Metric V-TapGuide

The item arrived exactly as I expected. It's a relatively simple product, but the fine craftsmanship is readily apparent. It came applied with a light coating of oil and packed inside a nice industrial style tool holder with a hanging hook. The hole size is not an issue, but I can only test the fit of the M4 & M5 holes because they're the only sizes I own right now. The fit and finish are great yet not perfect. After opening, I washed the tool with dish soap and water. The soap turned black so I knew it could use a thorough cleaning. Using cotton swabs to dry the holes resulted in fibers being snagged by small burrs left on the V-Groove side of the holes. I want to be able to clean my tools without making another 'mess' so I carefully filed the edges of the holes until smooth. This is a minor annoyance and isn't enough of a problem to deduct a star, but I hope the manufacturer considers improving their processes a bit. The smell of the factory's choice of grease is also fairly unpleasant and still lingers after washing and oiling with a scented mineral oil like Ballistol. I suggest a change to an unscented & nontoxic lubricant, like silicone, be used as an alternative rust preventative. The block's thickness is adequate for the tap threads to fully engage the workpiece. Some tools create new problems, but this block should never become a distraction or obstruction. It's so simple it should just work. The fact that it's much narrower than a rectangular block means it can/should be clamped down. A smaller block makes clamping difficult or impossible. Being Made in the USA matters to me because it supports American labor and a continued commitment to producing this level of quality goods. I couldn't find a competing product in this price range anyways, regardless of where it's made. The V-Groove feature is an excellent innovation to the homemade tapping guide blocks machinists tend to make for themselves. That versatility for tapping corners or rounded material is a nice bonus, especially since I don't have a tap & drill set required to make my own block, nor do I have a mill to make the V-Groove on the bottom. The price is fair and the quality is impressive.

I bought one of everything they sell. Absolutely excellent stuff.

I have been using this for 4,5,6mm taps. When I am using this on the side of 1/2" aluminum I turn it upside down. Works great! I did have to tap some unusual size holes (7 mm) and wish this guide would have helped but I knew that was not one of the standard sizes.

In lieu of a dedicated tapping machine, lathe or mill, or simply for those hard-to-access sports - this tool is a must. In fact, I am finding that I prefer to use it more often (at least for smaller sizes) because there is practically zero setup: clamp the guide to your work and use your favorite tap wrench. The thread will be straight and true. Just by preventing the stuck or broken bits alone the guide will likely save you more money than it cost. Speaking of which, this is a precision, high quality tool and is a pleasure to handle. It even comes with a handy plastic case.

This is a well designed tool that can be used either with round stock (provided with a "V" on the bottom) or flat stock. It is a heavy piece, though allowing for better stability while using it as a drill guide, which with smaller sized drills is it's prime use and desire to keep drills from wondering. Remember, this is a METRIC drill guide designed for use with metric drill bits, but don't be discouraged. The manufacturer also makes it in standard ANSi (Imperial) drill sizes. Mine goes up to 10 millimeter in size and the Imperial I believe has a maximum drill size of 1/4 inch. They are well worth the money spent in keeping the drill from wondering or snapping, while trying to keep the bit 90 degrees to the piece being worked.

It didn't come with portable case like another customer's review to get -1 star and wrong product description as having only 9 guide holes compare to 13 as described to have another -1 star. Being said that product picture is correct as only have 9 guide holes. Should fix product description.

For taps lager than M5, the tool works great. Nice quality! But there are a couple problems. First, the clearance for the M3-M5 holes is too great. An M3 tap has too much play. Second, the surfaces are not flat and rock on a surface plate. The top surface without the v-groove is the worst, which is too bad because there are times when groove is wider than the work surface. With a little more attention at the factory these problems could be eliminated. I've not tested squareness. Would be great to have a similar product dedicated for smaller taps, perhaps M2.5 to M5. The smallest holes I tap are M1.5. (Big Gator are you listening?)

While this advertises that it works with 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, ..., the holes labeled 3 and 4 are about 3.7 and 4.3 mm and do not work with high quality taps. Maybe they work with some ancient US spec but certainly not with what is in use today.

Très satisfait de cet accessoire. Les calibres sont parfaits, on peut faire des trous à 45° et il prend très peu de place. En utilisation à plat, les trous sont bien perpendiculaires. Livré dans une petite boite de rangement bien pratique. Si cet avis vous a été utile merci de cliquer sur "OUI"

Drill holes in pipes

Zeer makkelijk, vasthouden of vastklemmen en perfect verticaal boren met de accuboor. Is eigenlijk de tap versie en zonder centreeraanduiding op de zijkant. Maar deze gaat tot 16mm. Onverwoestbaar. Wel aan de dure kant, in de VS 1/3 goedkoper

良い：予想通り製品です。円安でAmazonUSAは４０００円程度ですが、送料別２０００円、 アマゾン日本安いです。 不満点：切削油の匂いは厳しい。 洗剤で洗いましたが、まだ残っている。 各種洗剤で頑張って掃除中。

Great guide, nice and solid and arrived a lot quicker than stated too.