Boys and Girls,

 

I’m a sucka for nostalgia and still brand these as The Woodwhisper.  I believe he handed them over and the last time I looked, they are now produced by EagleAmerica, though you may need to surf to locate a supplier.  So off your rrs b4 they’re unavailable… search... as I get sick of being a pointer and have changed tack to a 

black pointer

 

In the past I have often tapped hardwood and used metal bolts “au natural” (OK maybe a layer of CA glue for enforcement) with satisfactory results, however, had some trepidation using in softwoods like pine, especially when I white knuckled it.

 

When the TWW released these items, I swooped on them and was unpleasantly surprised at how good they were… “Unpleasantly”… only ‘cause I expected miracles and miracles were produced… no real unexpected surprise.  

 

While metal taps pass the muster, the tolerances of these TWW gems are designed for wood for greater tolerances (metal threads are far too generous) and when you crank them up (bolts), with the smaller clearance, you’ll be surprised how much resistance even pine will exhibit. 

 

Are they worth it… no more than a VW Beetle vs a F1 around the Aussie Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit LBD treadmill, in my books the F1 wins.

by a tread thread… and contrary to Yankee English, F1 is synonymous to TWW (and not VW... puns and rhymes profound)... sorry Dutchy, it’s probably your slower left hand drive.

 

I have dragged this across from LJ that was previously posted July 2017  as a “hints and tips” as the item deserves a review in itself.

----------------------------------------- ooooOOOO From LJ OOOOooooo --------------------------------------------- 

 

 
Boys and Girls, if you are only interested in bargain basement solutions, please jump in the lift and press "G" for "Going Down to the bargain basement", exit the lift and go home without reading further.

I am here to readily assist you in parting with your hard earned shekels without remorse, and if you are interested in a better solution (at a cost), read on. No… I don't have shares in the product and the retailer is not related to the "waterfowl family Anatidae" (Ducks 2u).
 
In the past I have occasionally used metal bolts in timber by cutting the timber thread using an appropriate tap from a low end tap and die set. 

I labelled the oft used taps so I didn't have to think each time, 

Then one day when I was trying to find that elusive imperial bit of hardware in our local dedicated fasteners retailer, I saw a set of taps and associated drill bits designed to handle our standard metric hardware and advertised as specifically suitable for woodworkers. Being a skeptic, I was mesmerised by the ad and even though I thoroughly quizzed the sales person, soon after I was heading back to my workshop to test my new thread making kit. 

I used to use this as a demo of wooden threads to woodworking guests in my workshop,

I'm not going to say that after that I always used metal bolts in timber threads, but when I have used them, I was never disappointed. I am continually amazed at the amount of pressure that could be applied before the humble timber turned into fire wood.
 
 Back in February 2017 I saw this video about timber threaders being designed by "The Wood Whisperer " and an accomplice. Being a fan of timber threads I couldn't resist the temptation to place an order.
 
Today, August 2017 (a mere 6 moths later), my set of imperial and metric taps arrived. I immediately made a bee line (ok, teleported down using the phone booth) to my workshop and decided to compare my "original dedicated" 10mm tap with the newly arrived Spagnoulo (TWW) offering.

As always, it wouldn't be a Duck's Tale if I didn't digress. I was vaguely aware that my newly acquisitioned NOVA Drill Press had a tap feature and under duress, I quickly perused the instruction relating to that function.

After a few button presses, the drill was configured to do some tapping (if only it could do the same with beer).

While the speed is displayed as 900rpm, for tapping it was automatically reduced to 100rpm (what a bonus).
 
Now let's digress from the digression and waddle back to the story. I loaded each of the two 10mm taps and drilled the recommended holes. 

 

Scurrying for a couple of 10mm bolts I was fortunate to find some as I would have had to tackle a couple of 12mm bolts with my die (and I didn't want to die today… never thought about tapping 12mm holes… DOH!).

After threading the two bolts, I tried the wobble test… I passed it with flying colours as I hadn't had a drink all afternoon, however, the original tap exhibited a slight wobble while the new tap was virtually immovable. Now I will reflect that I have not had any issues with the old threads as once the bolt was cranked up, all play was taken out. The TWW taps were designed with greater tolerances and to give you an indication, the old tap's specs recommended an 8.5mm hole while the new one's was suggested at 7.5mm. Overall the TWW threads were much tighter providing a more secure fit. As screwing progressed (hmm.. do you screw a bolt as you don't bolt a screw… preferably, unless your old… I digress if you hadn't noticed), I had to resort to using a spanner much earlier than the "original" tap.
 
Now not everyone taken in by my silken salesmanship will purchase the taps and then go out and spend $2,400 on a tap assisting NOVA drill press. Well for all you skinflints the TWW taps are just as much at home with the use of a drill (cordless, or for you senior seniors, a corded one) though variable speed is recommended. 

When using the hand held drill, the lead in may not be exactly 90° but as you progress even just slightly in, it aligns with the pre drilled hole and creates as tight a fit as with the NOVA. The taps can be used in a drill with either a variable or hex chuck.
 
The new set is now ready to be bolted to the wall,

You may all wonder what was that lonely first picture doing… Well he's part of the following conspiracy in presenting my acid test to all you skeptics out there… you know who you are!
 
Drilled a hole in a piece of pine and tapped it with a 10mm bit,

Remember the first picture? OK, here it is again in case the grey matter is having a sabbatical,

Decided to attack it with an 8mm allen key from the safety of my mini vice,

After a significant amount of torque and fear of risking another hernia, I eased up on the bolt,

You may have noticed that the head "countersunk" a good 5mm+ into the pine without affecting the integrity of the thread.
 
 You may say it's only pine… "It's only pine!" That is why I managed to countersink, hardwood would (pardon the stutter) provide greater grip and countersinking resistance.
 
 What does all this mean? Anyone wants a set of metric taps with complimentary drill bits. I paid $90 for the set and am prepared to relinquish it to a friendly home for maybe a donation of a cask of vino (locally).
 
 For all those not interested in this topic, please go back and re-read the 1st paragraph and don't bother to read the rest.
 
 PS. If you all stay good Boys and Girls and eat all your greens, I may post a review about wooden threads. Some may scream NO MORE and by pure mathematics, the remainder didn't, but you'll all have nightmares wondering if and when.

 

 

 

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