What kind of Tap Handle Insert is this?

Does anyone know what they are using as a tap handle insert?

I hate trying to get the standard brass inserts straight. Wondering if these would be any simpler?

I'm not sure about the one pictured but some are supposed to be tapped in with a hammer and glued with epoxy.

Installing inserts straight is possible if you have a drill press. I have used several kinds. The tapered steel ones with coarse threads work well on hardwoods and install with a large allen wrench. The allen wrench area needs to be trimmed off after installation or there will not be enough threads to catch the faucet stud.

The brass ones don't work well for hardwoods due to the finer threads on the insert. They either tend to drill instead of create threads or the force it takes to install them breaks the installation slot. At least that's my experience on Cherry burl and some exotic woods.

How do you use the drill press to install the inserts?

Do you just run the drill press at a really low speed and let it thread it in?

you take a bolt that is the same thread pattern as the inside of the insert. Cut off the bolt head so it's just threaded rod, and screw on two hex nuts about half way up your rod. Tighten the rod in your chuck, then thread on the insert so that the end of the rod is just coming out of the bottom of the insert. Spin your nuts down the rod until the bottom makes contact with the top of the insert. Place your tap, upside down, on your drill press table and line it up with the insert (hole already drilled out of course). Lock the quill in place so that it is making steady pressure with the tap. Using a wrench, tighten the top nut until it drives the insert into the handle.

Re-reading that, well let's just say if your mind is normally in the gutter, you'd have a field day with that description.

I don't know what you have for tools but the way I have done it is use a fence on the drill press. I clamp the wood to it, drill and replace the drill bit with the insert installation tool. With the drill press UNPLUGGED I hand turn the chuck while applying downward pressure with the drill press handle. The wood never moves, so as long as the chuck and fence are at right angles to the table the insert goes in straight.

On hard woods I over drill the hole so the insert will fit kind of tight into the hole. Apply tape to the bottom side of the insert, put some epoxy in the hole and press the insert into place. The tape is so the glue does not enter the threads through the bottom of the insert.