Author Topic: Sears/Craftsman Tap and Die Sets  (Read 16410 times)

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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #15 on: November 25, 2019, 08:34:47 PM »
I recently picked another gently used Sears Craftsman SAE tap and die set.  Based on the set number, 5213, I'd guess this set was available between 1964 and 1968 give or take. 

Jim C.   
« Last Edit: November 25, 2019, 08:37:12 PM by Jim C. »
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Offline p_toad

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #16 on: November 26, 2019, 11:34:17 PM »
nice.   i've never run across one of those...did pick up an interrupted pipe tap some time back...i'll have to get a picture.

Offline Bill Houghton

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #17 on: February 11, 2020, 10:28:01 AM »
Back when they were still selling proper adjustable dies, I see.


The later hex dies have their place - I've used them with a wrench once or twice, when I couldn't fit the die handle into the space - but it would be nice to have a set with adjustable dies, even if I only use the adjustability once in a blue moon.

Offline Todd F.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2020, 06:37:28 PM »
This thread got me thinking so I dug through my tool drawers and pulled out my Craftsman 5201, 41-piece tap and die set that I bought around 1975.  Its been used and abused over the years and almost complete. Back in the day when you broke a tap you could just walk into Sears and pull a replacement “Kromedge” tap off the hook and give the cashier $1.99 and all was well.  Those days are gone so my set had a couple of Home Depot replacement taps. I posted my missing taps on “The Missing Link” forum. I’d like to give very special thanks to FrankLee for the 1/4-20 tap and to Iptools for the 5/16-18 tap. I feel complete now.

Bonus: When I pulled out both trays out so I could clean the crud off the case, I found the 29 page, “Sears Craftsman Handbook Of Taps, Dies and Threading Accessories”.  About half of it is just all the sets and accessories that Sears sold at the time but the other half has a lot of good information about cutting threads. (Who knew you were supposed to use kerosene mixed with lard oil when cutting threads in stainless steel?)

Again, many thanks to Iptools and FrankLee.

Note: While putting the dies back in the tray after wiping them off, I noticed that I have two 7/16- 14 dies and no 7/16-20.  Now I know I’ve never used either of those in the 45 years since I bought the set. It had to have been like that since the beginning. How observant am I?  I’ll post the 7/16-20 die on “The Missing Link” forum but I won’t be too upset if nothing turns up because this is exactly the way it was when I bought it.
« Last Edit: June 04, 2020, 06:47:50 PM by Todd F. »
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #19 on: June 04, 2020, 08:48:33 PM »
Nice set Todd!  It even has the often missing little screwdriver.   :grin:
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Offline d42jeep

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #20 on: June 04, 2020, 10:06:41 PM »
I traded for this lightly used one a couple of years ago.
-Don
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #21 on: June 05, 2020, 07:06:28 AM »
Nice looking set Don!  I’ve found that older tap and die sets are either well used and usually missing pieces or are in near mint to virtually unused condition.  I always wonder about those vintage NOS sets.  Someone paid retail price for it, brought it home, and then what?  They got put away and that was it.  Relatively speaking, those sets were never cheap, so I wonder why someone would shell out good money for a complete set and then not use it.
Jim C.
« Last Edit: June 05, 2020, 09:50:49 PM by Jim C. »
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Offline Bill Houghton

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #22 on: June 08, 2020, 04:44:31 PM »
Nice looking set Don!  I’ve found that older tap and die sets are either well used and usually missing pieces or are in near mint to virtually unused condition.  I always wonder about those vintage NOS sets.  Someone paid retail price for it, brought it home, and then what?  They got put away and that was it.  Relatively speaking, those sets were never cheap, so I wonder why someone would shell out good money for a complete set and then not use it.
Jim C.
Probably following the "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it" principle - and then they never needed it!

Offline d42jeep

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #23 on: June 09, 2020, 12:31:54 PM »
I haven’t used it much myself, yet. I tend to grab my old Ace Hanson set from habit.
-Don
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Offline Todd F.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #24 on: June 11, 2020, 08:50:26 PM »
I know this topic is about SAE sets but I just wanted to post pictures of my Metric tap set. I’ll remove the post if anyone objects. I bought this set in the mid-70s to supplement my #5201 SAE set (reply 18).  It served me well through many VW bugs and buses and a Triumph GT6. Amazingly it is all original.  I never broke a single tap.

The plastic case says it’s a 15-piece set even though there are only 14 taps. Maybe they were counting the case itself as a piece? I don’t recall anything else coming inside the case.  I thought maybe it came with a pitch gauge but mine is in its original red plastic sleeve and wouldn’t fit in the case. I found a 14-piece, taps-only set in the 1976-77 catalog that has the exact same taps as my set but it has a different part number.  Go Sears.

Todd F.

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Online lptools

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #25 on: June 12, 2020, 07:26:11 AM »
Hello, Todd. Nice set of Metric Taps!!
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #26 on: June 12, 2020, 10:05:54 PM »
Good looking original set Todd.  I think case itself is considered a part of the set, and as such, is counted as one of the pieces.  That was a pretty common practice by Sears/Craftsman.  In another thread within this forum, I posted the complete “25 piece” set of Cman Whitworth tools.  Well, if you count all the wrenches and sockets, etc. there are 24 actual tools. The tool box that came with the set is considered the 25th tool.  I also posted a similar thread that depicted the Cman “26 piece” metric set.  Once again, there are 25 actual tools plus the 26th piece..... the tool box.

Jim C.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2020, 08:43:00 AM by Jim C. »
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #27 on: November 28, 2020, 03:19:25 PM »
Very recently I had a chance to scavenge an old pole barn about an hour south of my house, that was filled up with planks and slabs of hardwood that consisted mostly of a lot of walnut, some oak, elm and cherry.  Mixed in were several huge slabs of catalpa.  I ended up bringing home a little bit of everything.  The wood belonged to a man who owned a portable saw mill, which was also stored in the building.  The man’s health was failing so his son was starting to lighten the load.  After filling up my van with wood, I found out that the building next door also belonged to the same guy.  It was a machine shop at one time, but over the years, it ended up as a “catch all” for everything.

There was stuff everywhere!  Tools, machines, car parts, junk, etc.  Just ten steps into the building and I must have seen a dozen things I was interested in buying.  So as I walked/climbed/crawled/squeezed my way though the building with the owner’s son, I’d occasionally ask, “How about this Wilton vise.  Is it for sale?”  The answer, “No.”  Well, that went on for about forty five minutes.  I asked about several items to include, sockets, wrenches, a small sheet metal brake, an atlas lathe, and countless other things.  Nothing was for sale.  So I asked the son what was up.  Why did we just maneuver our way through that building and I ended up with nothing?  He knew I was offering cash.  Well, he finally told me that his father wanted to hire an auctioneer to come and inventory everything and then hold a public auction.  I sort of laughed, and said something like, “There’s enough here for everyone, but if you’re set on giving an auctioneer a cut of the profits, that’s your business.”  He shrugged his shoulders and that was that.

As we were walking out of the building, I saw a tap and die set that I recognized as being an early 2000s vintage Craftsman metric set.  I actually saw it when we first entered the building and took a quick look at it.  From what I could see, it was missing a couple pieces.  So anyway, as we walked past it on our way out, I just rattled off, “What about this tap and die set?  You know, it’s missing a couple pieces.”  To my surprise, he said, “Okay.”

It was really dirty and some light surface rust covered most of the pieces.  It was missing the little screwdriver (which I replaced with one I had) and it was also missing the 18mm 1.50 tap and die.  The price was right and with a little elbow grease, everything cleaned up nicely.  While I had a few metric taps and dies that I bought as needed, I never had an almost complete set.  As far as I can tell, it’s set # 9-52373.  Sears offered it between 2000 and 2007.

Jim C.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2020, 09:34:24 PM by Jim C. »
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Offline coolford

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #28 on: November 28, 2020, 03:35:46 PM »
Good show Jim, you finally got your metric set.

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Sears/Craftsman SAE Tap and Die Set
« Reply #29 on: November 28, 2020, 05:49:48 PM »
Good show Jim, you finally got your metric set.

coolford,

Yes, I did......well almost anyway.  There was a lot of nice stuff there, but it all needed some TLC.  Nothing was in NOS or even really nice condition.  It had just been neglected for several decades.  But with a little time, know-how and a few dollars, most of it could have been rehabilitated/restored.  Some of the things I saw included a couple Wilton bullet vises, a nice Delta drill press with an undamaged cast iron pulley cover, a few different size Di Arco sheet metal brakes, LOTS of Snap On sockets, two different sized Atlas lathes, dozens and dozens of old Williams and Jorgensen clamps.  Hand tools everywhere and cabinets I couldn’t get to because there was so much stuff blocking them.  If they go the auctioneer route, it will take awhile to inventory everything.  And if the auction occurs, I’ll probably attend! :smiley:

Jim C.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2020, 09:00:09 AM by Jim C. »
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