Buy Pipe Spiral Point Taps Online in Australia
Pipe Spiral Point Tap Selection — Quick Reference
Pipe spiral point taps (gun taps) — POINT geometry PUSHES CHIPS THROUGH workpiece. Best for THROUGH-HOLE pipe threading at high speed. Workshop production + CNC. Different from spiral-flute (chip evacuation up).
| Pipe Spiral Point Type | Best For |
|---|---|
| BSPT Spiral Point | UK/AU pipe — through hole |
| BSPP Spiral Point | Parallel sealing — through hole |
| NPT Spiral Point | US pipe — through hole |
| HSS Standard | Workshop general |
| Cobalt M35/M42 | Stainless + tough material |
| 1/8" - 2" Range | Workshop standard |
| 2-3 Flutes Typical | Production speed |
Critical: USE FOR THROUGH HOLES ONLY — pushes chips through. For BLIND HOLES use SPIRAL FLUTE (pulls chips out). Use cutting LUBRICANT. Brands: Sutton Tools, P&N. Companion: pipe hand taps, pipe spiral-flute taps, pipe straight-flute taps, taps.
Pipe Spiral Point (Gun) Taps
Pipe spiral point taps — sometimes called gun taps — have a chamfered cutting end with angular chip-pushing geometry that drives the chip ahead of the tap, through the work, and out the bottom of the hole. They're the right tool for production tapping in through-holes, where chip evacuation forward (rather than back up the flutes) is the fastest way to clean threads. AIMS Industrial stocks pipe spiral point taps in BSPF for plumbing, hydraulic, and pneumatic threading work.
How spiral point geometry works
The cutting end of a spiral point tap is ground at an angle that catches the chip and shoves it forward through the hole as the tap rotates. In a through-hole, the chip exits the back of the work cleanly; the flutes themselves don't carry chips back to the top, so they can be straight (no helix) — which makes the tap stiffer and more economical to manufacture. The result is faster tapping speeds in production work compared with straight-flute or spiral-flute taps.
Sizes
Pipe spiral point taps are stocked in BSPF (parallel pipe thread) in the common sizes: 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, 1 inch, 1-1/4, 1-1/2, and 2 inch. BSPF threads are parallel and seal with an O-ring or sealing washer, not on the thread itself.
Where spiral point earns its place
- Production fitting manufacture — high-volume threading of brass, stainless, and aluminium pipe fittings
- Through-hole threading — where the hole exits the back of the work and chips can clear forward
- CNC machining centres — spiral point taps suit the high-speed peck-tap or rigid-tap cycles modern CNCs use
- Free-machining materials — brass, free-cutting steel, and aluminium where the chip breaks cleanly
Spiral point versus spiral flute — choosing right
Spiral point: through-holes, high-speed production, chips evict forward. Spiral flute: blind holes, chips evict back up the flutes. Don't substitute — using a spiral point in a blind hole packs chips at the bottom and breaks the tap; using a spiral flute in a high-speed through-hole production setup is slower than spiral point. Match the tap geometry to the hole type.
Brands stocked at AIMS
Sutton Tools, Bordo, and Champion cover the pipe spiral point tap range in HSS. HSS-E (cobalt) versions and surface-coated taps (TiN, TiCN) are available for more demanding production applications.
Tapping practice
Use cutting fluid, drill the correct tapping drill size, and run the tap at the manufacturer's recommended surface speed for the material. Spiral point taps perform best in powered tapping setups — manual hand tapping is possible but slower and offers no advantage over straight-flute. For production work, a tapping head or CNC rigid-tap cycle is the right driver.
Need help selecting between spiral point and spiral flute, or sourcing a less common size? contact our team — we'll work through the application.
People Also Ask — Pipe Spiral Point Taps
Q: Why can a pipe spiral point tap's flutes be straight when it's still called a spiral point tap?
The chip-pushing action comes from the angled, chamfered cutting end that shoves chips forward through the hole, not from a helix along the flutes — because the chips don't need to travel back up the flutes to clear, the flutes themselves can be straight, which makes the tap stiffer and more economical to manufacture.
Q: What pipe fitting work is pipe spiral point tapping best suited to?
Production fitting manufacture in brass, stainless and aluminium, through-hole threading where the hole exits the back of the work, CNC machining centres running high-speed peck-tap or rigid-tap cycles, and free-machining materials where the chip breaks cleanly.
Q: What happens if a spiral point pipe tap is used in a blind hole by mistake?
Chips get pushed forward into the bottom of the hole with nowhere to go, packing at the bottom and breaking the tap — spiral point taps are built for through-holes specifically, and a blind hole needs a spiral flute tap instead to lift chips back out.
Q: Why are pipe spiral point taps stocked in BSPF rather than BSPT?
BSPF is a parallel thread that seals with an O-ring or sealing washer rather than on the thread itself, which suits the production fitting manufacture spiral point taps are typically used for.
Q: Is hand tapping with a spiral point tap worth doing, or is it strictly a machine-only tool?
Hand tapping is possible but offers no real advantage over a straight-flute tap when done by hand — spiral point taps perform best in powered tapping setups like a tapping head or CNC rigid-tap cycle, where the forward chip-pushing geometry actually pays off in speed.