M3 tap died in action. Toby to replace.
I could swear the old space had two tap sets…
Also, you have to manually enable wiki mode on the top post.
Auto-wiki for chose categories is a planned feature for Discourse.
Not sure how much value there is to having something in the space that is broken so easily.
M3 Tap is needed if you’re putting standoffs for a PCB onto something. I’d imagine I won’t be the only person doing that. So – like all small drill bits – its probably a case of buying a multipack and so be it.
I kind of agree but I don’t think consumables like this can be included in membership.
I wasn’t particularly under the impression it would be - I was going to replace. But that is easily said when it’s a trivial cost like this (at least I assume it’s trivial, that set didn’t exude an air of quality).
I didn’t mean you… I mean’t generally.
I dont think you can take that view on tools and supplies provided for members use.
Every tool wears and is likely to break. Some are more delicate than others.
We just need a sensible way of dealing with it.
My understanding is that we have a £20 minimum membership because other spaces (eg. LHS) can’t cover the costs incurred by hundreds of members using the space and breaking things but only paying £5 for the privilege.
Since the opening, we’ve gained 7 new members. That’s £140/month or £1,680/year. I think a £5 replacement tap is within our budget, and is IMO exactly the sort of thing that the surplus should be spent on.
I’d like to argue for aiming at durable, long lasting kit, and having a culture of taking care of it.
The tap and die set was picked up for £2 from a junk shop. Thought it would come in useful.
But let’s look at engineering grade stuff, if it’s not gigabucks.
It is in the nature of small taps to break. HSS steel is quite brittle and it doesn’t take much torque to snap small pieces.
Dermot’s right though - Good quality is more economic in the long run.
I agree with getting good quality pro tools.
Its not practical to always get the best for yourself if your only going to use it occasionally.
But in a group like ours better quality will last longer and get the use to warrant pro quality tools.
But they need looking after, cleaning after use and always put away properly.
When I was working full time as a mechanic in a motorcycle shop you got a rollicking if you didnt clean and store your tools properly where they belong between jobs. And these were our personal tools, not shop tools.
Yes.
And for that to happen we need to have a clear order to our tools. We’re not quite there yet.
Until we have enough space to store tools neatly we will have to hold back on the rollicking. Sadly.
I’ve been guilty of buying loads of cheap, ‘disposable’ tool in the past. Really want to get away from that.
Actually the average hackspace membership is £15 but they have so many more members that it makes sense, we set the £20 limit in my mind because we needed that much to make it possible, this is still true.
If there are more durable ones, yes I agree, but I didn’t think there were they always seem to break and while they’re not expensive, they aren’t the kind of thing we are likely to use a whole lot, and Makerspace if far from financially stable right now.
I don’t mind us buying stuff for the space, but I would like to see us build up a significant buffer in case we need it, for another arch or whatever else might happen in future.
Hi guys, I’m sorry for the tap, I was being very carefull but… It Just snaps! Anyway I just replaced it this morning, is in the set whit all the others! 
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Hey Stefano,
No need to apologise. The tap breaking raised the important issue of whether we should have these cheap tools. I think we should aim for long lasting tools that don’t break so easily.
And thanks for replacing it: the next person who needs that size tap has just been saved a lot of frustration!
So: we need to start a system for logging broken/worn/missing items that need replacing.
A book on a string in the space by the tool section?
Thoughts?
Dermot.
I note that this whole thread started with Toby doing exactly what I just talked about: ‘tool is broken, it’s needed, I’m replacing it…’
The fact it started a debate means the opening post was forgotten, as usual. So something more ‘static’, with space for comment?
Hello,
Breaking a small tap is often due to incorrect technique being employed. You should rotate the tap a half turn anticlockwise for every full clockwise one, once started, to clear the chips. The flutes of a small tap soon get clogged otherwise, which leads to jamming and inevitably it goes dink.
Buy the best and cry once is a good motto when thinking about tools. A compromise has to be found though, and for a group like yours value is important.
Have you heard of a company called Arc Euro Trade? They sell very reasonably priced good quality engineering tools. They are run by a chap called Ketan, who is a very nice man. Another supplier you might think about is Chronos engineering.
I have no connection with any of the above other than being a satisfied customer. I hope this helps you.
Carl.
Hello,
I have just realised this thread is 8 months old. So you have probably worked all this out for yourselves by now.
Never mind, einmal ist keinmal, as he used to say.
Carl.
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