Going Price of Spiral Flute Taps Ouch !!!

projectnut · Dec 6, 2018

I got a job yesterday that requires drilling and tapping a number of blind holes. I've always used either hand or spiral flute taps for similar jobs, but my supply is now nearly exhausted. Before starting the job I was going to order a couple boxes of each of the necessary sizes which include 8-32, 10-32, 1/4-20, 5/16-18, and 3/8-16.

I haven't bought any in a while and about had a heart attack when I saw the prices. Most of the vendors I've purchased them from in the past are asking between $12.00 and $20.00 for the 5/16 and 3/8 per tap depending on length and coatings, with the smaller sizes being between $8.00 and $12.00 per tap. It seems in the past I paid less than half that amount per copy when buying on an individual basis and even less when buying by the box. Are these the going prices today? Am I that far out of touch with todays prices or are my past vendors asking premium prices?

Alloy Mcgraw · Dec 6, 2018

I tap a lot of smaller holes. Think a 8-32 Emuge spiral flute multi-tap I pay just north of $13/per.

Considering the amount of tapped holes I get out of one, it comes out to pennies per hole.

I think a mistake many make when buying tooling is not considering what the tooling is capable of. Certain endmills I get away with carbide generics, while other tooling it pays the buy the best. The up front cost may make one gasp at first, but when tool life is considered the quality tooling is actually cheaper in many cases.

I deal with this on a case by case basis.

kustomizingkid · Dec 6, 2018

That doesnt sound expensive to me... Its 2018, a bottle of Coca Cola is $2.15.

NAST555 · Dec 6, 2018

Even from my location taps have gone up pretty considerably over the past 2-3 years, but guess what... I stick to what I know because they work!

The post from Alloy is precisely why I buy decent taps and pay the price. OSG,TITEX and surprisingly YG are all my go to guys. FEW as well (but I assume you guys don't get those over there) because you can find a nice short machine tap opposed to all the long standard taps that make no sense to me.

Do a quick calculation in your head, You charge customer 1 "unit" per hole. Drill costs you 20 "units" and tap costs you 25 "units". Drill can do 100 holes and still be touched up and at the end of it's life have done 5000 holes give or take. Tap can do anywhere between 1000-2000 holes, depending on what you are doing, and then be put in a drawer to be used as a cleaner for dirty threads. Tooling is pricey but the most expensive part of what you are doing it is not.

DDoug · Dec 6, 2018

It's always "too much money" if you a retired hobbyist.....

Cole2534 · Dec 6, 2018

I'd verify that you truly need spiral-flute, but if you do his seems pretty reasonable to me.

Guest · Dec 6, 2018

Last spiral flute taps I bought were 3/8-16 for $23.38. Your current prices seem normal to me. If I want to see what I used to pay for things my McMaster-Carr list of orders goes back 6 years on their website.

D.D.Machine · Dec 6, 2018

I run YG1 taps and in alum I get between 8k and 10K holes. even on steel I get 1200 holes out of there hard slick taps ,,, so i don`t know why someone would need to buy boxes of tapes unless there doing a HUGE job ...

projectnut · Dec 6, 2018

digger doug said:
It's always "too much money" if you a retired hobbyist.....

I didn't say they cost" too much money" what I said was I was shocked at the price increase since the last time I bought them. I don't mind paying the going prices. I just don't like being held up by vendors that think they can charge whatever they feel just because you've done business with them in the past. Looking around I see the asking prices are fairly well inline with others locally and online.

I'll recover the cost of tooling just like on any other job. To some "retired" may mean sitting in a rocking chair or shuffling along the beach in an over 55 community. To others it means we aren't tied to a time clock and can take on jobs we like when we want them.

Most of the holes will be in 1018. There will be only a couple hundred so I'm sure one tap of each size would accomplish the job. As for buying more than a single of each size I prefer to buy by the box. As you can see from my first post they do last quite a while. I probably haven't bought any in 4 or more years. I just prefer to buy by the box. I hate to push taps (especially bottoming taps) to the maximum in that they're a real pain to extract should you be so unlucky as to break one. I also hate to run out of tooling in the middle of a job.

DMF_TomB · Dec 6, 2018

price of many alloys has gone up. molybdenum tungsten cobalt vanadium chromium
.
many metals are toxic and mining and refining is hazardous. epa regulations on pollution require much more expensive pollution control equipment
.
literally for example much of chrome plating has disappeared cause the EPA regulations made it too expensive.
.
some rare earth elements are not even mined in the USA anymore as there is the not in my back yard thing with neighbors.
.
i believe California regulations require wearing a respirator welding Stainless Steel cause of possible metal fumes health hazards or possible hazards

rons · Dec 6, 2018

projectnut said:
Am I that far out of touch with todays prices ...

Yes.

When I buy high performance taps no questions are asked. They are worth it.

Illinoyance · Dec 6, 2018

Remembering what you paid in the past is a problem. I remember nickel ice cream cones and a 7oz draft beer for a nickel. Prices have gone way up from those I remember. All I can do is complain about it.

gregormarwick · Dec 7, 2018

projectnut said:
I got a job yesterday that requires drilling and tapping a number of blind holes. I've always used either hand or spiral flute taps for similar jobs, but my supply is now nearly exhausted. Before starting the job I was going to order a couple boxes of each of the necessary sizes which include 8-32, 10-32, 1/4-20, 5/16-18, and 3/8-16.

I haven't bought any in a while and about had a heart attack when I saw the prices. Most of the vendors I've purchased them from in the past are asking between $12.00 and $20.00 for the 5/16 and 3/8 per tap depending on length and coatings, with the smaller sizes being between $8.00 and $12.00 per tap. It seems in the past I paid less than half that amount per copy when buying on an individual basis and even less when buying by the box. Are these the going prices today? Am I that far out of touch with todays prices or are my past vendors asking premium prices?

Those prices seem about right for general purpose taps from a reputable name, like YG1 or OSG. Premium taps are significantly more expensive than that.

D.D.Machine said:
I run YG1 taps and in alum I get between 8k and 10K holes. even on steel I get 1200 holes out of there hard slick taps ,,, so i don`t know why someone would need to buy boxes of tapes unless there doing a HUGE job ...

Aluminium and steel are not the only materials that people put holes in...

Work with some nickel alloys, bronzes, precipitation hardened stainlesses, you'll soon get the picture. At the extreme end of the spectrum there are real world scenarios where a £200 premium application specific tap can be expected to last no more than half a dozen holes.

FWIW, I do not consider YG1 to be premium taps, although I use them fairly regularly. When I need an actual premium quality tap I buy Rieme Noris or Emuge.

Guest · Dec 7, 2018

Illinoyance said:
Remembering what you paid in the past is a problem. I remember nickel ice cream cones and a 7oz draft beer for a nickel. Prices have gone way up from those I remember. All I can do is complain about it.

I always use one of those inflation calculators to see if items have over paced inflation or I think something is getting expensive because I am old. I remember 5 cent a scoop ice cream at Thrifty drug store when I was a little kid back in the 60's. Also 3 candy bars for 25 cents. I have never even heard of a 7 oz draft, I think the smallest I ever saw was 12 oz.

Ries · Dec 7, 2018

Illinoyance said:
Remembering what you paid in the past is a problem. I remember nickel ice cream cones and a 7oz draft beer for a nickel. Prices have gone way up from those I remember. All I can do is complain about it.

you must be really old. I used to have to pay a quarter for a schooner of beer. Of course, that was the inflated bar price- a quart in the grocery store was only fifty cents...

(an old 1960s american "schooner" was about 7 0z- it was maybe a regional thing, but all the taverns around here sold em- a little high waisted glass of cheap tap beer. Now, I guess, in Australia, or Canada, a "schooner" is as big as a bucket- but in the old dark logger bars of the NW, a schooner was small)

Guest · Dec 11, 2018

Ries said:
(an old 1960s american "schooner" was about 7 0z- it was maybe a regional thing, but all the taverns around here sold em- a little high waisted glass of cheap tap beer.

That explains why I never heard of one, I did get served while underage back in the day, but didn't drink till the late 70's.

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Going Price of Spiral Flute Taps Ouch !!!

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