant is the quality of tap and die sets?
Whichever tool you decide to buy, it is very important to pay attention to quality.
You do not want to pay a fortune and the tool gets stuck after a while.
So, you need to think about quality of a tap and die set, if you want them to be long lasting and to do the job efficiently.
The first thing you should know is that quality parts are made from high-quality steels, and if that is not the case, you might expect them to break soon.
For example, some manufacturers use alloy steel, which is too weak here, especially if you are planning to make new nuts and bolts on an industrial scale.
The price is higher if the steel is of a better quality, so we advise you to better first save enough money, and only then get a set that meets your needs rather than buying a less expensive, thus less quality one.
The best parts are made from carbon or high-carbon steel, and you can take these into consideration.
Is the number of part important?
Being that a tap and die set might consist of different number of parts, you need to pay attention what it includes.
Generally, the more parts the set has, the better it is, but only if those parts do not lack quality.
Sometimes, producers invest too much on myriad of parts to attract buyers, but the quality is bad and the parts do not last long.
The best example is the comparison of sets from different brands.
If they cost the same amount and one has far more parts, you are the one who has to discover whether the set with fewer parts is of better quality or just overpriced.
With some brands, even the set with more parts could be of a good quality and an incredible deal.
Sets might include different tools to make the job easier, and some of them include ratchets which can make it far easier to get a good quality result in a short period of time.
You should have in mind that some brands include small and unimportant extra parts, like screwdrivers, just to increase the number of parts.
What varieties of taps exist?
When the tap variety is in question, we have to mention that there are three different tap varieties used for different tasks.
Some of them are more suitable for beginners, while others are for experts.
Now, you should know that not all kits include all three.
In the majority of cases, they only include two and you should know whether these two will do the job you plan to do.
The first ones are taper taps.
This kind of taps is the easiest to use, due to the fact that it features small, flat threads at their beginning enabling you to easily use it to start a blind hole.
Furthermore, they require the least force and are usually called a starter tap because they are used to start threads.
There are bottoming taps as well, without flattened threads at the starting point.
This kind of taps enables you to create a high-quality thread all the way down the tap.
They are not designed for beginners because they are harder to get started.
Plug taps are somewhere between the above mentioned two.
They have some tapered threads at the start, but not as many as the taper tap.
This means that they are easier to start than a bottom tap, but not that much as the taper tap.
How to determine whether the set is brittle or not?
Experienced workers know that the harder you cast something, the more brittle it becomes.
So, it is important that taps and dies be very hard to do their job, but this includes that they also can be very brittle.
If they can be cast softer, their threads would wear out very quickly or they may not even get the job done.
It is crucial that you follow proper procedure when using the tap and die set so as not to lead to damage.
So as to protect your investment, it is suggested to make use of a T-handle, which helps you distribute the force very evenly and the damage is not likely to happen.
Knowing all these facts, you can determine which set you should buy.
Firstly, you have to get a set with a T-handle, if you do not have one.
Additionally, not all reviews that talk about snapping taps or dies are due to quality problems.
Both tap and die sets’ quality control issues and user misuse can lead to broken parts, so it cannot be determined why a set is low-performing, but the fact is that crucial role here plays the material from which the set is made.
How can I know which tap and die set is right for me?
If you are unsure how to determine which tap and die set is the right one for you, you have first to determine the amount of task that you will be doing with the set as well as the amount of money you are ready to spend on it.
If you are looking for the best value for your money, the number of options you have will be limited and you might even find yourself dissatisfied with your decision.
Once you figure out what your needs are which includes the number of times you will use your tap and die set, if you will be using it in many sizes or just one and if you need it for a long time, you can easily conclude whether you need a higher quality tool or not.
This will determine the money you need to pay for it.
You can make a short list of all sets that match your needs and thus pick the one you think is the most appropriate.
Conclusion
As we have taken a look at the best five tap and die sets, we can only conclude that the GearWrench 82812 114 Piece Set is definitely our suggestion if you want to buy a tap and die set that will be useful, and at the same time of great quality and durability.
The IRWIN Tools 117 Piece Set 26377 is great because it includes spiral screw extractors, metric and customary parts, and great overall durability.
However, its price is not ideal for everyone interested in this model.
The last three models are the GearWrench 3887 75 Piece Set, The Neiko 00912A 40-Piece Set and the TEKTON 7559 39-Piece Set.
The first two are worth considering as they are affordable and have some qualities which should be found in a tap and die set.
The last one is cheap but the quality control issues cause it to be avoided, as you do not want to buy a tool that will break in a short period of time.
If you have carefully read our reviews and buyer’s guide we are sure that you are ready to make a decision which you will not regret.
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