Subject: 33JT and 3JT Chuck Tapers...

From: "Matt G. Dralle" <[email-masked]>
Date: 4 Nov 1995 08:30:34 GMT

Hello Everyone,

I have a 1HP Sears/Craftsman drill press with a 5/8 chuck.  I want to
buy a threading tool for it but all I can find is 33JT taper tools.  
Stamped on the body of the chuck is "RJ3-16L".  Am I to assume that this 
is a "3JT" taper?  Will a 33JT taper tool fit okay?

Also, could someone explain the differences in tapping tools.  Some say 
"Non-reversing" others say "Reversing".  I have the Penn Tool (SPI) and
ENCO Tool catalogs.  Any recommendations?  I need to tap 4-40 and 6-32.

Also, Where can I get good quality taps?  What *is* a good quality tap?  
How much should a quality tap cost?  I will be taping 6061-T6 Alum.

Thank you for any assistance.

Matt Dralle

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From: [email-masked] (Kevin Pinkerton)
Date: 6 Nov 95 07:21:48 EST

>is a "3JT" taper?  Will a 33JT taper tool fit okay?

Don't assume RJ3 = 3JT. My Sears drill press has a threaded on chuck. The one 
we have at work (non-sears) is also threaded on. Try to unthread the chuck. My 
Sears chuck as a ring that sits right above the chuck (actually it is part of 
the chuck) and the ring has several holes in it (three I think) that you can 
put the handle of the chuck key in and unscrew the chuck. It may take a pipe 
wrench to unscrew it the first time. Good luck.

Kevin P.

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From: [email-masked] (Kevin Pinkerton)
Date: 6 Nov 95 07:50:52 EST

>is a "3JT" taper?  Will a 33JT taper tool fit okay?

I forgot to add this... a 33JT is not the same as a 3JT.

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From: [email-masked] (Kevin Pinkerton)
Date: 7 Nov 1995 11:38:04 GMT

One more note... If you cannot get anywhere with using a tapping head 
directly chucked on your machine, you could get an arbor that converts from 
any of the jacobs tapors to a straight 1/2" shaft and then chuck that in your 
5/8" chuck. I mean this would be a last resort. I have done this one in my 
machine once when I needed to chuck a 3/4" reamer into a 3/4" jacobs chuck and 
I didn't have an adapter to use the 3/4" chuck in my lathe (at the time). I 
had a straight arbor to jacobs adapter chucked into my 1/2" drill press chuck 
and the 3/4" chuck was attached to the straight arbor, then the reamer was in 
the 3/4" chuck. It was kludgey and not very true, but I ran the reamer as slow 
as I could and it worked OK. You be the judge on whether this might be ok for 
a tapping head. You can get straight to jacobs arbors from ENCO for not much 
money. You might have to wait for a month for it though. Sometimes ENCO has 
taken forever and has shipped my order in as many as 4 pieces, each one coming 
weeks apart, but they have never NOT completed an order for me. good luck.

kp