I was supervising a new employee that broke a 5/8 tap on a $2500 stainless shaft. He asked me if I was going to fire him. I told him: think I'm stupid? Now you know how to break a tap, and you also learned what not to do to avoid breaking a tap; that is called experience. What do you think is going to happen if I hire a new guy with no experience?
That is the kind of reaction you see in a new employee who has worked for some shitty employers or supervisors in the past. He'll get over the past experiences after working under a boss that is more interested in facilitating the new troop's knowledge and training than throwing him under the bus for every screw up.
I remember what happened when I did it. He said - why did I go and break it? I said - I didn't have anything better to do than to drill it out. That's exactly what I did for the next few hours.
@@aljosasinadinoski6032 ...I can't see how THIS particular setup would be any good at actually MAKING anything- but if you are referring to the technique of "ElectroDischarge Machining", you're quite right.
My neighbor had a motorcycle with a broken dowel pin in the crankshaft. (Rotary valve Kawasaki.) A machine shop turned an EDM electrode to the exact diameter needed using a lathe and used EDM to cut the pin out to the depth shown on the print in the shop manual for the bike. The EDM cut it perfectly. This was about 1969.
I haven't had lots of experiences with broken taps but I discovered something amazing during my first encounter. I broke a tap off in an aluminum supercharger. I called machine shop they refused to work on it. I researched and found out alum powder used to pickle veggies mixed with water and heated will dissolve ferrous metals like steel and iron but will not harm nonferrous metals like aluminum. I tried it and dissolved the tap completely for less than $10. Pretty interesting
I won't lie I read this comment like whaaaat naaaaa Then searched it and wow that's a bloody brilliant way of doing it Lots of how too guides on CZcams to confirm what you say ! Makes me want to break a drill bit into some ally just to try it 😅🤷
My Grandfather was a toolmaker and had a set of taps that had a hole cored down the centre with a reverse thread. In the kit we’re these recovery tools, like a reverse thread bolt with a shoulder. You were to wind the recovery bit down into the central hole until the shoulder stopped it going any further. You then kept winding and the snapped part would back out. I think 1/4” was the smallest tap with a tiny recovery bit. He proudly boasted he’d won them as an apprentice, used them regularly and never blew a bit in 45yrs. Sometimes, seeing him work metals in his seventies it was wholly credible.😉
That is exactly how it should be done, not smashing it into pieces. First a hole with the edm, the a reverse tap used to remove stuck broken bolts etc...
Obviously the two commenters have never worked in fab shops or machine shops. When a bit gets stuck like this in a solid steel part like this, you aren’t going to just reverse the tab and pull it on out. The steel will shrink and bind it up after it cools down. And other factors are at play as well
@@coltraindontworryboutit9990 It's M20: plenty place to edm a hole and use reverse tapped conical bit to unscrew it. The hole will shrink the tap's volume. Anyway, you are right that other factors play as well, but using a hammer and chisel are the last resort. He just was lucky not to damage the thread. This shows how you can make a hole in such hard metal using an Edm, but after the Edm, other tools exist. He had to use the Edm 3 times, normally you do this in 1 go with a recovery bit. Anyway,, the guy that breaks an M20 tap, was not using the right tool nor torque.
I so understand that sickening and sinking feeling you get when you break a tap off during one of the last operations of making an expensive part! So much easier to fix today then when I started working as a machinist!
YES, In my days as in the deburring / finishing dept of a 40person shop w/ no edm they would always send the part to DEBURRING for me to get out and make like new..Retired now YEAH..
The worst feeling is getting a tap out of an expensive jnconel part, then immediately breaking off a defective tap in the hole. Back to EDM for the next few hours…
This is about the most expensive and technical way you could possibly do this job. Especially with a 20mm tap. My go to for tap removal was always TIG welding. I would create a puddle of metal as wide as I could make it without contacting the threads. Then keep building and building until I had nub protruding from the hole about 15mm. When done welding I would lube the hole with penetrating oil. Then grab the nub with a pipe wrench and back the tap out. Depending on the size of the tap, it would usually take about 10min start to finish. Worst case, it would break off again and I would have another go. Removed hundreds of broken bolts and taps this way. Very effective.
@@keatmany2k5I was wondering why you were going down the overkill route. At first I thought it was just for demonstration purposes, but I never considered that they were tungsten carbide taps, no wonder it broke.
@mikeydudek2885 the tap in this video was not a tungsten carbide tap. It was a hss tap. The guy that posted that comment is a dumb fuck. Tig welding method is great
Use helical tornado down use old junk carbidr tool grind relife shank and flood hell out of spin tool fast and helical down bout .001 at a time but helical dia of hole 5hen tap will blow out pick out rest watch when get towards end tap as let go will break tool and goug wall bit
I am also a CNC-EDM machine operator in taiwan, and this is one of my masterpiece, I also can operate a surface grinding machine for it is very important to our job to prepare or shape an electrode used for the machining. Tapping or make a repair like that on the video are one of our job. I really missed it!
Removing busted anything is an art as much as science. I learned many techniques while in the Navy. On an all steel ship. It made me an indispensable shop hand. Absolutely vital skill.
I love that this super detailed and expensive looking machine for the fix is also brought with what looks like a sweet old hand me down wooden handle hammer.
I don’t use tap’s all the time but after 21 years of using them I can honestly say I have a love hate for them. As an electrician it’s very convenient to make your own hole when needed but sometimes I have to ask if it’s worth it because most of these taps are made like garbage. I had to tap a couple stainless cabinets before and every one day scepter the last I had an issue with. Now I let the young guys do it. When they mess up they give me that look but they know me. They know I’m not the one to freak out. I’m the one that makes them do the challenging work so they get experience and build confidence while applying their trade. And I never knew such a machine existed! Totally cool!
The key to tapping stainless is more frequent reversing and backing out completely and removing all the debris. I learned to not use taps too many times on stainless, instead grab a new tap after 5 to 10 uses and move that used tap to your mild steel case. I still broke plenty in my line of work but always used another sharpened tap to remove the broken one. Saved a lot of time with these two practices.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 I worked at a automation shop running a manual mill, building custom robotic machines and was one of 4 machinists there. I was always into the more tedious work and thinking outside of the box. I got stuck with setting up compound angles with a vise inside a vise and trickier stuff like that. The most puckering job I did was drilling and tapping mount holes in some 300 series stainless gripper jaws. The holes were m1.6x0.35, freaking tiny. The guy who ran the wire edm quit and I was the only one willing to take his place. Taught myself to run the edm and honestly had a blast doing that. Crazy what can be done with a edm
I used to tap 4" bearing cap holes on an 18 ft forged and machined $500k crankshaft for 5000 hp diesel engine. Using radial drill press. Was paid about $8/hr (1979). Never broke a tap but was always nervous as hell. Bottoming tap out is very common way to break it.
Amazing. Simply blows my mind that men think about these tools in their heads and draw up plans then create them, build them. Fascinating and really fun to watch them in action.
I have been removing broken taps for 40 years without damage to the part. One employer bought an EDM machine before I came to work for them. After I showed them how to do it they sold the EDM machine. All you need is technique and about $400 in tools. Happy to teach anyone how it's done.
I never use a power to to remove the broken tap it's to time consuming to set up the X Y and Or X it only take about 1/2 hour to remove a tap as small as 3/8" up to 1" no matter what material it's in.
I've done this 100's of times for multiple customers on both small and large taps without the need of an EDM, my best advice is GET SOME DECENT PUNCHES for starters and patience is the key to successful extraction!
if you spray on a zinc laiden epoxy paint over the work area the outflow passes ( just plug the hole with your finger) you won't have any ugly pitting on top, just wipe it off with thinner after. Just try it ;) takes 2 extra minutes to do and makes the result look perfect for the client! That aside nicely executed!
It just looks such a bad way of removing it! All that chipping bits out with a hammer and punch, marking and levering against the threads is bad practice. Could've got 10 broken taps out in that time with some nickel rods and a few bolts to weld on 🤔
Use castrol tap wax and grind drill bit offcenter will open hole little larger help keep tap from blowing but only do with bigger size taps engineers say tap will pull and could risk life but 33 years never saw anything happen unless eyebolt was 80 years old and bent alwYs hide when osha come thru along with nylon straps only used for flipping parts over osha see snag and have scrap out why usa get n ass kicked by china
I would’ve been at that for an hour or two with an air hose and a punch, trying to back that out. I’m glad there’s an industry in tools to help fix these mess ups. Happens to everyone at least once in the machining industry. Just fess up to your mess up and ask for help. Stuff happens.
You could try applying adhesive plastic tape around the area, it should prevent the surrounding metal from being damaged by the process? That's how electric etching is done, you apply an adhesive plastic tape with cutouts in the shape of the etched mark.
Kapton tape is perfect. Its rated at 500deg F and would perfectly mask the area and the adhesive would not leave any gummy residue. It peels off perfectly.
I personally use zinc epoxy paint , it's tough to damage , slightly conductive but comes off with solvent later leaving no trace , tape sorta works but in a shop environment occasionally gets a crease or a bubble or a pocket under it and then the spot still gets damaged after so I tried various paints and epoxy paint meant for painting iron after welding or galvanized steel etc ended up working like it was made for the task
The top of that part is a mess, it certainly wanted protecting by something, kapton tape sounds a good try for starters. I like the copper tube idea too to slice through the webs of the tap, that would be beautiful to see.
This is the first time I’ve seen one of these at work. When we break taps, we usually use carbide end mills at high rpms and a very slow speed rate. The bit a little smaller than the drill used for the minor diameter of the tap. Normally with the part left in the fixture or the vise. If you have a part this size already out of the machine or fixture it was in. I could easily see where this equipment would come in handy.
Repent to Jesus Christ “Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1 NIV
Same. In my last job, we had sinker EDMs, and fast hole machines. But to have them burn out a tap, there was paperwork to fill out, they could never get to it right away...management wanted to know why you broke a tap...removing them by plunging an endmill through them became my go-to method.
@@jesusislord6545 stop trying to force religion on everyone. People have to find their own way. Either way Jesus was a con man who masterminded the greatest con of all time. It's hard to believe in something where the people running it keep asking for your money. Besides if you want to belive in a religion probably more feasible that one should believe in the first one. Hinduism.
As a mere independent motorcycle mechanic, its interesting to see that engineers in far loftier establishments than mine have succumbed to the dreaded broken tap in the workpiece! Nice to see a professional at work making it good again. There will always be broken taps, hence the need to always be able to extract them.
@Iniaes In Space The brittleness is not changed. The material is removed. The core of the tap is simply a little bigger than the hole made in to it and it's the left over material that get's destroyed with force.
Nice job. I learned that taps that break off while cutting (turning in for right thread) are harder to remove than those turned back to break the chip. My boss told me that that was the first question you had to ask when someone broke the tap. Taps with a bigger inner diameter we drilled a hole in the center to put in an extractor tool, trying to pull it out in its whole. If that didnt work we often referred to what you just did. Breaking off the tap bits could damage the inner thread though.
I have seen this done on a job sites hardened bolt and carbide drill was broke trying to drill it out. The EDM was a different design or manufacturer but portable, the technician use a type of wide vinyl tape and plumbers putty to protect the surface. I was his assigned helper and learned a ton cool tricks. He made three over lapping holes, pulled the core out and the broken carbide drill, made three sided key shaft, and pour in liquid butane, installed the three keyed shaft and turned the shaft with two pipe wrenches.
We had an edm collecting dust no one wanted to "figure" it out. So I took the initiative. These things are worth their weight in gold. Holy smokes I can't even tell you how many parts I fixed over the years. Every shop should have one imo.
Edm I'd the thing you name it lol it can do it edm machining is still the top dog to hard materials wire eroding machines make taps lol dies all sorts yep it's an art form new a guy from wetland helicopters he used to run one total respect
It’s useful more than just fixing tools. Imagine drilling holes on harden parts. I have suppliers plugged the holes all day long. Makes some tough job much easier with the right tool.
I was the one they called for troubles like this. No fancy equip, just me and a lot of experience to bail them out. This likely took the same amount of time and resorses a torch, hand drill and purpose ground chisels to do the same job but WAY cheaper/less expensive $
When I'm EDM'ing broken taps I use a thin wall copper or brass tube as an electrode of a suitable diameter that it can cut all the webs at once. No chiselling necessary !
That thought crossed my mind, Why use a solid Rod, if all You want is a thin Cut to make manageable pieces… and pumping it through the rod to flush the gap is a total bonus… hell you could vacuum pump it back through the rod when applying it to the outside, probably even making less of a mess…
Lots of suggestions...use magnetic scribe or probe , small air nozzle to get to bottom if possible, electrode of tubing vs solid. As tool and die maker of 43 years, burned vent holes in hardened forging dies as small as .5 mm with rotating electrodes......very interesting.
I use a small chisel and break it apart chip by chip. The taps are really hard metal and breaks easy. Takes about ten minutes. You have to be careful and precise. Works every time. Diesel Technician, trade school graduate, 25 years in the field.
I dont believe it. You need space so when you break the tap there is some room to play with. By hitting with a chisel without creating a cavity you will just compact the problem. That's why the video showed what he did. He made space then he used the chisel.
@@tothenext6332 when they are broken they are wedged in there. You break off enough chips and it frees up. Then pull out the rest. You don't need a cavity.
I have done that a crap load of times. I've also sliced open the hole like a really deep flat screwdriver to the bottom of the tap knock out the pieces weld up both sides and retap hole.
I've removed quite a few broken taps in my day but not that way. As other commenters stated, a carbide end mill, or in my case a carbide drill or diamond core bit. Don't go all the way through, just go deep enough so a broken screw extractor can jam in there & spin it out. If that doesn't work, drill all the way through it & chip the tap flutes with a punch. Doesn't take long.
EDM is very good for high aspect ratio and fine holes. .1 millimeter holes through a 50 mm piece of metal? No problem. I was surprised at how large this electrode is though.
Breaking taps is a common occurrence when using 4-40 and 5-40 taps in air hardening tool steel like A2 , M2 and P2. We had a very large 100 gallon tank filled with oil. We would submerge the part along with the electrode and burn out the tap with an EDM machine. Worked every time. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I've gotten some smaller broken taps out on my milling machine, with the part still in the fixture. I took an old, worn center cutting carbide end mill with about the same diameter as the minor diameter of the threads and ran a drill cycle, extremely slow feed rate (like .0001" per rev or something like that), down into the tap with lots of coolant. Basically ground it down with the end mill. It turns the tap into dust and the end mill still looks basically the same afterwards.
I usually use a small broken carbide endmill I grind a special point to drill out broken taps. I take out broken taps all the time from other machine shops.
When I break a tap I beat my wife and turn to alcoholism ,also curse the universe for my existence. It's not standard engineering practice but it's alternative engineering practice.
That’s a nice big tap. I probably would have drilled it out with one of my personal home made carbide drills on the large milling machine here. My last resort would be to send to the EDM guy here. I wouldn’t mind having this portable hole popper around though. It definitely would come in handy once in a while.
Neat setup. I used to make parts like this and yup, broken a tap or two in my day. I would just swap in a ball nosed carbide endmill and in a few minutes problem solved without breaking setup. This portable EDM though is a super useful tool and I thank you for the video of it in action.
Hahaaa good job, what i love the most in fabrication industry is that every tool has a multi purpose, hence the burring tip of a diagrinder being used as a punch / chisel LOL. Great vid good job 🤜🤛
In my old workplace we used to precut the thread just enough so that we can later finish it by hand. Usually with a part that runs for half an hour, you got enough time to do it.
I'll often do similar, threadmill to rough out and hand tap afterwards to finish. More effective that pissing about getting the threadmill running nice for only one or 2 holes.
I have been in industrial maintenance for over 25 years and have removed a few broken taps by crushing them with a good punch and a hammer, I’ll bet I could get that one too!
spiffy, first time seeing one of these used, and i've been doing, conventional ram, cnc 4axis ram, active spindle, hole popper, and wire edm's for 14 years. Always just tossed a custom drill chuck to a erowa head and clamped in the desired rod set 0's and go!, Just a FYI, carbide edm electrodes are best to remove carbide tools, it's expensive as hell but i got through 3 6inch broken drills with 2. Tungsten will build up recast from the bolts/studs quicker its more material dependant.
Nice one :o) Many comments about tape around the hole or putty. I’d give it a blast of primer from a rattle can. *evertime I see an eroder I feel I need one. So many useful uses like alien key plugs.
I have to wonder how well a thread gauge goes into it! The bolt fits, but a go / nogo is the true test. EDM machines are very cool. Being a tool and die guy, I have my own bag of foolproof tricks… !
Pretty slick equipment for extracting a broken tap 1st with "spot welding?" a rod onto the steel to break it down. Then a center punch followed by additional spot welding or cutting. Finally clean up and re-tapping of the threads. Final check with a test bolt of the same size.
Where I worked we use to use a ball nose end mill and feed it slowly in the pull out the chunks. Worked every time. We worked only stainless parts and we used tap-matic tapping oil and it worked like a Charm every time.
@Jun Cali Not to mention it would never pass ultrasonic penetration. Any stress around that area would result in cracking in time. Not putting alodine on it also will result in pitting in no time.
its always the last hole in an expensive part, that is super urgent, in aluminium tooling plate. found a new use for out galvo laser marker, great to be used as a tap edm, if you remove the laser shroud and manage to get the plate under the lens. Does the trick lovely without any heat to the ally.
Aluminum tooling plate? Tap remover tool with prongs, dry ice, a MAP gas torch and some 3 in 1. That aluminum will grow a lot. Probably enough to loosen the jam especially if you can drop a couple small chunks of dry ice in the hole.
A piece of tape wouldn't prevent the scorching of the metal in high temperatures such as those produced in electrical welding. The electricity and accompanying heat generated within the arc is necessary to weaken the structural integrity of the tap so that it may be removed.
EDM is cool stuff! I saw it in use a great deal when working in aircraft engine part manufacturing. Super hard high nickel content alloys are very hard to machine and you either grind or EDM them.
Hi relatively new to machining couldn't you weld a bit of stock to that tap and use a some type of wrench and slowly un-tread the tap or when it breaks is it usually friction welded to the inside?
Had that job numerous times in the past but we could machine up different sized electrodes to suit the hole. Found copper pipe good because it could cut through all the tap webs at one go and it quickly because you were only cutting the thickness of the pipe wall.
Another great video. Keep it up. Protecting the area around the hole with non-conductive layer of material e.g. some kapton tape with silicone adhesive, could preserve the initial surface quality and eliminate the cleaning of discharge marks ?
I used to use a little edm machine similar to that....we used to build plasticine bowl around the top that kept the coolant always inside the thread or hole we were working on. One of those jobs where you had to be accurate and patient...
Note the dark region around having a rough finish(still visible after being polished, almost looks corroded). Does that fatigue the metal in any way or is it a thin surface
We used to do that 35 years ago but we had to drop the electrode manual every 5mm and adjust column height. And top the tank up . You just have a digital one now !
I've done this _way_ too many times, though I had to use a much simpler head without the nice fine control. The coolant was pumped through the electrodes which were molybdenum tubes instead of solid carbon, and the electrode was vibrated up and down inside the head unit rapidly to form the arcs. I turned into the go-to guy for burning broken taps out because I didn't gouge the threads like everyone else lol, I had a special touch with the janky spindle system which had a bad habit of swerving at inopportune times. Those burners are indispensable, the only alternative to getting broken taps that big out is clamping them into a mill to cut the HSS tap out with carbide, which typically wrecks or breaks at _least_ one cutter. I've gotten lucky and backed a few out with a hammer and punch but that's rare, they usually fracture in multiple places and wedge themselves tight. Ohh, the joys of working on giant parts, the fun never ends...
@@HousesandCars I don't know this specific machine brand, I've only ever used one type made by a company called Electro-Arc which I can highly recommend but I'm sure there are cheaper options out there, they aren't exactly cheap but last literally forever, the unit I used was at least 50 years old and had burned through several thousand taps before I got to it, which I promptly doubled lol. If you just want the name of the tool itself they're called EDM tap burners, there are dozens of different companies that make them. If you're in the market for one I would recommend finding the style that pumps coolant through the electrode itself, and if you can use molybdenum electrodes (available from Electro-Arc), they last by far the longest. The brass electrodes commonly used these days (for their low price) burn through very quickly compared to molybdenum, they last at most 1/4 the amount of time as molybdenum and also cut slower, and contamination in the threads increases too, brass disintegrates and leaves oxides all over the place where the molybdenum doesn't.
@@TheExplosiveGuy Wow thank you much. Actually I have this problem... a broken tap inside my engine block and it's 4 inches down. I was thinking about calling around to see if different shops have them in the Dayton area. It would be nice to get this car on the road.
@@HousesandCars I'm not sure what happened, I had a detailed reply for you but youtube must have been hitting the bong again, you know how they are sometimes😉. To recap, you can either find a local machine shop that specializes in larger scale machining or some automotive shops, someone is bound to have a tap burner around you, you will just have to look around. You can also buy a $200-ish chinesium model from amazon or ebay, for your one-off need it might be a bit costly but maybe it will pay off later, assuming you can't find a local shop that can do it for you. Also, if you do end up doing it yourself (even if you don't, make sure whoever does the job follows this advice), if it's 4 inches deep into a threaded hole you are going to need a non-conductive sleeve bushing with coolant pass throughs along the side to guide the electrode down the hole without gouging out the upper hole/threads, think a section of hard plastic tube with an ID of your electrode OD and the same OD as the thread minor ID (or just a nylon bolt with a hole drilled through), with a slit cut down the length along one side, the width of a cut-off wheel on an angle grinder works perfectly. This will guide the electrode straight and centered down the hole and allows coolant to pump through the electrode and back out the hole to flush all the debris out. That deep of a hole will need a lot of coolant flow to remove all the debris created so this _has_ to be done. Of all the tap removal jobs, deep hole removals are the most difficult and risky, so be careful however you proceed.
No one will ever know a machinist's anguish when the tap breaks on the last hole of the last part and you have to mill it out. I nearly walked out after breaking a 1/4-20 tap on a stainless steel part. The boss ordered thread Mills the next day. Lol
@@inconel7185 thread mills are ussually more cost effective They are expensive but they hold 10 times longer than conventional tools We only use them since 2016
I am inexperienced compared to my coworkers but I saw they kept breaking their taps in hard steel and recommended a thread mill ...I earned a little respect after that
@@geminisduerme5266 thread mills are overall better and more cost effective For example we had go make 600 parts which each had 6×M5 taps Conventional taps broke after 50-60 parts And thread mills held for 450 parts till we completed the contract and i think it would have held even longer The thread mill was 120 euros And the amount of taps we broke with the Conventional ones took us around 280 euros So idk I would never go back from thread mills
Man! And I thought I was pretty badass getting a snapped off Easy Out out of a seized and broken off 6mm screw, by rigging up a MIG welder and a piece of stainless TIG filler rod, and managing to tack the rod onto the Easy Out
The difference is this, if you do it yourself and wreck the part, no biggie. If you’re called in to remove the tap without wrecking the part, you use EDM to make absolutely sure you don’t wreck the part, as if you do, you’re quickly approaching a reality where you don’t eat. This is why professionals are so expensive, a big part of the price is the fact that the pro is absorbing the risk, aka. the guarantee that they’ll fix the problem within a timely manner, not the work itself.
I was supervising a new employee that broke a 5/8 tap on a $2500 stainless shaft. He asked me if I was going to fire him. I told him: think I'm stupid? Now you know how to break a tap, and you also learned what not to do to avoid breaking a tap; that is called experience. What do you think is going to happen if I hire a new guy with no experience?
Wise employer😁😁😁
@Neander Thal in part, you are correct. But probabilities to break a tap, lessen by about 70%. Remember: nothing Is absolute.
Smart
That is the kind of reaction you see in a new employee who has worked for some shitty employers or supervisors in the past. He'll get over the past experiences after working under a boss that is more interested in facilitating the new troop's knowledge and training than throwing him under the bus for every screw up.
I remember what happened when I did it. He said - why did I go and break it? I said - I didn't have anything better to do than to drill it out. That's exactly what I did for the next few hours.
I love the fact there’s a whole industry of tools that exist only to fix other broken tools mistakes
Actually its used for machining parts, but it has other uses like this
@@aljosasinadinoski6032 ...I can't see how THIS particular setup would be any good at actually MAKING anything- but if you are referring to the technique of "ElectroDischarge Machining", you're quite right.
@@daleburrell6273 it can be uesed for making start holes in hardened steel for WireEDM
P
My neighbor had a motorcycle with a broken dowel pin in the crankshaft. (Rotary valve Kawasaki.) A machine shop turned an EDM electrode to the exact diameter needed using a lathe and used EDM to cut the pin out to the depth shown on the print in the shop manual for the bike. The EDM cut it perfectly. This was about 1969.
I haven't had lots of experiences with broken taps but I discovered something amazing during my first encounter. I broke a tap off in an aluminum supercharger. I called machine shop they refused to work on it. I researched and found out alum powder used to pickle veggies mixed with water and heated will dissolve ferrous metals like steel and iron but will not harm nonferrous metals like aluminum. I tried it and dissolved the tap completely for less than $10. Pretty interesting
interesting， I will try it in the future， thanks！
Some1 like so i can come back to this some where in my life when i need it
well done🌊
That's pretty darn kwl
I won't lie I read this comment like whaaaat naaaaa
Then searched it and wow that's a bloody brilliant way of doing it
Lots of how too guides on CZcams to confirm what you say ! Makes me want to break a drill bit into some ally just to try it 😅🤷
My Grandfather was a toolmaker and had a set of taps that had a hole cored down the centre with a reverse thread. In the kit we’re these recovery tools, like a reverse thread bolt with a shoulder. You were to wind the recovery bit down into the central hole until the shoulder stopped it going any further. You then kept winding and the snapped part would back out. I think 1/4” was the smallest tap with a tiny recovery bit. He proudly boasted he’d won them as an apprentice, used them regularly and never blew a bit in 45yrs. Sometimes, seeing him work metals in his seventies it was wholly credible.😉
That's the route I would of took personally.
That is exactly how it should be done, not smashing it into pieces. First a hole with the edm, the a reverse tap used to remove stuck broken bolts etc...
Obviously the two commenters have never worked in fab shops or machine shops. When a bit gets stuck like this in a solid steel part like this, you aren’t going to just reverse the tab and pull it on out. The steel will shrink and bind it up after it cools down. And other factors are at play as well
@@coltraindontworryboutit9990 It's M20: plenty place to edm a hole and use reverse tapped conical bit to unscrew it. The hole will shrink the tap's volume. Anyway, you are right that other factors play as well, but using a hammer and chisel are the last resort. He just was lucky not to damage the thread. This shows how you can make a hole in such hard metal using an Edm, but after the Edm, other tools exist. He had to use the Edm 3 times, normally you do this in 1 go with a recovery bit. Anyway,, the guy that breaks an M20 tap, was not using the right tool nor torque.
@@coltraindontworryboutit9990 One of the most difficult problems we come across.
I so understand that sickening and sinking feeling you get when you break a tap off during one of the last operations of making an expensive part! So much easier to fix today then when I started working as a machinist!
YES, In my days as in the deburring / finishing dept of a 40person shop w/ no edm they would always send the part to DEBURRING for me to get out and make like new..Retired now YEAH..
The worst feeling is getting a tap out of an expensive jnconel part, then immediately breaking off a defective tap in the hole. Back to EDM for the next few hours…
Yea but we are the few in the world that can extract them old school out in the bush.
I literally had just one tap left, measured that i need to go one milimeter deeper and that last bit made it break
Broken taps are why toolmakers and machinist drink .
Can confirm 😂
Man i Had that Broken Tap in a Roll of really hard castiron. It makes me sleepless 😴
I wouldn’t know, I’ve never broken a tap😁😂
@@perceive8159 i am glad u didnt , hope it wont happen
@@perceive8159 1st yr apprentice or a form grinder ?
This is about the most expensive and technical way you could possibly do this job. Especially with a 20mm tap. My go to for tap removal was always TIG welding. I would create a puddle of metal as wide as I could make it without contacting the threads. Then keep building and building until I had nub protruding from the hole about 15mm. When done welding I would lube the hole with penetrating oil. Then grab the nub with a pipe wrench and back the tap out. Depending on the size of the tap, it would usually take about 10min start to finish. Worst case, it would break off again and I would have another go. Removed hundreds of broken bolts and taps this way. Very effective.
Can't weld to a tungsten carbide tap tho, hence why we use tungsten electrodes
@@keatmany2k5I was wondering why you were going down the overkill route. At first I thought it was just for demonstration purposes, but I never considered that they were tungsten carbide taps, no wonder it broke.
@mikeydudek2885 the tap in this video was not a tungsten carbide tap. It was a hss tap. The guy that posted that comment is a dumb fuck. Tig welding method is great
@@Yeakerr а я просто высверлил его простой дрелью и сверлом по кафелю. рассверлил середину а половинки так достал
Wow! Dude. I didn't expect to actually stop whatever else I'm doing and just watch. Oddly satisfying.
This takes me back. I was everyone’s favourite apprentice because I saved everyone’s work by getting out all the broken taps.
@Jun Cali getting them stuck?
👏
You must be my twin at work, LOL.
Use helical tornado down use old junk carbidr tool grind relife shank and flood hell out of spin tool fast and helical down bout .001 at a time but helical dia of hole 5hen tap will blow out pick out rest watch when get towards end tap as let go will break tool and goug wall bit
This has got to be the most interesting extraction process I've seen! Thank you!
I am also a CNC-EDM machine operator in taiwan, and this is one of my masterpiece, I also can operate a surface grinding machine for it is very important to our job to prepare or shape an electrode used for the machining. Tapping or make a repair like that on the video are one of our job. I really missed it!
Hurco jurco made twain
来大陆cnc 放电🎉～大陆工厂多😅……你还可以去台湾公司当领导
Removing busted anything is an art as much as science. I learned many techniques while in the Navy. On an all steel ship. It made me an indispensable shop hand. Absolutely vital skill.
I love that this super detailed and expensive looking machine for the fix is also brought with what looks like a sweet old hand me down wooden handle hammer.
This was such an interesting video, I never knew of such a trade. Excellent and clean work!
That was so awesome!!! I've never seen or heard of that process before. Unbelievable!!!
I don’t use tap’s all the time but after 21 years of using them I can honestly say I have a love hate for them. As an electrician it’s very convenient to make your own hole when needed but sometimes I have to ask if it’s worth it because most of these taps are made like garbage. I had to tap a couple stainless cabinets before and every one day scepter the last I had an issue with. Now I let the young guys do it. When they mess up they give me that look but they know me. They know I’m not the one to freak out. I’m the one that makes them do the challenging work so they get experience and build confidence while applying their trade. And I never knew such a machine existed! Totally cool!
Great work! I learnt something new today and have now read up a bit on EDM machines, thanks for the video.
The key to tapping stainless is more frequent reversing and backing out completely and removing all the debris. I learned to not use taps too many times on stainless, instead grab a new tap after 5 to 10 uses and move that used tap to your mild steel case. I still broke plenty in my line of work but always used another sharpened tap to remove the broken one. Saved a lot of time with these two practices.
if the tap has a shine or makes any noise,get it the hell out of the part....that "KINK" sound makes your asshole clench up😆
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 I worked at a automation shop running a manual mill, building custom robotic machines and was one of 4 machinists there. I was always into the more tedious work and thinking outside of the box. I got stuck with setting up compound angles with a vise inside a vise and trickier stuff like that. The most puckering job I did was drilling and tapping mount holes in some 300 series stainless gripper jaws. The holes were m1.6x0.35, freaking tiny. The guy who ran the wire edm quit and I was the only one willing to take his place. Taught myself to run the edm and honestly had a blast doing that. Crazy what can be done with a edm
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 that "oh f@ck" moment 😄
I used to tap 4" bearing cap holes on an 18 ft forged and machined $500k crankshaft for 5000 hp diesel engine. Using radial drill press. Was paid about $8/hr (1979). Never broke a tap but was always nervous as hell. Bottoming tap out is very common way to break it.
Stainless is the damn devil
I just learned what EDM machining is. Fascinating stuff!
Amazing. Simply blows my mind that men think about these tools in their heads and draw up plans then create them, build them. Fascinating and really fun to watch them in action.
That sounds like a very angry Geiger counter.
I have been removing broken taps for 40 years without damage to the part. One employer bought an EDM machine before I came to work for them. After I showed them how to do it they sold the EDM machine. All you need is technique and about $400 in tools. Happy to teach anyone how it's done.
I never use a power to to remove the broken tap it's to time consuming to set up the X Y and Or X it only take about 1/2 hour to remove a tap as small as 3/8" up to 1" no matter what material it's in.
I actually managed to do it twice using the tappy, tap, tap process.
Tell us your secrets
You’re an old pro!
Make a video, put it on CZcams, earn money from it.👍
for someone with no clue what that machine does, it was fascinating and entertaining. thanks for sharing
Beautiful workmanship
Ah yes, the man with the machine, that does the thing.
That’s a beautiful thing! A human defeating a formidable foe! Congratulations! Victory!
I've done this 100's of times for multiple customers on both small and large taps without the need of an EDM, my best advice is GET SOME DECENT PUNCHES for starters and patience is the key to successful extraction!
As a retired Aerospace prototype Machinist, nice job I love the portable EDM
if you spray on a zinc laiden epoxy paint over the work area the outflow passes ( just plug the hole with your finger) you won't have any ugly pitting on top, just wipe it off with thinner after. Just try it ;) takes 2 extra minutes to do and makes the result look perfect for the client! That aside nicely executed!
It just looks such a bad way of removing it! All that chipping bits out with a hammer and punch, marking and levering against the threads is bad practice. Could've got 10 broken taps out in that time with some nickel rods and a few bolts to weld on 🤔
Use castrol tap wax and grind drill bit offcenter will open hole little larger help keep tap from blowing but only do with bigger size taps engineers say tap will pull and could risk life but 33 years never saw anything happen unless eyebolt was 80 years old and bent alwYs hide when osha come thru along with nylon straps only used for flipping parts over osha see snag and have scrap out why usa get n ass kicked by china
Cool little EDM machine. Could almost smell the burning oil even after nearly 40 years of being away from them.
That was neat. I've never seen electricity used to weaken metal like that. Thank you for sharing James Park
Spark erosion can set electricity higher use rough electrode then finish trode better turn elec down will undercut if not
Not something I would normally watch but I must admit I really enjoyed this 👍
It's a good thing the mag base works on that material.
Great save! 👍
It wouldn't be a big deal to clamp a steel plate onto the workpiece.... there are even holes tapped in it !! 🙄😂
Any machinery that has a claw hammer in the tool kit is bound to be good
old school wood
Who has a claw hammer in an engineering tool box, obviously proper technical work this
This was so satisfying to see some one beat a broken tap
I would’ve been at that for an hour or two with an air hose and a punch, trying to back that out. I’m glad there’s an industry in tools to help fix these mess ups. Happens to everyone at least once in the machining industry. Just fess up to your mess up and ask for help. Stuff happens.
You could try applying adhesive plastic tape around the area, it should prevent the surrounding metal from being damaged by the process?
That's how electric etching is done, you apply an adhesive plastic tape with cutouts in the shape of the etched mark.
Try nail polish. 👍
Kapton tape is perfect. Its rated at 500deg F and would perfectly mask the area and the adhesive would not leave any gummy residue. It peels off perfectly.
@@Mike-ff7ib knapton tape is amazing stuff
I personally use zinc epoxy paint , it's tough to damage , slightly conductive but comes off with solvent later leaving no trace , tape sorta works but in a shop environment occasionally gets a crease or a bubble or a pocket under it and then the spot still gets damaged after so I tried various paints and epoxy paint meant for painting iron after welding or galvanized steel etc ended up working like it was made for the task
The top of that part is a mess, it certainly wanted protecting by something, kapton tape sounds a good try for starters.
I like the copper tube idea too to slice through the webs of the tap, that would be beautiful to see.
This is the first time I’ve seen one of these at work. When we break taps, we usually use carbide end mills at high rpms and a very slow speed rate. The bit a little smaller than the drill used for the minor diameter of the tap. Normally with the part left in the fixture or the vise. If you have a part this size already out of the machine or fixture it was in. I could easily see where this equipment would come in handy.
i often use a ball nose and not very high rpm,under a 1000 rpm
We do it the same way, using carbide endmills to remove broken tabs but i could see this come in handy in removing a broken carbid tap.
Repent to Jesus Christ
“Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.”
Isaiah 25:1 NIV
Same. In my last job, we had sinker EDMs, and fast hole machines. But to have them burn out a tap, there was paperwork to fill out, they could never get to it right away...management wanted to know why you broke a tap...removing them by plunging an endmill through them became my go-to method.
@@jesusislord6545 stop trying to force religion on everyone. People have to find their own way. Either way Jesus was a con man who masterminded the greatest con of all time. It's hard to believe in something where the people running it keep asking for your money. Besides if you want to belive in a religion probably more feasible that one should believe in the first one. Hinduism.
Damn I've never seen this kind of machine that existed ... Thanks man
As a mere independent motorcycle mechanic, its interesting to see that engineers in far loftier establishments than mine have succumbed to the dreaded broken tap in the workpiece!
Nice to see a professional at work making it good again.
There will always be broken taps, hence the need to always be able to extract them.
Nice job! That EDM machine is a lifesaver!
Electronic Dance Music Machine! Yea!
M20 is also easily removed with a cheap plasma cutter.
@Iniaes In Space The brittleness is not changed. The material is removed. The core of the tap is simply a little bigger than the hole made in to it and it's the left over material that get's destroyed with force.
Выкручивать то хоть пробовали?
Nice job. I learned that taps that break off while cutting (turning in for right thread) are harder to remove than those turned back to break the chip. My boss told me that that was the first question you had to ask when someone broke the tap. Taps with a bigger inner diameter we drilled a hole in the center to put in an extractor tool, trying to pull it out in its whole. If that didnt work we often referred to what you just did. Breaking off the tap bits could damage the inner thread though.
I have seen this done on a job sites hardened bolt and carbide drill was broke trying to drill it out. The EDM was a different design or manufacturer but portable, the technician use a type of wide vinyl tape and plumbers putty to protect the surface. I was his assigned helper and learned a ton cool tricks. He made three over lapping holes, pulled the core out and the broken carbide drill, made three sided key shaft, and pour in liquid butane, installed the three keyed shaft and turned the shaft with two pipe wrenches.
Just talking about portable sparkers the other week, never seen one in use. Nice.
Not something used often, but when you need it, you need it.
We had an edm collecting dust no one wanted to "figure" it out. So I took the initiative. These things are worth their weight in gold. Holy smokes I can't even tell you how many parts I fixed over the years. Every shop should have one imo.
Also a tool room.
What is a tab? Also, twice the depth to the diameter of the "tap"
Edm I'd the thing you name it lol it can do it edm machining is still the top dog to hard materials wire eroding machines make taps lol dies all sorts yep it's an art form new a guy from wetland helicopters he used to run one total respect
@@SarahandJim1 I kept noticing too. It is poorly transcribed... tab =tap
It’s useful more than just fixing tools. Imagine drilling holes on harden parts. I have suppliers plugged the holes all day long. Makes some tough job much easier with the right tool.
That was amazing. Didn’t realise that exists
Nice job saving the day!
I was the one they called for troubles like this. No fancy equip, just me and a lot of experience to bail them out. This likely took the same amount of time and resorses a torch, hand drill and purpose ground chisels to do the same job but WAY cheaper/less expensive $
When I'm EDM'ing broken taps I use a thin wall copper or brass tube as an electrode of a suitable diameter that it can cut all the webs at once. No chiselling necessary !
Plus get the dielectric/electrolyte right to the bottom to flush the crud out of a deep hole
Brilliant
That thought crossed my mind, Why use a solid Rod, if all You want is a thin Cut to make manageable pieces… and pumping it through the rod to flush the gap is a total bonus… hell you could vacuum pump it back through the rod when applying it to the outside, probably even making less of a mess…
TAP
Lots of suggestions...use magnetic scribe or probe , small air nozzle to get to bottom if possible, electrode of tubing vs solid. As tool and die maker of 43 years, burned vent holes in hardened forging dies as small as .5 mm with rotating electrodes......very interesting.
I use a small chisel and break it apart chip by chip. The taps are really hard metal and breaks easy. Takes about ten minutes. You have to be careful and precise. Works every time. Diesel Technician, trade school graduate, 25 years in the field.
Are you saying you can remove any broken tap?
I dont believe it. You need space so when you break the tap there is some room to play with. By hitting with a chisel without creating a cavity you will just compact the problem. That's why the video showed what he did. He made space then he used the chisel.
@@tothenext6332 when they are broken they are wedged in there. You break off enough chips and it frees up. Then pull out the rest. You don't need a cavity.
I have done that a crap load of times. I've also sliced open the hole like a really deep flat screwdriver to the bottom of the tap knock out the pieces weld up both sides and retap hole.
Used a good center punch on a broken 8m tap before.
Amazing! The EDM I ran back in the day was the size of a small car.
I've removed quite a few broken taps in my day but not that way. As other commenters stated, a carbide end mill, or in my case a carbide drill or diamond core bit. Don't go all the way through, just go deep enough so a broken screw extractor can jam in there & spin it out. If that doesn't work, drill all the way through it & chip the tap flutes with a punch. Doesn't take long.
I used to operate ecd and ecm machines so this video was really interesting to watch as I couldn't see this process while the machine doors were shut
What are the fucking odds! 😆
Never heard or seen this process before very interesting
Yeah same! I've also spent many hours drilling and hammering out broken taps lol.
EDM is very good for high aspect ratio and fine holes. .1 millimeter holes through a 50 mm piece of metal? No problem.
I was surprised at how large this electrode is though.
If you want to learn more, check out this video by Applied Science. It explains the process very thoroughly: czcams.com/video/rpHYBz7ToII/video.html
Nice work. very interesting to watch.
Breaking taps is a common occurrence when using 4-40 and 5-40 taps in air hardening tool steel like A2 , M2 and P2. We had a very large 100 gallon tank filled with oil. We would submerge the part along with the electrode and burn out the tap
with an EDM machine. Worked every time.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Haha ... EDM machine was my first thought when I saw the video thumbnail!
I've gotten some smaller broken taps out on my milling machine, with the part still in the fixture. I took an old, worn center cutting carbide end mill with about the same diameter as the minor diameter of the threads and ran a drill cycle, extremely slow feed rate (like .0001" per rev or something like that), down into the tap with lots of coolant. Basically ground it down with the end mill. It turns the tap into dust and the end mill still looks basically the same afterwards.
I usually use a small broken carbide endmill I grind a special point to drill out broken taps. I take out broken taps all the time from other machine shops.
Yes it works great done it many times
Did same thing in a drill press
When I break a tap I beat my wife and turn to alcoholism ,also curse the universe for my existence. It's not standard engineering practice but it's alternative engineering practice.
@@thelastgearbender1158 This is the way
That’s a nice big tap. I probably would have drilled it out with one of my personal home made carbide drills on the large milling machine here. My last resort would be to send to the EDM guy here. I wouldn’t mind having this portable hole popper around though. It definitely would come in handy once in a while.
Doesn't even need special tools, just a carbide endmill slightly smaller than the hole would do the trick.
Great job man!
Very interesting. Never seen this before!☘️👍
I’m surprised that part is only $5000 haha
I know. The material itself.
Not wrong. Just the material here in Aus would set you back that much.
im surprised it actualy is 5000 , my company would make it for legit 200-500
@@GoxMM unless your company makes it out of paper you can’t get a part like that out of aluminum for that cheap
5000€ part??? Made in China right?😂😂😂
Neat setup. I used to make parts like this and yup, broken a tap or two in my day. I would just swap in a ball nosed carbide endmill and in a few minutes problem solved without breaking setup. This portable EDM though is a super useful tool and I thank you for the video of it in action.
Same same
Hahaaa good job, what i love the most in fabrication industry is that every tool has a multi purpose, hence the burring tip of a diagrinder being used as a punch / chisel LOL. Great vid good job 🤜🤛
Good job! My friend helped my with a such problem, using the same technique.
In my old workplace we used to precut the thread just enough so that we can later finish it by hand. Usually with a part that runs for half an hour, you got enough time to do it.
I'll often do similar, threadmill to rough out and hand tap afterwards to finish. More effective that pissing about getting the threadmill running nice for only one or 2 holes.
Everybody gangsta till the carbide bit breaks inside the piece
You can EDM carbide.
@@Split10uk Electronic Dance Music? 😄
@@JordanBeagle Sure..... ;p
Never seen this method thx for uploading
I have been in industrial maintenance for over 25 years and have removed a few broken taps by crushing them with a good punch and a hammer, I’ll bet I could get that one too!
I would have to laugh like doctor evil every time this fired up lol
Gab a pair of 50mm goggles.
-Use tabs to remove foreign substances from the threads
*breaks tap again*
Thanks for the nightmare fuel. The only thing worse than a broken tap is work hardened holes!
He shouldve used a pick and a magnifying glass, thats what i used to do before running the tap in the thread.
That's a nice little niche market you have there. They may not need you often, but when they do they really do ! Kind of like a fireman.
spiffy, first time seeing one of these used, and i've been doing, conventional ram, cnc 4axis ram, active spindle, hole popper, and wire edm's for 14 years. Always just tossed a custom drill chuck to a erowa head and clamped in the desired rod set 0's and go!, Just a FYI, carbide edm electrodes are best to remove carbide tools, it's expensive as hell but i got through 3 6inch broken drills with 2. Tungsten will build up recast from the bolts/studs quicker its more material dependant.
Nice one :o) Many comments about tape around the hole or putty. I’d give it a blast of primer from a rattle can. *evertime I see an eroder I feel I need one. So many useful uses like alien key plugs.
I have to wonder how well a thread gauge goes into it! The bolt fits, but a go / nogo is the true test. EDM machines are very cool. Being a tool and die guy, I have my own bag of foolproof tricks… !
I've had pretty good luck with a left hand carbide spade drill if the broken tap has a flat place big enough to start it.
Pretty slick equipment for extracting a broken tap 1st with "spot welding?" a rod onto the steel to break it down. Then a center punch followed by additional spot welding or cutting. Finally clean up and re-tapping of the threads. Final check with a test bolt of the same size.
Where I worked we use to use a ball nose end mill and feed it slowly in the pull out the chunks. Worked every time. We worked only stainless parts and we used tap-matic tapping oil and it worked like a Charm every time.
I would be pissed about the surface finish that left. Seems to be a pretty destructive way to go about removal.
@Jun Cali Not to mention it would never pass ultrasonic penetration. Any stress around that area would result in cracking in time. Not putting alodine on it also will result in pitting in no time.
its always the last hole in an expensive part, that is super urgent, in aluminium tooling plate. found a new use for out galvo laser marker, great to be used as a tap edm, if you remove the laser shroud and manage to get the plate under the lens. Does the trick lovely without any heat to the ally.
I was just thinking about using “freakin’ lasers”
Aluminum tooling plate? Tap remover tool with prongs, dry ice, a MAP gas torch and some 3 in 1. That aluminum will grow a lot. Probably enough to loosen the jam especially if you can drop a couple small chunks of dry ice in the hole.
Mark Whelan
Or just drill the holes with freakn’ lasers
@@maxsolo2652 easier said than done. No lasers in the shop 30 years ago either.
Damn nice work ✅
Ha! I knew that this kind of machine exists. Thank you.
I'd tape the metal. The finishing looks weird and probably etched. Adding extra works.
súper inteligente!
I would use stick welder and/or vice grips with nicer looking results. How do people afford these toys
Im guessing they didn't care about the surface and the taps were used for moving the tool
A peace of tape around the hole might help prevent pitting around it just a thought.
Who cares
@@clutchin7017
Depends on what the surface is used for.
@@clutchin7017 the customer
@@clutchin7017 I do it might not matter to you but the customer might care too.
A piece of tape wouldn't prevent the scorching of the metal in high temperatures such as those produced in electrical welding. The electricity and accompanying heat generated within the arc is necessary to weaken the structural integrity of the tap so that it may be removed.
EDM is cool stuff! I saw it in use a great deal when working in aircraft engine part manufacturing. Super hard high nickel content alloys are very hard to machine and you either grind or EDM them.
Hi relatively new to machining couldn't you weld a bit of stock to that tap and use a some type of wrench and slowly un-tread the tap or when it breaks is it usually friction welded to the inside?
I have no clue, as to what I just saw, but found it fascinating...
It uses electricity to go thru material
Had that job numerous times in the past but we could machine up different sized electrodes to suit the hole. Found copper pipe good because it could cut through all the tap webs at one go and it quickly because you were only cutting the thickness of the pipe wall.
That is clever!
That's an awesome idea
Where this machine is avaliable I need to buy
Eugene taps are great. They rarely break on us.
It's really a hard work!
Although this video has no narration , I can still hear the eco's of the swearing when that tap snapped.... 😂
Another great video. Keep it up. Protecting the area around the hole with non-conductive layer of material e.g. some kapton tape with silicone adhesive, could preserve the initial surface quality and eliminate the cleaning of discharge marks ?
I wonder what diaelectric fluid he was using, and whether a change would eliminate those surface marks. Oil instead?
@@TEFox It probably is oil, sinker EDMs use it in most cases.
he should do something - those marks were deep
I used to use a little edm machine similar to that....we used to build plasticine bowl around the top that kept the coolant always inside the thread or hole we were working on.
One of those jobs where you had to be accurate and patient...
Have you ever tried clay as a way to protect around the hole and create a dam to funnel the used coolant away?
Note the dark region around having a rough finish(still visible after being polished, almost looks corroded). Does that fatigue the metal in any way or is it a thin surface
I'm also curious
Awesome. Didn’t know this existed!
We used to do that 35 years ago but we had to drop the electrode manual every 5mm and adjust column height. And top the tank up .
You just have a digital one now !
I've done this _way_ too many times, though I had to use a much simpler head without the nice fine control. The coolant was pumped through the electrodes which were molybdenum tubes instead of solid carbon, and the electrode was vibrated up and down inside the head unit rapidly to form the arcs. I turned into the go-to guy for burning broken taps out because I didn't gouge the threads like everyone else lol, I had a special touch with the janky spindle system which had a bad habit of swerving at inopportune times. Those burners are indispensable, the only alternative to getting broken taps that big out is clamping them into a mill to cut the HSS tap out with carbide, which typically wrecks or breaks at _least_ one cutter. I've gotten lucky and backed a few out with a hammer and punch but that's rare, they usually fracture in multiple places and wedge themselves tight. Ohh, the joys of working on giant parts, the fun never ends...
3-flute drills kill HSS-E taps securely and a bit cheaper than an endmill :) Just use the drill as if you had to drill into something with 58HRC ;)
Do you know the name of this machine?
@@HousesandCars I don't know this specific machine brand, I've only ever used one type made by a company called Electro-Arc which I can highly recommend but I'm sure there are cheaper options out there, they aren't exactly cheap but last literally forever, the unit I used was at least 50 years old and had burned through several thousand taps before I got to it, which I promptly doubled lol. If you just want the name of the tool itself they're called EDM tap burners, there are dozens of different companies that make them. If you're in the market for one I would recommend finding the style that pumps coolant through the electrode itself, and if you can use molybdenum electrodes (available from Electro-Arc), they last by far the longest. The brass electrodes commonly used these days (for their low price) burn through very quickly compared to molybdenum, they last at most 1/4 the amount of time as molybdenum and also cut slower, and contamination in the threads increases too, brass disintegrates and leaves oxides all over the place where the molybdenum doesn't.
@@TheExplosiveGuy Wow thank you much. Actually I have this problem... a broken tap inside my engine block and it's 4 inches down. I was thinking about calling around to see if different shops have them in the Dayton area. It would be nice to get this car on the road.
@@HousesandCars I'm not sure what happened, I had a detailed reply for you but youtube must have been hitting the bong again, you know how they are sometimes😉. To recap, you can either find a local machine shop that specializes in larger scale machining or some automotive shops, someone is bound to have a tap burner around you, you will just have to look around. You can also buy a $200-ish chinesium model from amazon or ebay, for your one-off need it might be a bit costly but maybe it will pay off later, assuming you can't find a local shop that can do it for you.
Also, if you do end up doing it yourself (even if you don't, make sure whoever does the job follows this advice), if it's 4 inches deep into a threaded hole you are going to need a non-conductive sleeve bushing with coolant pass throughs along the side to guide the electrode down the hole without gouging out the upper hole/threads, think a section of hard plastic tube with an ID of your electrode OD and the same OD as the thread minor ID (or just a nylon bolt with a hole drilled through), with a slit cut down the length along one side, the width of a cut-off wheel on an angle grinder works perfectly. This will guide the electrode straight and centered down the hole and allows coolant to pump through the electrode and back out the hole to flush all the debris out. That deep of a hole will need a lot of coolant flow to remove all the debris created so this _has_ to be done. Of all the tap removal jobs, deep hole removals are the most difficult and risky, so be careful however you proceed.
No one will ever know a machinist's anguish when the tap breaks on the last hole of the last part and you have to mill it out. I nearly walked out after breaking a 1/4-20 tap on a stainless steel part. The boss ordered thread Mills the next day. Lol
Thread mills are very nice, if it breaks you just pull it out, we always use them in difficult materials
@@inconel7185 thread mills are ussually more cost effective
They are expensive but they hold 10 times longer than conventional tools
We only use them since 2016
I am inexperienced compared to my coworkers but I saw they kept breaking their taps in hard steel and recommended a thread mill
...I earned a little respect after that
@@geminisduerme5266 thread mills are overall better and more cost effective
For example we had go make 600 parts which each had 6×M5 taps
Conventional taps broke after 50-60 parts
And thread mills held for 450 parts till we completed the contract and i think it would have held even longer
The thread mill was 120 euros
And the amount of taps we broke with the Conventional ones took us around 280 euros
So idk
I would never go back from thread mills
@@LordOfChaos.x where can you get a thread mill for 120€?
A master of his craft.
Man! And I thought I was pretty badass getting a snapped off Easy Out out of a seized and broken off 6mm screw, by rigging up a MIG welder and a piece of stainless TIG filler rod, and managing to tack the rod onto the Easy Out
I always just used single flute carbide drill bits to get out broken taps.
But obviously you can't charge a fortune like this guy, if you do it simple lol
Was about to ask why the hell is he doing it like this...€£¥ of course!
@@jstengineering1513 very true! 😁
The difference is this, if you do it yourself and wreck the part, no biggie. If you’re called in to remove the tap without wrecking the part, you use EDM to make absolutely sure you don’t wreck the part, as if you do, you’re quickly approaching a reality where you don’t eat. This is why professionals are so expensive, a big part of the price is the fact that the pro is absorbing the risk, aka. the guarantee that they’ll fix the problem within a timely manner, not the work itself.
@@sstorholm i’ve never wrecked a part with a carbide drill bit, that’s why you use a carbide drill bit.