I've had an inexpensive tap and die set forever. I bought it from Canadian Tire, came in a blue metal case - and I'm sure there's hundreds of thousands of these out in garages everywhere. Mine got to the point where the plastic organizer started coming apart, and, there is no space for expansion when you purchase new taps and dies.
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| The completed reorganization - Taps and Dies, One box for Metric, One box for Standard, Plano ProLatch StowAway |
I don't use these regularly enough to really do much about it, until I got into a turbo replacement project on my daily driver and had quite a few threads to clean up. I was also annoyed that the metric and standard taps and dies were mixed together, it just slowed things down when trying to find the right tap or die quickly. So - a new project was born.
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| Mastercraft Tap and Die Set - The plastic organizer had reached end-of-life |
I did a bit of research, and the idea of a machinists tool chest was quickly ruled out - I don't use these very often, and I want the storage to be as space efficient as possible. I organize all my hardware in Plano Prolatch storage boxes - super convenient, and I went to see if I could find something suitable for the taps and dies. I found that Plano makes a half height Prolatch - the 2-3601 with 21 adjustable compartments. Here's how it went.
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| Plano ProLatch StowAway 2-3601 Utility Box |
This was quick and easy. Separate metric from standard, and organize taps and dies from large to small - outer corners towards the center. I double stacked dies - this works well because you can pair the fine and coarse threaded dies of the same size.
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| Metric Taps and Dies, with enough space left over for the tap holders, in the Plano 2-3601 ProLatch StowAway |
I know that taps shouldn't be stored where the tap cutting surfaces can rub against other taps - I'll have to look into sleeves that I can use to protect the thread cutting surfaces a bit better, but I don't think this should be a major issue for me. If these were rattling around the back of a service truck, it would be a different story.
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| Both sets - labelled. Plano ProLatch StowAway 2-3601 |
I've bought a few more of these Plano boxes - they're quite space efficient, and will fit in my hardware rack nicely. Here's a photo of how I store all my hardware in the regular height ProLatch StowAway utility boxes:
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| Plano ProLatch StowAway utility boxes arranged in Ikea Kitchen Wall Cabinets - Good Fit |
Sources and Links
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