Recommended Tools and Machinery for Your Team's Machine Shop

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Cory

I would recommend buying taps as needed (and high quality ones...we're not talking $10 a piece either, more like $2-3).

That's absolutely the right advice with regard to taps.

In the past, I've bought a 45-piece (I think) set of metric and Imperial taps, dies and handles on sale for about $30 (CAD)—but those are just for insurance on the day when you absolutely need an oddball size during a late-night work session, and for the cheap but adequate handles. (Canadian Tire's Boxing Day and Fathers' Day sales are good for amassing a collection of FRC-grade tools cheaply.)

Buy high-quality machine-rated straight-flute thread-cutting taps, in each of the common sizes. Unless you know what you're doing, don't use them under power. But take advantage of their strength and precision to avoid worrying about breaking them. (It's not the broken tap that's the problem, it's the part you just ruined on the last machining step.)