Hello,
I have to tap about 40 small holes in aluminum to hold down a lid on an intake manifold and I haven't come up with a good way to make sure all my holes are perfectly verticle. My first attempt was not so good, all the holes were a little off because I tapped them by hand and when the bolts were installed you could tell I was off.

Is there any way to do this in a small Sears type drill press?

Thanks,
Fred

 

yea put them in the drill press and rotate the chuck with your hand

 

or put the tap in a drill press, pulse the motor to get it spinning, then (while not under power, but with the tap spinning) run the tap in...should be enough to get it started straight so you can finish tapping by hand.

 

http://www.littlemachineshop.c...=2571

 

vertical

sorry my mother always corrected me when I was a kid...

 

A tapmatic tap head on a bridgeport is how I do it.

Here is a quick google on tapmatic. Your drill press will likely have too high an rpm.
http://www.toolitagain.com/ind...30ebb

To do it manually, line the hole up with the chuck with a small drill. Fix manifold with clamp. If you have enough quill travel, put a short centering drill, or vpoint in your chuck to use as a center punch. Using your tap handle and tap, center it with the vpoint to get you started. As you tap the first thread or so, lower the quill to keep you centered.

 

get a tap block/tap guide

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BigMoose &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
put a short centering drill, or vpoint in your chuck to use as a center punch. Using your tap handle and tap, center it with the vpoint to get you started. As you tap the first thread or so, lower the quill to keep you centered.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I did this when tapping holes in some inch thick stainless. It was rediculously tough, but this method worked well....eventually. having a friend to keep a little downward pressure while you turn the tap is nice as well. If you're table tilts, don't forget to use a square to make sure its perpendicular.

BigMoose I've seen you on a couple different boards, and you're suggestions are always spot on.

 

Thanks Niles! I guess I've broken enough stuff by now to know how not to do things... now if I can still remember what was the right way!

I believe in trying to help folks out, no use two of us making the same mistake.

 

Same here. After struggling with so many things, I've become a tool packrat. Anything's easy (or at least easier) with the right, quality tools.

To the OP, do you want to post a pic of the setup you use. Your title is pretty searchable, so it'll probably help someone in the future.