Which Tap And Die Set Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 9 tap and die set options head to head. Irwin Hanson came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Irwin Hanson
Price shown in test: 60 dollars
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Craftsman
Price shown in test: 221 dollars
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“in my opinion the irwin is probably slightly better than the craftsman”
Best in 1 of 3 measurements, including Steel.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Aluminum tap torque avg
- 1Irwin Hanson 14 piece65 inch pounds
(62, 63, 71 on three holes)
- 2Craftsman 75 piece45 inch pounds
(42, 42, 52 on three holes), least torque among 18 thread pitch brands
- 3Century 24 piece53 inch pounds
(43, 57, 60 on three holes), took the lead at that point in the video
- 4Draper 52 piece combination37 inch pounds
(39, 33, 38 on three holes), least torque yet and least slop, but on a 24 thread pitch tap so not an apples to apples comparison
- 5Vermont American 12 piece60 inch pounds
(60, 59, 69 on three holes), about half the torque of Pittsburgh
- 6GearWrench 77 piece ratcheting60 inch pounds2nd
(56, 68, 56 on three holes), moved into second place behind Century with very little side to side play
- 7Bosch 40 piece61 inch pounds
(70, 57, 55 on three holes)
- 8Tekton 45 piece76 inch pounds
(70, 69, 90 on three holes); the 18 thread pitch die was defective, threads were not cut into it
- 9Pittsburgh Harbor Freight tap and die set118 inch pounds
(114, 125, 115 on three holes), very loose fit with quite a bit of bolt movement
Steel (1/4 inch 4140) tap torque
- 1Irwin Hanson 14 piece49 inch pounds
side to side movement 1.28mm (nearly as good as the nut control)
- 2Craftsman 75 piece40 inch pounds
side to side movement 1.23mm, barely edges out Irwin for best fit
- 3Century 24 piece48 inch pounds
side to side movement 1.55mm
- 4Draper 52 piece combination35 inch pounds
side to side movement 0.63mm, very little side to side travel
- 5Vermont American 12 piece55 inch pounds
side to side movement 3.18mm
- 6GearWrench 77 piece ratcheting43 inch pounds2nd
side to side movement 1.45mm, moved into second place
- 7Bosch 40 piece49 inch pounds2nd
side to side movement 1.5mm, second place behind Irwin at that point
- 8Tekton 45 piece67 inch pounds
side to side movement 1.55mm
- 9Pittsburgh Harbor Freight tap and die set122 inch pounds
side to side movement 2.93mm versus a 1.18mm nut control, nearly three times as much movement as the nut
Die test
- 1Irwin Hanson 14 piece
started with only 4 inch pounds resistance, jammed on chip buildup at 413 inch pounds after about 2 inches, cleared damaged die and cut 12 more inches before failing at 148 inch pounds, side to side movement 1.9mm
- 2Craftsman 75 piece19 inch pounds
to thread new bolt, survived entire wear test at 110 inch pounds, side to side movement 2.1mm, die still in really good shape
- 3Century 24 piece
survived entire test, peak torque 166 inch pounds, side to side movement 4.13mm, small amount of visible wear but still in good shape
- 4Draper 52 piece combination
bolt threaded in by hand easily, survived entire test, peak torque 160 inch pounds, nut fit pretty loose, small amount of dulling to the leading edge of the flutes
- 5Vermont American 12 piece12 inch pounds
to thread new bolt and removed most of the zinc plating, lasted 13.5 inches before failing at 134 inch pounds, nut very loose on all threads with quite a bit of damage to the die
- 6GearWrench 77 piece ratcheting29 inch pounds
to thread new bolt, survived entire test, peak torque 111 inch pounds (least amount of torque yet), side to side movement 2.25mm, die still in really good shape
- 7Bosch 40 piece39 inch pounds
to thread new bolt and removed zinc coating, survived entire test, peak torque 143 inch pounds, side to side movement 4.13mm, some damage to the die
- 8Tekton 45 piece
retested with a 24 thread pitch die since the 18 pitch die was not properly machined, made 14.5 inches of thread before stripping out at 181 inch pounds, small amount of visible wear but still in good shape
- 9Pittsburgh Harbor Freight tap and die set17 inch pounds
to thread new bolt and removed zinc plating, made about an inch and a half of thread before failing and shredding the rod at 231 inch pounds, nut fits very loosely with damage to the leading edge of the flutes
Spring steel wear test
- 1Irwin Hanson 14 piece
survived, 120 inch pounds, some visible wear but in better shape than Pittsburgh and Vermont American
- 2Craftsman 75 piece
survived, 183 inch pounds, held up much better than GearWrench with minimal wear to the leading edge of the flutes
- 3Century 24 piece
survived, 129 inch pounds, held up really well with only very minor wear
- 4Draper 52 piece combination
survived, 162 inch pounds, experienced quite a bit of wear
- 5Vermont American 12 piece
survived, 182 inch pounds, quite a bit of wear but not as much as Pittsburgh
- 6GearWrench 77 piece ratcheting
survived, 233 inch pounds, performed very well on aluminum and medium hardness steel but spring steel caused quite a bit of wear
- 7Bosch 40 piece
survived, 250 inch pounds, quite a bit more wear compared to Irwin and Century
- 8Tekton 45 piece
tap broke at 202 inch pounds, pretty significant wear and damage
- 9Pittsburgh Harbor Freight tap and die set
survived, 358 inch pounds, a lot of damage to the tap
How it was tested
- tapping 30 holes in half inch aluminum, torque measured with a torque adapter
- bolt fit test comparing thread slop against a nut and bolt control
- tapping quarter inch 4140 steel with side to side thread play measured by feeler gauge
- die test cutting external threads on a low carbon steel rod until the die fails or the test ends
- tapping half inch spring steel until failure or test completion
“in my opinion the irwin is probably slightly better than the craftsman”
