Hand Taps

A complete range of machine screw, fractional and metric sizes is available with taper, plug or bottom chamfer. The tapering of the threads at the front end distributes the cutting action over several teeth. When the tapering amounts to 7 to 10 threads, the tap is called a “taper” tap; 3 to 5 threads a “plug tap”; and 1 to 2 threads a “bottoming” tap.
Taps are used to make threads in a hole so that a fastener can be inserted to hold the mating parts together.
The term “hand tap” originated in the nineteenth century when most internal threading was done by hand. The straight flute design is most common today, although most tapping is now done on machines. Hand taps are general purpose used either by hand or on production machines.