- Use a 1515 railcore extrusion jig to make your life simpler.
- Fluid recommendations:
- Millers Tapcut Fluid
- TapMagic
- Community recommendations include WD40 and Anchorlube G-771
- Watch a few videos on how to tap.
- Try for half a turn forward, quarter turn back (more proficient tappers can do more than this!)
- Keep the tap straight.
- When resistance builds up and gets tight, go back until it frees, then go back more. Then go forwards once again.
- Repeat until you bottom out or hit your jig.
- It helps to use a short tap handle if you’re particularly brutish or just unsure.
- Regularly use tapping fluid and compressed air to clean out the tapped hole.
- Deburr with a countersink after tapping
- Use a sharp knife to deburr the top at the end.
- Clean off all tapping fluid at the end. Some of them are sulphur based and oily and you don’t want this hanging around.
- Just go slow and take your time. Breaking a tap or ruining an extrusion is not the aim here.
- You can use the Z extrusions as practice, as these do not need tapping. (So you’ve got 6 free practice runs)