Metric Hand Taps

Metric Hand Taps

Hand taps are the fitter's everyday thread-cutting tool — used in a tap wrench to cut clean internal threads in a pre-drilled hole. AIMS Industrial stocks a deep range of metric hand taps for fitters, mechanics, maintenance teams, and toolrooms. Whether you're chasing a damaged thread on a stripped fastener or cutting a fresh hole in a fabrication, the right tap and tap wrench combination gets the job done quickly.

The three styles in a hand tap set

• Taper tap — long lead taper (around 7-10 threads) for starting a new thread by hand
• Intermediate (second) tap — shorter lead, used to follow the taper in deeper holes
• Bottoming (plug) tap — minimal lead, used to finish threads close to the bottom of a blind hole

Most through-holes can be cut with a taper tap alone; blind holes generally need taper-then-bottoming, and tougher materials benefit from the full taper-intermediate-bottoming sequence.

Sizes we stock

The metric hand tap range covers M1.6 through to M30 in standard coarse pitches, plus the common metric fine sizes (M6×0.75, M8×1, M10×1, M10×1.25, M12×1.25, M12×1.5, etc.). Singles and full sets are stocked, with sets typically including the three styles for each common size.

Brands and material

We stock high-speed steel (HSS) hand taps from Sutton Tools, Bordo, and Champion — three brands chosen because they hold an edge on the materials Australian workshops actually work with. Coatings vary by application: bright finish for general steel, TiN for harder steels and stainless, and steam tempered for cast iron.

Tapping advice

Use a quality tapping fluid (Molycut and Tap Magic are stocked here), pre-drill to the correct tapping drill size, keep the tap square to the work, and back off every half turn to break the chip. Hand taps will not survive being driven by a drill.

Tap drill sizes — the spec to get right

Every metric tap has a specific tapping drill size that gives 75% thread engagement — strong enough for most applications, easy enough to cut. Going under-size makes the tap struggle and risk breakage; going over-size produces weak threads. Common examples: M5 tap uses 4.2mm drill, M6 uses 5.0mm, M8 uses 6.8mm, M10 uses 8.5mm, M12 uses 10.2mm. Charts are widely available and worth keeping near the bench.

When a tap breaks

It happens. The recovery depends on how badly the tap is jammed and what material the tap and workpiece are. EDM (electrical discharge machining) services can remove broken taps cleanly from valuable parts; for less critical jobs, a tap extractor or a careful drill-out using a carbide bit may work. Don't keep forcing the breakage in deeper.

Need help with size, set, or material?

contact our team for tap drill charts, set recommendations, or sourcing on metric fine sizes outside the standard range.