Pro tip: I thought power tapping was cheating until I watched a guy do 200 holes in 3 hours

Paige Williams · 2026-10-08T06:15:04.471362+00:00

I always hand tapped everything because my first shop boss said power tapping on a mill was for guys who could not feel the cut. Last month I watched a machinist at a job in Wichita run a tension-compression holder on a Haas and knock out 200 M8 holes through 6061 in about 3 hours with zero broken taps. Before that I was averaging maybe 40 holes an hour hand tapping and breaking one tap every 50 holes or so. The holder floats just enough that the tap follows the hole instead of fighting it, and the feed is set to the thread pitch so there is no guessing. I ran my first batch last week, 60 holes, no breaks, and the threads gauged fine. Do you guys run rigid tapping or still use a floating holder, and does it matter on aluminum vs steel for you?

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Pro tip: I thought power tapping was cheating until I watched a guy do 200 holes in 3 hours | CNC Operators - Thought Shares