When you break a tap in titanium

Tim Musselman

Tim Musselman

Well-Known Member
I'm sure I read this some where on the web but it's worth repeating if/when you break a tap in titanium and you break off the end flush trying to get it out just put it in a jar of etchant and in several hours maybe over night the tap will be gone and the titanium will not be effected just make sure to neutralize and clean the titanium well.
 
Yep works like a charm and eats up your detent ball also:eek: but sure better than remaking the liner.
Stan
 
I've had to do that at least three different times. The last time I tried an old machinist method and took a stout punch and ground a flat point on just smaller than the drill hole. I placed the piece with the broken tie on a an anvil and punched the broken tap sharply. The tap shattered and didn't do a lot of damage to the hole. Re-tapping took care of that.
 
yeah, but you are a Marine, you drink that stuff for high tea in the afternoon...
 
Soooo, how do I get my broken tap out of aluminum? The tap that broke on the 23rd out of 24 holes?
 
Gabe, test a scrap piece of the aluminum in the ferric chloride first. It should work; I have not had to try it on aluminum yet. The titanium we use has aluminum in it and that makes me think it would work.
 
Here's another idea. If you anodize a liner without masking the detent bal, the ball will get eaten. So what about placing the liner in and cranking up the power. Yes it will anodize your liner but it should electrically eat the tap.
 
Gabe Newell said:
Soooo, how do I get my broken tap out of aluminum? The tap that broke on the 23rd out of 24 holes?
Click to expand...
For AL and TI, I use Sulphuric acid (battery acid from the auto store).
It will not eat Aluminum, but will just leave a very thin oxidized surface.
As soon as that layer forms, there is no interaction of acid-Al (or Ti for that matter), but the tap continues to be eaten away.
 
every time I tap something I squint a little and stick my tongue out hoping I don't break a tap. It works at least half the time.
 
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