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Kazakhstan, Astana
1 Level
725 Review
56 Karma

Review on High-Performance Metric Ratcheting Tap And Die Set - 42 Pieces By GEARWRENCH (Model 3886) by Corey Randolph

Revainrating 4 out of 5

A bit expensive, and comes with some burrs, but must-have for repariring old cars.

Quick summary: these are great, I absolutely recommend, but if you get them make sure to to check all the cutting edges for burrs before you use them. A couple of the taps had small burrs in them that were actually easy to pick out with the included thread gauge, so it's not a dealbreaker, but you should make sure to be careful so that you don't ruin whatever piece you're working on.I've had this set for about 2 months now, and it's my first set of taps in my home toolbox, so it's safe to assume I may not be the most experienced machinist and may not have the best input.That being said, after looking at ratings and seeing how many horror stories I saw of other tap/die sets snapping during use, I went with this set because it was the only one I could find that didn't seem to have any of those. Only horror stories I saw were people saying the taps hadn't been properly de-burred before use, leading to ruined tappings, so on receipt I made sure to look through each of the taps and carefully de-burr them myself. I want to be clear -- that is absolutely a real problem that I saw with these, they do come with burrs, hence why the review is 4 stars instead of 5.Other than that, and the fact that this set is a touch more expensive than other offerings, I have no complaints. These have been a phenomenal help in my restoration project. I'm working on getting a badly beat-up Ford Fusion 2010 back into running condition, and honestly I don't think I'd have been able to do it without these. The ratchet handle is excellent, and the taps can handle an amount of force that I'm pretty sure would have snapped most bolts. I just finished rebuilding a brake caliper for which I had to grind the heads off the bolts since they were so badly seized, and drill the bolts out. The taps worked /excellently/, and the caliper now reassembles without any fight, as though it were brand new.Long story short, these are well worth the extra cost. Just make sure to check for burrs before you use, and don't forget some good machining oil!

Pros
  • Twist lock guide system reduces the "walk back" of the die guide and keeps the dies centered while cutting
Cons
  • Can be difficult to find replacement parts