Fastening a custom hardwood tap handle?

[Walker]

You are a champion. I will try to return the favour somewhere down the line to a new brewer when I am an established member.

Cheers and thanks again.

No problem. Pay it Forward.

 

[tlarham]

I bought a few of the tap inserts at the local Lowes (the ones that are a tad too long). But jeeze if they were not the most difficult thing to actually thread into the wood -- I broke the brass trying to get it in.

Anyone else have a similar issue? I think I'll try the nut approach listed above...

-- T.

 

[Photopilot]

Anyone else have a similar issue? I think I'll try the nut approach listed above...

-- T.

I am running into the same problem here. I bought a bunch of these from William brewing as an impulse buy with a previous order. They are shorter than the Lowes ones and only a $1.10 each if you buy 8 or more. A lot of good they do me if I can't get them in though. I do not have a screwdriver big enough and when I try some needle nose pliers to drive it in the wood is stripping out. I also tried to tap directly into the wood which also stripped. I tried to use a drill press to keep the tap insert straight when driving it, something i read in a woodworking mag.

I will have access to a drill press this evening and will try again. I will oversize the hole to see if it helps getting the threaded insert to bite. If not I will go back to inserting the nuts into the wood. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

I bought a few of the tap inserts at the local Lowes (the ones that are a tad too long). But jeeze if they were not the most difficult thing to actually thread into the wood -- I broke the brass trying to get it in.

Anyone else have a similar issue? I think I'll try the nut approach listed above...

-- T.

The effort required will depend on what you are threading the insert into.
If you are threading it into hardwood, (maple, oak, etc.) you will definitely want to lubricate the insert threads before trying to twist it in. Brass is soft and will not do a real good job cutting threads in hardwood. You can rub the threads on a bar of soap to lubricate. If you still have problems, you might need to enlarge the pilot hole a bit. If you end up with a pilot hole that is too large, you should still be able to use epoxy to put the insert in the handle. Also, be careful because if the pilot hole is too small you could split the tap handle.

As for the suggestion of using a drill press... DO NOT turn the drill press on. The point of using a drill press is to get the insert in square and straight. If you use a drill press, you will need to turn the chuck by hand.

One other tip... if you have a short bolt (shorter than the insert), you can thread it in and use the bolt head to start the insert instead of the screw driver slot.

 

[Photopilot]

I was using the drill press as described by Ohio-Ed with no success. The wood was just getting crunched. What I did was to cut off a head from a longer 3/8 bolt then thread a nut down the threads. I put on the the threaded insert then backed the nut onto the insert to lock it into place. I then mounted the headless bolt into the drill press and tried to hand turn the chuck. It was a no-go.

I think the same bolt technique could be used without the drill press but leave the head of the bolt on and use it to try to torque the thread in. I imagine this would be easier than finding a 1/2" 3/8 bolt.

When I go into work tonight I will be trying every way to get a mounting threads into my tap as it is the final step in my keezer.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

I was using the drill press as described by Ohio-Ed with no success. The wood was just getting crunched. What I did was to cut off a head from a longer 3/8 bolt then thread a nut down the threads. I put on the the threaded insert then backed the nut onto the insert to lock it into place. I then mounted the headless bolt into the drill press and tried to hand turn the chuck. It was a no-go.

I think the same bolt technique could be used without the drill press but leave the head of the bolt on and use it to try to torque the thread in. I imagine this would be easier than finding a 1/2" 3/8 bolt.

When I go into work tonight I will be trying every way to get a mounting threads into my tap as it is the final step in my keezer.

Did you try any lube on the threads?
What is the material you are installing the insert into?

The drill press really only helps when you are putting the insert into a work piece that can lay on the table. In the case of a tap handle, you have to get it set, plumb and in line with the chuck, then you still have the problem of it turning with the chuck.

As for finding a 1/2" long bolt... You can certainly thread a nut on a bolt to lock the insert while turning the bolt. You mentioned you cut the head off a 3/8" bolt... if you left a few threads with the head, it would do the trick

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

In my limited experience with these inserts, the slot for a screwdriver is of no value for inserting them. This may have been described already, but I use a long bolt threaded into the inserts to drive them. Two nuts are jammed on the bolt to keep it from threading out the other side of the insert. Clamp the piece down to a bench or solid table top, then line up the longish bolt. A decent length of bolt and maybe a line on the bench can keep it lined up adequately. You can clamp or nail some scraps of wood in place on either side of the bolt to "nail down" the alignment. Drive it with a ratchet wrench, being careful to keep it straight while starting.

If these are being driven into hardwood, you don't need a hole that snugs down on the minor diameter or barrel of the threaded insert. Especially with a longer insert, you need some bite of the threads into the hardwood, but not a lot is needed to resist the lateral stresses that occur along the length of the insert when the tap handle is "pulled". If you are worried, after the insert is in you can let some medium-thin glue flow down along the threads and partially fill that gap. Sometimes folks just drill to the full major diameter, put some thick two part epoxy (like JB Weld) generously on the threads, and slide it home (then wipe off the excess epoxy).

I hope I didn't just duplicate someone else's advice that I missed on scanning through.