[popspipes]

I am going to try the alum trick on a broken 6 32 tap in a .250 aluminum part, broken off flush and all the way to the surface on the other side, I ordered 8 ounces of it from ebay and I will give it the smoke test! I was out of spiral point 6 32's, and got in a hurry and tried a hand tap in the machine and of course it didnt work. I was wanting an excuse to try this method anyway, so we will see if it works firsthand.I may have heard of this years ago but I dont remember it?? but at my age there are a lot of things I dont remember and a lot of items that are lost and never found ha! There was a post on this a few days ago but it is now closed so I thought I would start a new thread. I will post here if all goes well, or if it doesnt go so well.

Here is a link to the Alum if anyone is interested

Alum Granules 8oz Natural Remedy and Food Preservative | eBay

[twocik]

Hi Mike,
I've used 15% diluted sulfuric acid mix to remove taps in Titanium, 304 and some aluminum. Ti & SS I left overnight worked like a charm (through hole, plug the bottom with hot glue/wax). I can't remember how this worked on the AL part, but if you're out of options might be worth a shot. Let us know what you find, luv to hear about new tricks !

[popspipes]

Hello Chris,
I read up on this procedure for aluminum and just wanted to try it out, according to the website its been around for 50 years, the part is worth 40 dollars so its not the end of the earth if Iit doesnt work.I have seen one taken out with edm, that works very well, I have drilled them out with a carbide mill or spotting drill.

Aluminum doesnt tolerate acids or alkali very well.

I worked with a fellow who sharpened and cleaned his files with a weak acid solution, never tried that one though.
Internet is in and out here lately maybe I will get this posted this time....

[Steve Seebold]

I used to use a product called Tap Out. It was a sulphuric acid solution we used to remove 10-32 and 1/4-20 taps from 7075 aluminum. It took a couple of days and we had to heep the tempreature at around 100 degrees, but it worked with mo damage to the aluminum.

[popspipes]

I used to use a product called Tap Out. It was a sulphuric acid solution we used to remove 10-32 and 1/4-20 taps from 7075 aluminum. It took a couple of days and we had to heep the tempreature at around 100 degrees, but it worked with mo damage to the aluminum.

I read up on the chemical procedures for tap/tool removal and there are several for different alloys etc
It will be a fun experiment and maybe save the part, I think the old crockpot will find a new use........provided my wife doesnt know about it...

[BIG IGG]

..provided my wife doesnt know about it...

:nono::nono::nono: It will cost ya LOL

[menzzer37]

The acid won't hurt the aluminum. What do you think an anodizing bath is?? The best tap removal is a battery charger and sulfuric acid @ 50% dilution.

[twocik]

"I used to use a product called Tap Out. It was a sulphuric acid solution we used to remove 10-32 and 1/4-20 taps from 7075 aluminum. It took a couple of days and we had to heep the tempreature at around 100 degrees, but it worked with mo damage to the aluminum.
"




See and to think all of these years I could've just invented Tap Out. Seems to be the same method I'm using and it does require a few days. Now that I think about it, my solution might have been a little weaker. Not much harm to the AL. Oh btw that was a form tap I removed from Ti, so it definitely needed time to get in there. Report back Mike, would luv to hear what you come up with ! Another thing that is pushing me to thread mill vs tap...

[twocik]

"The acid won't hurt the aluminum. What do you think an anodizing bath is?? The best tap removal is a battery charger and sulfuric acid @ 50% dilution."


It will pit after time, but we're talking at least a week. Never thought of using current to speed up the process... hmmmmm might have to try that !!!!

[BAMCNC.COM]

Just buy drain cleaner - you know the stuff in the plastic bag on the shelf - that is about 99% sulfuric acid. You can also buy battery acid from NAPA or something, that is around 33% I think.

Using electricity may work, but you best keep the polarity right!

I've broke one tap I cared to get out, soaked it down with Sili-Kroil, let it sit for 30min, then used picks and a small hammer to unscrew it.

[pickled]

Sili-Kroil is rocking stuff! FYI- be careful on the drain cleaners. Some of them are actually HCl acid (TheWorks comes to mind). Combine then with some aluminum and your backyard chemistry can make a boom-boom as the hydrogen gas gets liberated at a pretty good clip. Can be fun for other nefarious applications.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Sili-Kroil is rocking stuff! FYI- be careful on the drain cleaners. Some of them are actually HCl acid (TheWorks comes to mind). Combine then with some aluminum and your backyard chemistry can make a boom-boom as the hydrogen gas gets liberated at a pretty good clip. Can be fun for other nefarious applications.

I believe some also contain lye, which I believe will also eat aluminum.

Regards,
Ray L.

[MichaelHenry]

I believe some also contain lye, which I believe will also eat aluminum.

Regards,
Ray L.

+1 Check the product MSDS before using. Most bases (sodium hydroxide, lime, etc) will dissolve aluminum pretty quickly.

Mike

[IMT]

Tacking a piece of welding rod to the tap with a Tig and backing it out has worked well for me. As long as the top of the tap isn't too far down the hole to get to. The bead doesn't stick to the aluminum.

[shred]

Alum will work fine, although it'll probably take a couple of days if you don't keep it hot the whole time. Just mix as much as you can into warm water and let it soak. BTDT.

[BAMCNC.COM]

Only drain cleaner in a bag is sulfuric acid as far as I have ever seen at Lowes, Home Depot, Local farm store and local hardware store. Lye or the works do not come in an extra protective bag.

[MichaelHenry]

Bam - The MSDS for Draino indicates bleach and sodium hydroxide as primary active ingredients. Looks like others contain sulfuric or other acids as you noted, so it seems like the bottom line is to that not all drain cleaners are the same and the user should know use the right type.

[alan_3301]

I used alum a few months ago to dissolve a broken tap. I superglued a short section of wide rubber tube to the part to form a reservoir.
Then using a hotplate, and a temp probe, I was able to get it heated to around 200 F. as hot as you can without the water boiling off.
Fill the reservoir with water alum solution, when it is up to temp, keep adding alum to the water until it is saturated.

It took about 8 hrs to dissolve enough that I was able to remove what was left with a pick.
Aside from some slight darkening in the area, it was hard to tell there was ever a problem.

Also, you can get alum in the spice rack at any grocery store, It was like $5 for around 4 oz.

[popspipes]

I used alum a few months ago to dissolve a broken tap. I superglued a short section of wide rubber tube to the part to form a reservoir.
Then using a hotplate, and a temp probe, I was able to get it heated to around 200 F. as hot as you can without the water boiling off.
Fill the reservoir with water alum solution, when it is up to temp, keep adding alum to the water until it is saturated.

It took about 8 hrs to dissolve enough that I was able to remove what was left with a pick.
Aside from some slight darkening in the area, it was hard to tell there was ever a problem.

Also, you can get alum in the spice rack at any grocery store, It was like $5 for around 4 oz.

I have some on order from ebay, should be here tomorrow or the next day, 5 new split point 6-32's came in today (needed those a week ago ha!) lI have already put in a request for the family crock pot and got the OK from Headquarters.

[Beezle]

I just tried the alum trick a few weeks ago on this part:



This was a 10-32 tap buried about .6" into the hole, broke flush.

The process did in fact dissolve the tap, but slowly. By the time the tap was nearly gone, the surface of the aluminum had enough damage that I scrapped the part. And I mean physical damage, not discoloration. This process took overnight.