A Beginner Lathe Project - Making a Tap Follower

[@joell439]

NICE !!!! Every episode keeps getting better. Your camera angles, editing and narration are absolutely PRO level. 👍👍😎👍👍

[@hersch_tool]

Thank you very much, that is quite a huge compliment! I know there is still a lot to learn, and always room to improve but I REALLY appreciate that. Thank you for watching as well!

[@larrybud]

Yeah he needs to get to 100k followers.

[@hersch_tool]

@@larrybud lol that'll be the day! Thank you so much though, seriously. I can't even tell you how great it is to get such kind and supportive feedback on my work. I'll keep working at it, and maybe one day we'll get there!

[@larrybud]

@@hersch_tool I've signed up for your patreon. Whether you put out additional stuff on there or not isn't a concern. Need to keep you motivated!

[@hersch_tool]

@@larrybud Thank you so much!

[@improviseddiy]

I don't tap without mine! I kept mine short for clearance on my mill. On a lathe you have no limitations. I like your surface finishes!

[@hersch_tool]

Thank you! I actually struggle a bit with surface finish on 4140 for some reason. I think I need to just practice more with the material. But sharp HSS always seems to save the day when I'm having a hard time getting a good finish. Thanks for watching btw!

[@Ferndalien]

Thank you for finally getting around to making a tap follower! It's just about my level of complexity, too. I know it's supposed to be drop dead easy to cut outside threads, but so far, I've relied on cutting them with a die, by hand. It seems to me that a tailstock die holder project would be a complement to the tap follower.

[@hersch_tool]

Haha, you're welcome! I hope you can download the drawings and give it a shot! Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. And I think you might be onto something!

[@Riller70]

I absolutely love your pegboard background.

[@hersch_tool]

Haha, thanks. It's all salvaged peg board and it's really convenient storage space.

[@davidmasters9793]

Tighten the tap handle, get it started, put 2 fingers from both hands under the tap wrench ( like you're just supporting it), and apply upward pressure as you turn the handle. Dead straight every time. Practice makes perfect!

[@Warped65er]

Nice, simple, but very useful project.

[@hersch_tool]

Thank you very much, I can't believe I waited this long to make one... 😅 And thank you for watching!

[@Rustinox]

I like your tool grinder. I looks like a nice unit.

[@hersch_tool]

Thanks! It's a shars unit, they are one of the few importers that I "generally" trust to have some quality control. Thanks for watching btw!

[@Dogfather66227]

@@hersch_tool The Shars tool and cutter grinder has been a fixture in my shop for several years and I’ve found the quality to be OK. I would offer that, as useful as it might be, you can make it much more so by fitting an ER32 collet holder in the spindle. With such an arrangement I find that I can sharpen drills of practically any size (with 4-facet points) and because there is a large thru-hole, I can grind long drills and cutters. This avoids two major shortcomings of the machine as shipped. Just food for thought for when you run out of other projects… Nice video.

[@hersch_tool]

@@Dogfather66227 Yeah, I agree. It's certainly not a deckel, but it works well and has been reliable. Do you mean replacing the work head with an er32 setup? I don't think im clearly understanding.

[@syldysnya]

Thanks, nice project

[@hersch_tool]

Thanks for watching!

[@michaelsimpson9779]

Nice work. Well done

[@hersch_tool]

@@michaelsimpson9779 thank you

[@patrickbeaumier8616]

Nice work 👍👍

[@hersch_tool]

Thank you!

[@pikeyMcBarkin]

Awesome project!

[@hersch_tool]

Thanks!

[@MegaLostOne]

Very nice video on making a tap follower. If you don't mind one recommendation or alteration to consider to your design. When making mine I ran into a problem of it having a pressure build up when compressing the guide rod and a vacuum build up as it was being pushed out by the spring, I ended up drilling a small hole in the end cap (plug) which relieved the air from being trapped inside plus it allows me in the future a port to flush any grime that would build up and an oil port without having to disassemble it.

[@hersch_tool]

Thanks very much! And the roll pin design already provides an air relief. This is why I used a roll pin and didn't screw on the cap, or press it into place. Thanks for watching btw!

[@kyriacosvasiliou8342]

That endmill tho!! JEEZ Chatter city with that baby!!

[@hersch_tool]

LOL, wat? Do you mean the end mill I used to flatten the hole? There wasn't any chatter at all. Took 2 seconds, easy peasy. 👍 Thanks for watching btw!

[@kyriacosvasiliou8342]

@@hersch_tool haha yeah that one! No what i meant was that I bet that thing chatters like mad when you use it normally for milling. Great content by the way!

[@hersch_tool]

@@kyriacosvasiliou8342 lol oh yeah, that thing is ridiculous 😂

[@gennadyyakubovich4076]

Hi , nice job and useful tool. BtW - what is that carbide insert ? looks sharp and suitable for small lathe...

[@hersch_tool]

thanks very much! you're probably asking about the TFX insert from NTK cutting tools, that's what everybody asks about lol. it's a swiss style front turning insert. thanks for watching btw!

[@RustyInventions-wz6ir]

Very nice work. I really need to make one myself

[@hersch_tool]

Thanks very much. I definitely recommend it. I've used mine several times already, it's a simple but super convenient tool.

[@woodndrum303]

Hi just found your Patreon launch in April 24. Thank you for the Tap Follower, this is my third shop made tool to enable me at age 72 to make my own tools to create.. Well noted much else yet but thank you for helping

[@hersch_tool]

You're very welcome, thank you for watching and good luck with the project. I've been very happy with mine, it's a useful little tool.

[@dougmarkham1919]

Amazing job once again.

[@hersch_tool]

Thank you very much!

[@mateobarbis3628]

Awesome project and explanation! And I think you used shapr3d for the drawing, love that CAD really simple and intuitive to use for simple parts like that

[@hersch_tool]

Thanks very much! And yep, shapr3D. I love it because it's inexpensive, simple enough for even me to use, and it lets me work anywhere on my iPad in between either being at work or in the shop. Thanks for watching btw :)

[@Mcduggies]

What are those lathe inserts you’re using?

[@jamesreed6121]

Are you going to make another follower to use with tapa that are not center drilled? Like the majority of small taps!

[@hersch_tool]

I normally put small taps into a small “T” style tap handle, which has a center drilled in the back end. However, if that’s something that you’d like to see then I can certainly do that.

[@vicdreyer6413]

@@hersch_tool- those centers drilled in the back of tap handles are just there because they needed them to manufacture the tap handle. They aren’t concentric with the tap it’s holding. You need a tap follower that has a cone tip.

[@georgebehlke8064]

I like the tools you have made, but I always wonder why you let finished parts, some in brass, some knurled, some just with a nice finish just bang and drop into the chip tray when parting them off.

[@hersch_tool]

Larger parts I’ll often catch, but with smaller parts the don’t fall hard enough to get damaged and it can often be a little sketchy reaching your hand in to catch a small part. The parts are made of metal after all, and my hand is made of soft flesh lol.

[@MASI_forging]

How awesome 😃😃

[@hersch_tool]

thank you!

[@larrybud]

Darn, I was hoping for some hand-drawn diagrams ;-) Since you're open to suggestions: How about a video on material selection? 7:57 end mill in the tailstock? I've put an end mill in, wait for it, my DRILL PRESS.... on WOOD! GASP! OH glad you got on Patreon. I'm in.

[@hersch_tool]

Haha, trust me you don't want my hand drawn diagrams, I'm a lefty, they might as well be ink blots... 🤣 And, yeah that's a great idea. I am putting together ideas for some "simpler" or "shorter" videos that I can do to supplement the project vids. The project vids take a lot of time to produce and I'd like to add some other simpler stuff alongside them. So thanks, keep em coming!

[@larrybud]

@@hersch_tool hey hey hey, don't knock us lefties! lol. That's why I bought a "remarkable" tablet. No more ink blots!

[@hersch_tool]

@@larrybud lol I remember in school always having the palm of my left hand permanently stained with graphite from using a pencil.

[@Buddha-of8fk]

Try a O-80 sometime. It tends to be stressful.

[@hersch_tool]

Lol yeah the smaller things get the smaller 3 the mistakes you can make. And I make a lot of mistakes.... 😭

[@Buddha-of8fk]

@@hersch_tool It's more like finger tip tapping with a very small tap wrench.

[@mikebroom1866]

What insert did you use to face that 4140?

[@ellieprice363]

I wondered about that funny looking insert also. Almost any tool will face well as long as it cuts to the center.

[@hersch_tool]

it's a swiss style front turning insert. search for TFX and they should come up. they're kinda tough to find to buy though, at least as a hobbyist. i'm guessing it's because they aren't real common. thanks for watching btw!

[@SergeiPetrov]

Perhaps this is an illusion, but the stone on the sharpening machine has a large runout.

[@hersch_tool]

I'm not sure what you're seeing, but that little grinder runs smooth as butter. Surprisingly smooth actually, considering it's an import. I put an indicator on the spindle taper when I first got it and remember it reading basically 0. It's a decent little grinder, considering its country of origin. Thanks for watching btw!

[@dazinull]

I can see that also

[@kiwishamoo6494]

That reamer left a horrific surface finish