Large Tap Handle... Simple and Inexpensive...

Intro: Large Tap Handle... Simple and Inexpensive...

Are you in a pinch and need to tap large hole but found you
 do not have a tap handle large enough for the job and can not
warrant getting a nice new one that you will only use once or
twice a year....  Well here is a simple and cheap handle that will do the job...

  I did this at The Tech Shop in San Jose California....
http://techshop.ws/

 Gabriel Aceves

STEP 1: Step One... Materials...

First you are going to need to gather you mateials...  you are going to need two peices of alluminum bar stock
 at 10.0 inches long by 1.0 inches wide by .375 inches thick...   Two .25 flat washers...  two .25 lock washers...
 and two 2.0 inch long 1/4-20 cap screws...   I forgot to picture them but you will also need a .201 drill bit and a 1/4-20 cut tap...
 and also a .264 drill bitt...   and access to a drill press or a milling machine, a bandsaw and a handdrill... and
 two c-clamps....

STEP 2: Step Two.. Clamping Your Material Together....

Next you are going to want to clamp your material together...  It is very important that all of your edges line up as best you can
 esspecially your two long edges and the one short edge that all your dimensions are based off of....   You are going to
 want to place one clamp at the end of your pieces and one around the middle as shown in the picture...

STEP 3: Step Three... Marking Your Parts for Drilling...

Now you are going to map out your hole locations....  Your holes are going to be .375 from the long edge and one at .5 inch and a
 anouther at 1.5 inches from the short edge....   Look at the picture for a crude dimension call out...

STEP 4: Step Four... Drilling Your Holes...

  Next you are going to drill your holes....   Clamp your parts in a vise and drill two holes @ .201inch which is the bit size
 for a 1/4-20 cut tap...  Make sure your holes are straight and clean so you get good threads when you tap
 these parts...

STEP 5: Step Five... Clearance for the Screws....

Now you are going to take your parts out of the vise and clamps and drill
 clearance for your 1/4-20 cap screws with a .264 drill...  drill out one hole an each part...   make sure it is the
 second one in that is drilled....  So after you have reamed out those holes it is time for the next step...

STEP 6: Step Six.... Tapping Our Holes....

Now we are going to tap the hole  on the end....   Run the 1/4-20 tap through the hole on the end...
 Try to get a good set of threads because these will be used every time you use this handle...

STEP 7: Step Seven... Assembly....

Now we are going to assemble our tap handle...   If we did everything right after we invert the parts on each other
 the holes should line up with one clearance hole matched with one tapped hole...  So you are going to assemle your
 handle as shown in the pictures....  Thank you...  I hope this helps you...   Gabriel Aceves...
   I did this at the Tech Shop in San Jose California...

Comments

[rimar2000]

Interesting. I thought that this tool should be made of steel.

[gaceves009]

I have been using one just like
This for awhile and it has been OK...
If you go any thinner then. 375
You may start to have issues with bending...
Of course steel would make a more
Durable tool... I made the first
One out of what I had on
Hand... you are right though steel
Would be an ideal material
choice...
Gabriel