Source for a tap

Treadway Cues

Cuemaker
Silver Member
Could anyone help point me towards a 3/8-7.5 radial tap. A local player wants a shaft made for his 5280 cue. Thanks!!
 
Atlas sells the unlock 3/8-6 radial taps. I have those. I need a 3/8-7.5 with radius threads.

Uniloc, that Atlas sells is 3/8X7.6***. The Chinese radial that you have is actually a little finer, closer to a 3/8X8.****. They are no longer available as far as I know. I got mine from Schmelke but they quit carrying them 2 or 3 years ago. The best that I can tell you is to pull the pin in it and drill, and tap and install an American, Uniloc radial pin as those taps are available.

Dick
 
Call Royce at OB Cues. Here's why:

I had a customer a few years ago who wanted an OB for his 5280. I assumed it was a Radial pin cuz it looked like it. I made the shaft and it threaded on very snuggly. A few months later he came back cuz the shaft cracked just above the joint rings. I called Royce at OB cuz I was wondering what was wrong with his product. He explained the slight difference in the pins is just enough to crack the shaft. No goofball tap to be found anywhere, so I bought a finished 5280 OB from Royce.

To be clear, I'm not saying Royce sells the taps, but maybe he knows where you can get one.

In case anyone cares, the genuine Radial thread is 3/8-7.62 (which is exactly 3 threads per centimeter) and the look-a-like is 3/8-8. It's so damn close, it's frustrating!
 
I have gotten lost as to which tap you actually need. I have this one that I got in a lot of taps a few years ago from a cuemaker inventory sale.

It would seem to be a true radial - but there's not an identifying mark on it.

I'm not really interested in selling it, but I would lend it to you so you can get your customer's cue done.

Let me know,

Gary
 

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Here's a better picture of the threads
 

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This is a picture of both taps. The upper one is an American uni-loc tap and the lower one is a compression tap that I acquired from Schmelke.

DSC_0001-39.jpg


Dick
 
So it would seem that I don't have the tap that AES uses on their cues - thanks Dick for the pics.

Gary
 
Nice gesture Gary. You just gave me hope that the world isn't as bad as I thought it was :thumbup:

Joe
 
Anyone know what the pitch is on Prather's Ball thread tap?

It may be .125", or 8 TPI.

If so, that's the one you're looking for.
 
Tap

I used to have the Schmelke tap... it wasn't even hardened! Given thread cutting capabilities, a person could make one of these "compression taps" pretty easily. It's just an untapered screw-like affair.

Having said that, I was able to make a "usable" thread with it, but not really a good one. Someone at Schmelke knew the correct size hole to drill but my best efforts yielded a pretty shallow, funky thread.

When I bought mine (just like Dick's) years ago, they were switching over to yet another Radial-like screw with still different dimensions! OOOF!


Robin
 
5/16...

I used to have the Schmelke tap... it wasn't even hardened! Given thread cutting capabilities, a person could make one of these "compression taps" pretty easily. It's just an untapered screw-like affair.

Having said that, I was able to make a "usable" thread with it, but not really a good one. Someone at Schmelke knew the correct size hole to drill but my best efforts yielded a pretty shallow, funky thread.

When I bought mine (just like Dick's) years ago, they were switching over to yet another Radial-like screw with still different dimensions! OOOF!


Robin

For threading 3/8, you should be drilling with a 5/16... that shouldn't give you a shallow thread at all.

Jaden
 
For threading 3/8, you should be drilling with a 5/16... that shouldn't give you a shallow thread at all.

Jaden


This is a very unusual tap. Just curious, have you used one?
Sounds like you are speculating. I wasn't.

Robin
 
Me too

Anyone know what the pitch is on Prather's Ball thread tap?

It may be .125", or 8 TPI.

If so, that's the one you're looking for.

Thanks, Royce!
I sent an email to them to make sure.
In the meantime, does anyone else have an extra tap that is not the true Uniloc Radial, but the "knock-off" version? I have the ones from Atlas.
Thanks!

Edit: Well, as soon as I posted this, I got an answer from Jennifer at Prather. She says that they do sell the true Uniloc Radial.
In that case, I am still looking for the "other" ;-)
 
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For threading 3/8, you should be drilling with a 5/16... that shouldn't give you a shallow thread at all.

Jaden

That is pretty much true for a tap that removes material. A compression tap does not remove material so the bore needs to be larger or the shaft may split trying to form a thread.

Dick
 
That is pretty much true for a tap that removes material. A compression tap does not remove material so the bore needs to be larger or the shaft may split trying to form a thread.

Dick

Thanks Dick. You actually added to the discussion rather than just being a grouch like me. Sorry, all.

Robin
 
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