Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] General Tool Life Question

gm4t wrote:

> How long do high carbon steel taps (USA) last in general?

It depends entirely on what you're tapping. If you are tapping stainless
or titanium, you can get as bad as 10 - 20 holes/tap, sometimes
even worse! If you are tapping brass, you can get thousands.
Aluminum is soft but abrasive, but you can get hundreds to
thousands of holes, with the appropriate tapping fluid. Mild steel
should give you many hundreds of holes, but you need to take it
easy, break the chips often by backing up the tap a little every
revolution or so, and make sure to drive the tap straight into the
hole.

Jon