A Thread On Tapping

[AquariusPanta]

Tape looks better than misdrilled/mistapped holes. I can appreciate supra's method

Practice leads to perfection, or at least our perception of it.

I don't know the error probability for those new at drilling and tapping but if I can drill and tap with a cheapo hand drill from Harbor Freight for the first time and only make one mistake while working with 6x different heat sinks (ok technically two mistakes) and learn from those mistakes, then I'm left feeling confident with similar endeavors in the future.

To support your belief/opinion, Bicit, most times we won't even be looking at our COBs, as they will for the most part be turned on and bright as the sun, thus hiding the hideous looking kapton tape. It really is an eye-sore but so is the COB .

 

[bicit]

I drill and tap everything. Never used the tape method. I can appreciate it though. I just dont trust it

 

[AquariusPanta]

I drill and tap everything. Never used the tape method. I can appreciate it though. I just dont trust it

I feel the same way, B.

 

[Tazbud]

Out of a few hundreds screws into aluminum I've done so far, I've never tapped a hole. I use 2.5mm drill bit and M3 screws. Not saying it's better or something, I'm just lazy and this works well enough.

Yes, it's not something i contemplated with the expensive heatsink but probably should have just practiced with scrap. There's a slightly larger (2.75?mm) bit as well. Easy to screw into with 3mm m/screws yet forms a solid thread, no tapping.

 

[lostenspacecadet]

Ap, thanks for the reply. screwing in the cobs does look better, but for testing I liked the ease of tape. My concern was the tape causing some dysfunction from your statement. Carry on gents.

 

[Abiqua]

I drill and tap everything. Never used the tape method. I can appreciate it though. I just dont trust it

Don't read the thermocouple install instructions!....it won't be good

 

[95'ZR1]

I drilled and tapped with 4-40 about .030 from the edge of the cob and when all four corners are screwed in the cob can't move and it puts down pressure on the cob.

Once you use real tooling you would never be able to use HF stuff. Even though some things are nice you know their "carpenter" table well look what i turned it into for the wifey.

yes it's a mess from the kids bday. But i white washed it but granite on top and around the sides and pained the handles sparkle grey.

 

[Abiqua]

Mod's.....how can we make sticky icky?

 

[redi jedi]

Shit if your only going into aluminum, use self drilling/tapping screws?

 

[benbud89]

Out of a few hundreds screws into aluminum I've done so far, I've never tapped a hole. I use 2.5mm drill bit and M3 screws. Not saying it's better or something, I'm just lazy and this works well enough.

Im still postponing my build, and I hope this way to do it works. Im not gonna tap, cant get any of that stuff around here. Would kerosene be okay to lubricate the drill bit? New government seems to open up legislations on import, so this might not be ridiculously expensive. Thanks, Alesh

 

[Abiqua]

Im still postponing my build, and I hope this way to do it works. Im not gonna tap, cant get any of that stuff around here. Would kerosene be okay to lubricate the drill bit? New government seems to open up legislations on import, so this might not be ridiculously expensive. Thanks, Alesh

even vegetable oil should be sufficient Ben.....hope that helps...

 

[alesh]

Im still postponing my build, and I hope this way to do it works. Im not gonna tap, cant get any of that stuff around here. Would kerosene be okay to lubricate the drill bit? New government seems to open up legislations on import, so this might not be ridiculously expensive. Thanks, Alesh

In my recent build I used different heat sinks with a thicker base and this method didn't work well and I had to tap all the holes. I didn't use any lubricant for drilling and used WD40 for tapping. Worked very well.

 

[AquariusPanta]

In my recent build I used different heat sinks with a thicker base and this method didn't work well and I had to tap all the holes. I didn't use any lubricant for drilling and used WD40 for tapping. Worked very well.

I prefer and recommend using WD40 for these applications, as most cans of WD40 come with a little tube that works really well for the size of holes we drill/tap for.

 

[nogod_]

+1 on this. I used self tapping screws for one set of holes and although the screws went in straight, I was never satisfied with the final quality. There was a little "buckling" around the top of the hole that didn't sit right with my occasionally rabid OCD.

Tap + WD40 + patience= ez money.

96 holes on one tap and no casualties.

In my recent build I used different heat sinks with a thicker base and this method didn't work well and I had to tap all the holes. I didn't use any lubricant for drilling and used WD40 for tapping. Worked very well.

 

[alesh]

+1 on this. I used self tapping screws for one set of holes and although the screws went in straight, I was never satisfied with the final quality. There was a little "buckling" around the top of the hole that didn't sit right with my occasionally rabid OCD.

Tap + WD40 + patience= ez money.

96 holes on one tap and no casualties.

Patience is the key.
I previously used standard M3 screws into 2.5mm hole through 5mm base. I switched to 10mm base and tapping and I like it much better.

 

[benbud89]

With this heatsink, which base seems to be pretty thin, would I still need tapping? http://www.tme.eu/es/details/rad-a4291_1000/disipadores/ tapping equipment is expensive stuff around here, and I would rather avoid it if I could. My mechanical skills are not the best either, but it seems quite doable anyway. If it can be avoided without making much of a difference, I would really appreciate it.

 

[benbud89]

And thank you for all the helpful answers, it makes everything a lot easier to plan. Thanks!

 

[AquariusPanta]

With this heatsink, which base seems to be pretty thin, would I still need tapping? http://www.tme.eu/es/details/rad-a4291_1000/disipadores/ tapping equipment is expensive stuff around here, and I would rather avoid it if I could. My mechanical skills are not the best either, but it seems quite doable anyway. If it can be avoided without making much of a difference, I would really appreciate it.

If it were me, I'd tap it. But that's because I've got the tools and experience to go through with such an exercise. You may opt to purchase an additional heat sink, if cheaper than buying tools, and test your application of using self-tapping screws with this version of a heatsink.

 

[Abiqua]

if you are going to replace oil, using cutting oil....wd40 is for Water Displacement ....it works, but not that well....I only suggest Veggie oil in a Pinch!

 

[AquariusPanta]

if you are going to replace oil, using cutting oil....wd40 is for Water Displacement ....it works, but not that well....I only suggest Veggie oil in a Pinch!

I've had some mixed results with the use of WD40 while attempting to tap, with latter results resulting in tapping threads as if I were spreading creamy peanut butter on toasted bread - super quick and effortless. It ultimately comes down to the size of the tap and screw when tapping and making sure those two separate pieces are meant for one another. Quality of those parts also determines whether you'll spend 1 minute tapping a hole or instead 5 minutes.

One more note on tapping, drilling holes all the way through will greatly enhance your experience and effectiveness at tapping.