Discovered a cool trick for tapping aluminum on my mill last week

Been running a Haas VF-2 for about 3 years now and always had trouble with thread chipping in 6061. Last week I tried using a rigid tap with a little WD-40 at 1500 rpm instead of the usual tapping fluid. Came out perfect on 40 holes for a customer's part. No broken taps, no rework. Wondering if anyone else has found a weird fluid combo that works better than the fancy stuff.

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenix_thompson41d ago

My last tapping attempt looked like I was making modern art, not threads.

annas871d ago

Start with a sharp tap just off center and let the thread pull itself straight.