So....I got my lower sliders powder coated and started to reassemble the front end. Evidently they got powder coat in the threads for the bottom clamp on the right side slider. No problem....just an excuse to buy a tap and die set. I get the threads in the front hole cleaned out rather easily. Cool....this is going well. NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND! The tap breaks off in the second hole. It's stuck. I've tried pliers, vice grips, channel locks. Nope. It's stuck. Tried drilling it......it's too hard to drill, at least with the bits I have. I even bought a bolt-out kit because it looked like the smallest one would fit. The tap is so hard it stripped the bolt-out.

First of all....do not buy this Craftsman kit.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...+Taps+%26+Dies


Secondly....would you:

A. Take it to a machine shop and have them try to remove the tap.
B. Buy a stock slider, and get it powder coated.

PS - I called my dad seeking advice. He starts laughing and says he would just weld a bolt onto it and unscrew it. Does me no good...since I don't have a welder and have never cracked an arc. He's still a smart alec from 2 states away. God love him.

 

Did you try to heat it a little? heating it may loosen it up enough to remove.

 

In addition to being "welderless" I'm also "torchless". I could get a torch though.

 

A heat gun or torch or anything is what i would try before anything else. You don't want to fuque up your sliders any worse than they already are.

 

Ouch!

First of all were you using any kind of cutting fluid or even WD-40? When tapping aluminum, i know you were just cleaning out the powder, you should always use some kind of lube. KY not suggested.

Anyway the tap like you drills are most likely "High Speed Steel"therefore, they are the same hardness and you will need something harder then the tap to cut it.

Your options are

(1) Like your dad said weld a nut.
(2) Have someone with the right equipment and some carbide endmills that they don’t care about to cut it out.
(3) Try a tap extractor.
(4) Or?

As for the heat yes it should help but be careful of you new powder, and if you get it too hot it may change the finish from say a semi to a gloss. I dont know that you had them coated.

 

I was using WD40 and being pretty careful. Suddenly the shaft on the tap started to bend and broke quickly.

Tap extractor.....hmmmmm.

 

Here is a link

http://www.skywaytools.com/tapextractors.html

 

THAT SUX!!! GOOD LUCK GETTING THAT THING OUT... POST SOME PICS!!

 

I used to work on high vacuum processing machines. The heat often caused galling and to clean up the threads I used a tap. Broke enough of them to take a pair of needle nose pliers and grind the ends down to fit in the grooves of the tap and clear the threaded hole. Takes some time working it back and forth but eventually the broken tap will be able to be unthreaded from the hole. Worked for me everytime. Just have to be real patient and don't force it. Good Luck.

 

Hey Dejavu,

Is that the Billy Bike in your avatar?