# Tap and Drill Index



## kquiggle (Dec 22, 2014)

I made this tap and drill index a short while ago, and I have found it very useful. It holds all of the drills and taps needed for #4-40 through 1/4"-32 for both 50% and 75% threads, as well as drills for close fit and loose fit holes (see picture). This index makes it very simple to quickly access the right drill and tap for most of the tapping I do.







It actually took me longer to create the template for the index than to make the index itself. The template includes labels for all screws sizes, for Taper, Bottom, and Plug taps, and includes drills numbers and decimal sizes.

You'll notice that I have stuck cotton swabs in some of the index holes - these are holes for drills or taps I don't have (yet); I make sure there are no empty holes to avoid replacing a drill or tap in the wrong hole.

The template serves as a guide for drilling, as well as providing labels for the finished index; the template and other details can be found at the link below, which also includes a guide for choosing drill sizes for drilling the index.

https://sites.google.com/site/lagadoacademy/machining---lathes-mills-etc/build---drill-and-tap-index


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## rtp_burnsville (Dec 24, 2014)

Very nice!


Robert


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## gus (Dec 25, 2014)

Hi Kuiggle,

I think I have justification to make another box and this to store M2-----------M10 Taps and tapping drills.For now I do it by memory which can be deadly if I pick too big a tapping drill.
With the index,its foolproof basis no tapping drill return storage error.
Thanks for showing.

Merry Christmas.( Its Christmas day today.)


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## Wizard69 (Dec 25, 2014)

First I must say an awesome web site.   I'm not sure how you guys find the time!    I saved a link so hopefully I will be able to find the site again.  




kquiggle said:


> I made this tap and drill index a short while ago, and I have found it very useful. It holds all of the drills and taps needed for #4-40 through 1/4"-32 for both 50% and 75% threads, as well as drills for close fit and loose fit holes (see picture). This index makes it very simple to quickly access the right drill and tap for most of the tapping I do.


This is a really nice concept and funny enough I have been thinking about making some blocks to do similar organization.   I was actually thinking about smaller blocks that would support 2-3 sizes of taps, mainly so I don't loose room as I take the set to where I'm working.  I'm also a big fan of gun taps and likely would add a hole for them.

Given that I'm going to have to think a bit about that as I really like your general arraignment here.    I never even considered clearance drill bits for example.  


> It actually took me longer to create the template for the index than to make the index itself. The template includes labels for all screws sizes, for Taper, Bottom, and Plug taps, and includes drills numbers and decimal sizes.
> 
> You'll notice that I have stuck cotton swabs in some of the index holes - these are holes for drills or taps I don't have (yet); I make sure there are no empty holes to avoid replacing a drill or tap in the wrong hole.
> 
> The template serves as a guide for drilling, as well as providing labels for the finished index; the template and other details can be found at the link below, which also includes a guide for choosing drill sizes for drilling the index.




I really hate Google docs and Goggle in general.   


All in all splendid work, the idea of using the template as a label should really make quick work for people that follow this route.


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## kquiggle (Dec 26, 2014)

Wizard69 - thanks for the compliment. I built up the web site over a long period of time; I actually started it offline, just saving links I thought useful, and as it got bigger I thought if it was useful to me it might be to others as well. I'm continually updating the site as I find new things of interest, or as I do research for my own projects. I try to keep it oriented toward the hobby machinist, with a focus on the "best" links which include such things as plans, good photos or descriptions, etc.

The template/label idea worked out very well for me, and it really did speed things up - made the drilling a lot simpler, and of course I could play around with the layout until I got something I liked. I did think about making two or three smaller indexes instead of one big one, but I have found it handy to have everything in one place. It's only 9" x 5" so it's not too bad space-wise; I'm thinking of making some kind of wall mount for it so I can keep it handy but still out of the way. Same old story - never enough bench space.

I sympathize with you about google. I switched to duck-duck-go for search and have found it just as good, for the most part. I toyed around with the idea of running the web site from my home server, but I just don't have the time. There are a number of things I don't like about google.sites, but they are all outweighed by "free." Here's a related quiz for you: When I first posted the index template to google docs, it was flagged for "possibly inappropriate content" !!! - the inscrutables at google cleared it after review. What was in it that was "bad?" Haven't got a clue - google never tells you; you either have to make a guess or just remove the document. It's the third time I've had a document flagged, and I've never posted anything remotely inappropriate. Very annoying.


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## stevenz (Dec 30, 2014)

Nice job with the index. Much better than what I've been doing - small clear poly Ziploc bag - maybe 2 inches by 3 inches (or larger if needed) with taps/drills - I throw a piece of stiff paper in with size on both sides. Poly bag isn't great but it works. Swabs are excellent idea too - can use that idea in a number of places.

 I recently made a simple drill index template by using MS Excel. Took a little trial and error to get the size of cell but otherwise you can print out the template and stick in on with spray adhesive or something similar.


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## bazmak (Dec 30, 2014)

I have some fishing box trays each one dedicated to a thread size,each has 
approx 20 compartments.If i want M3 i take out the tray from its shelf.
It has taps,dies tap and clearance drill.Nuts ,washers and different size/hd screws etc.If im using M3 then that tray has it all.One tray for metric each 
M3 to M8. One for BA,Model Eng. and one for Bearings ,circlips whit etc
Each tray is housed in a open drawer cabinet.So if i want M5 out comes the tray,everything needed to do the job then back it goes


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## kquiggle (Dec 31, 2014)

Bazmak - that's a nice idea, and I can see the benefits. I think storage of screws, nuts. etc. is an issue we all have to deal with one way or another, and it's always interesting to see how others tackle (no pun intended!) the job. 

I keep my dies in either the set I bought them in, or in one of those "organizers" with plastic drawers, but I can't say I am happy with either method. 

I like to keep my screws in multi-compartment plastic boxes (relatively cheap from Harbor Freight), with one box for for #5, one for #8, etc., another box for washers, another for nuts, and so on.


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