Two "Bar" tap wrenches and a "T" style tap wrench

A tap wrench is a hand tool used to operate any small tool that has a square driving head as part of its body. These are usually cutting tools, of which the most common are taps. Other small hand tools, such as hand reamers, might employ a tap wrench. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1980x1197, 443 KB) Photograph taken by Glenn McKechnie on the 26th March 2005. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1980x1197, 443 KB) Photograph taken by Glenn McKechnie on the 26th March 2005. ... Taps and dies are tools commonly used in metalworking for the cutting of screw threads in metal parts. ... A reamer or ream is a tool for enlarging holes and is used in metalworking. ...

Types of tap wrenches

The image shows three tap wrenches. All have two handles with the cutting tool connection in the center. This helps balance the torquing forces and reduces lateral forces which could snap the hardened cutting tool.

The two left tap wrenches in the image are Bar style which are distinguished by the cutting tool securing method. One of the handles is threaded so tightening the handle exerts pressure on the head of the cutting tool. In the case of the lower bar tap wrench, moves a jaw to apply clamping pressure.

The third wrench pictured is a '"T"' tap wrench. This model uses a collet design which uses a threaded nosecap to close several collet fingers, which exert clamping pressure on the cutting tool's drive head. This style is useful where restricted clearances or extra reach is required. T tap wrenches vary in length (reach) of the main body and the diameter of the body to accommodate various sizes of cutting tool. The hole which forms the collet fingers may be stepped (have multiple diameters, usually two) to increase the range of cutting tools which may be held by one wrench size. A collet is a holding device that forms a collar around the object to be held and exerts a strong clamping force on the object when it is tightened. ...

Proper use and safety

Numerous sizes of bar tap wrenches are required to cover the available size range of tool heads. Generally speaking, the smallest size which accommodates the tool head is recommended because it reduces the risk of breakage from excessive force.

Taps and reamers are hardened by heat treatment during manufacture. Although this hardness promotes long tool life, it also induces brittleness, so the tool must be used with more care than other hand tools. Heat Treatment is a group of manufacturing techniques used to alter the hardness and toughness of a material. ...

Unlike drills, taps don't automatically remove the chips they create. A tap cannot cut its threads in a single rotation because it creates long chips which quickly jam the tap, possibly breaking it. Therefore, in thread cutting, normal wrench usage is to cut the threads 1/2 to 2/3 of a turn (180 to 240 degree rotation), then reverse the tap for about 60 degrees until the chips are broken by the back edges of the cutters. It may be necessary to periodically remove the tap from the hole to clear the chips, especially when a "blind" (closed bottom) hole is threaded. various examples of swarf, including a block of compressed swarf Swarf (or turnings) is the debris or waste resulting from metalworking operations. ...

Reamers, on the other hand, are never reversed in use. To clear any chips, the whole tool is withdrawn and the chips carefully removed from the hole and between the reamer's flutes. Withdrawals must be often enough to prevent packing of the chips. The likelihood of breakage is reduced considerably if there is space for the chips to move out of the way. Reamers may be manufactured with either straight or spiral flutes to assist the cutting action as well as the movement of chips. A reamer or ream is a tool for enlarging holes and is used in metalworking. ...

Even though the tap wrench and its tools are operated at low speed, the use of safety glasses is highly recommended. Tool breakage can cause metal shards to be released at high speed. Also, when a tap is used to thread a blind hole, compressed air may be used to clear chips from the workpiece, and this absolutely requires the use of protective equipment. A pair of modern glasses A pair of more traditional glasses Glasses, spectacles, or eyeglasses are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the human eyes, sometimes for purely aesthetic reasons but normally for vision correction or eye protection. ... Look up air in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Metalworking:
Drilling and threading: Image File history File links Blacksmith-hammer-anvil-50x50. ... Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create parts or structures. ...	Die head | Drill | Drill bit | Drill bit shank | Drill bit sizes | Drilling| Pin chuck| Taps and dies | Tap wrench A die head is a threading die that is used in the high volume production of threaded components. ... A drill is a tool with a rotating drill bit used for drilling holes in various materials. ... Drill bits are the cutters of drill tools. ... The shank is the part of a drill bit grasped by the chuck of a drill. ... Drill bits are the cutting tools of drilling machines. ... An electric drill A drill is a tool with a rotary drill bit used to bore holes through material. ... Two pin chucks. ... Taps and dies are tools commonly used in metalworking for the cutting of screw threads in metal parts. ...
Metalworking topics:   Casting | CNC | Cutting tools | Drilling and threading | Fabrication | Finishing | Grinding | Jewellery | Lathe (tool) | Machining | Machine tooling | Measuring | Metalworking | Hand tools | Metallurgy | Milling | Occupations | Press tools | Smithing | Terminology | Welding One half of a bronze mold for casting a socketed spear head dated to the period 1400-1000 BC. This article is about the manufacturing process; for other uses, see Casting (disambiguation). ... A CNC Turning Center The abbreviation CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control, and refers specifically to the computer control of machine tools for the purpose of (repeatedly) manufacturing complex parts in metal as well as other materials, using a program written in a notation conforming to the EIA-274-D... a Cutting Tool, in the context of Metalworking is any tool that is used to remove metal from the workpiece by means of shear deformation. ... Drilling is the process of using a drill bit in a drill to produce holes. ... A typical steel fabrication shop Fabrication is an industrial term generally applied to the building of metal machines and structures. ... Rotating abrasive wheel on a bench grinder. ... Jewellery (Jewelry in American spelling) comprises ornamental objects worn by persons, typically made with gemstones and precious metals. ... Conventional metalworking lathe In woodturning, metalworking, metal spinning, and glassworking, a lathe is a machine tool which spins a block of material so that when abrasive, cutting, or deformation tools are applied to the block, it can be shaped to produce an object which has rotational symmetry about an axis... A lathe is a common tool used in machining. ... A machine tool is a powered mechanical device, typically used to fabricate metal components of machines by the selective removal of metal. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create parts or structures. ... Metalworking hand tools are hand tools that are used in the metalworking field. ... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... Cutters for a milling machine. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Smith (metalwork). ... Power press with a fixed barrier guard A press, or a machine press is a tool used to work metal (typically steel) by changing its shape and internal structure. ... A smith or metalsmith is a person involved in the shaping of metal objects. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. ...