How to Make the Coolest Little Tap Wrench that you can no Longer Buy

Brass Hammer Giveaway: paskmakes.com/brass-hammer-giveaway/
This was a fun little project, I learned from it and gained a bit more experience on the lathe and milling machine. I also really enjoyed nickel plating which turned out fantastic. :)

this project just blows me away... you are growing so much as a machinist, to compliment your metal and wood working skills

As a tool & die maker I must say its very satisfying professionally to see you grow in capabilities the way you are. Its always more satisfying using your own tools!

Aside from the usual fantastic craftmanship, ingenuity, and attention to detail, the tools you have been making lately are not just tools but pieces of artwork too. Fit equally well in a toolbox/drawer or a display. Watching the process is a real treat too.

As a machinist myself I gotta say your machine tool skills are very impressive and you’ve progressed quite a bit

Found one of these at the bottom of a box of random taps I'd been given. Cleaned up and its an absolute joy to use. I love it.

“I’m not sure what it is, but I know it’s free” 😂
Beautiful work as always! I love seeing your creative solutions to problems and your ability to get things done with what you have available!

You are such an amazing creator. I cant imagine all the knowledge you must have about tools and tricks and just creating from raw materials. I love your videos so much.

Beautiful project! Only thing I would have done differently is a brass thumb wheel for adjustment. Otherwise, excellent! Would love too have one like this in my toolbox, but it's a shame they're discontinued from production in general!

As always, a huge pleasure watching one of your creations come into life Neil! Thanks for showing :)

Beautifully made! Thank you for showing us your skills and helping us learn.

Incredible work 👏, it was a pleasure to watch.

That was just beautiful. I really enjoyed watching that thing being made from scratch in a workshop. Very well done!
Ps, I went to school for metalwork, (yet I didn't finish the third year, and chose a different career for some reason), so in theory I know how to make that with such tools available. But, even though I am a perfectionist when I make something, my result today would not be as good yours. You got great skills and a steady hand! 👏

This strikes me of one of my favorite little things you've made. Well done and super useful. Great video as well! Still one of the only ones on youtube without real ads within the video. So refreshing!

What a gorgeous little tool. I love little handcrafted devices like this.

great work, perfection as always. have you seen the cylindrical hip flasks made by a company called wingback? i think you could make an excellent version of those. would be great to see you take on something like that.

Very very nice little tap wrench! You did a wonderful job, it looks terrific. I am sure you will get a lot of good use from it, and an inner smile every time you use it because you made it!

👏🔧🪚 Absolutely mind-blowing! Your growth as a machinist is simply awe-inspiring. The way you seamlessly combine your metal and wood working skills is a true testament to your talent and dedication. This project showcases your remarkable craftsmanship. I can't help but marvel at the ingenuity and precision in creating this tap wrench. It's a shame that such a unique tool is no longer available commercially. Keep pushing the boundaries and sharing your expertise with the world!

Enjoyed the video - a man of many talents to be sure….and that’s coming from a time-served tool and gauge maker followed by nigh on 35 years in R&D - 10 years in industrial instrumentation the rest in the aerospace industry. Would loved to have worked with you; such an inspiration!

I actually made this with a slight modification, essentially instead of needing the two external plates I milled the anvil into a t shaped piece and bolted a top plate onto that so the sliding components all take place in the slot. It was a very fun project to make.

Great video, love the split screen. Wrench is a work of art. So small, like clock making. All those jigs. Cool nickel plating process. Mahalo for sharing! : )

Left hand threads are one of those features that seems useless but once you have the tools you’ll find uses for them quite often.

The fact that you can make beautiful precision tools at home is mind-blowing to me. Great video!

I just wanted to say, your documented steps were fantastic! And the steps taken and knowledge applied were amazing! A real artisan!

Wow the quality of your work. I have the larger eclipse No246 tap wrench and your right, it’s just so much nicer than other wrenches.

Stellar result, really amazed by the quality of your craftmanship!

Neil, this is one of my favorite types of making you do (oh who am I kidding, I love whatever you make). Whenever you say, "I'm gonna give it a go" I know we are in for great machining, wonderful education, and a lovely good time. I wish I could get to Atlanta to see you, but the distance from me to Atlanta is similar from you to Perth.🥹Thanks for this and have an awesome trip.

What a gorgeous little tool, love it!

I just love how meticulous you are in the details your builds and your videography, Neil! Impressive on the chemical NI plating, may have to try it myself. I put Corin's hammer on my wish list...nice bit of kit! Wishing you a safe and fabulous trip to Atlanta...and wishing I could be there to shake your hand for all you bring to the community!! Hat Tip, ~PJ

i knew you'd be really good at the metal work because of how prestine your woodwork is. very heartfelt gesture to your friends, having made them something so handsome and functional.

Such a nice piece of tool you made there! Really neat and tidy!
Quick tip: use glass jars instead of plastic in the ultrasonic cleaner. Plastic absorbs a lot of the vibration and therefore attenuating the cleaning.

Great to see your machining skills grow. Well done and you get a very useful tool as well.

The variety of processes you mastered so far is amazing !!! 👍👍👍

A little tip for you. When rounding longer flat surfaces , use the platen, that way you still keep the sides parallel !

Magnific tiny tool, i love the process to make and final result. Deserves to be in a glass frame so beautiful.

This man is a genius you can tell that by the way he uses his tools in a creative way

My Dad has one in his tool collection never knew they stopped making this tool😳 well with all the modern tools that can be bought to do so much of the fine detailed work. When Dad is better we are going to have to go through all of his boxes of tools. Some of them he designed and made 40-50 years ago. Some of his tools were second hand when he bought them so they are well over a hundred years old 😹😹he spent as much time working on engines as he did at night school to advance his knowledge. He and Mom wanted to come to Australia as early as 1969 but he decided he wanted to learn more on the mechanical side of engines not just how to service them but how to rebuild from the ground up. So he crammed 10years of study into 5 years passed with honours and one of the top 10 students in the country. Because of this when they applied to move to Australia finally they actually paid to bring us out we only had to pay for our personal belongings.
Goodness knows what tools he has in his kit 😹😹I do remember helping him make some of his tools with howlers of sanding metal to the specks he gave me😹😹umm okay that explains why I always revert to hand sanding the closer I get to the finish of anything I make now😹😹😹old habits die hard😹😹

I am gobsmacked! You have such skill and patience and _precision_ and it is just the most impressive thing. Thank you for sharing.

Precision work and so good to watch. Brilliant, Neil.

i find slightly sharper edges on chamfers help with indexing much better than smoothed ones. regardless, this is a great project and i thank you for sharing. :)

That was amazing! This summer i'm going to make some planar springs i need for a project and the etching process you used looks very well suited to precisely remove material from the spring steel sheets i bought!

What a great project! Reminds me of watching my dad creating on the mill 💙

Super cool little tap wrench. Love the detail and how it turned out.
Thanks for sharing.

Stunning work Neil! It's been really exciting watching your evolution as a craftsman over the last few years. It's given me a lot of encouragement and inspiration!

I don't think I have an immediate use for such a tool, but watching you make it was an absolute treat! You are such a skilled master, Neil!

Great work Neil! Once again building tools that I didn't even know existed

The way you solve problems in a creative way is fantastic. You have reached my "A-status", which means that every time you get a "like" unseen. A pleasure to watch!

I have one of those tap wrenches and I love it. Have been trying in vain to find another for a long time.
P.S. I have been watching your videos for a long time, using mostly hand tools, and always said to myself, "If he had access to machine tools, imagine what he could accomplish!"

🔥🛠 Your project never fails to amaze me! Your growth as a machinist is impressive, and it perfectly complements your exceptional metal and wood working skills. It's inspiring to see you continuously pushing boundaries and creating unique tools like this tap wrench. Keep up the incredible work! 👏🔧🔨

What a great little tool - so well thought out!

Mate, I love that you just made this when you realised you couldn't buy it. I admire the skill and the will! Keep on making things, its a pleasure to see it come together. As always.

You never cease to amaze! Super professional looking tool

That plating solution is awesome! I’ve never known about it until you shared this video. Thanks!!

Let me tell you, you've done an amazing job. Congratulations!

Wonderful video. A tap wrench that small is something not many probably need, but if you need one, there's really nothing else that will work as well. You could have easily knocked this together in a crude fashion and it would have worked, but you spent the time to make it with craftsmanship and care so you'd have something to be proud of at the end, and you should be.

Blade used to be a yearly trip for me and my uncle when I was growing up. It was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy it. :)
This is a fun looking tap wrench, by the way.

I've used one of those Tap wrenches when I was at the Apprentice Training centre, Newcastle Steelworks Australia, back in about 1977. It was great for 1/8" taps, it gave you very good "feel". Very well done, There are certainly a lot of steps to build this, but it is worth it, if you tap small holes.

I had no idea nickel plating could be done that way! Neat project and great video! Thanks! 👍😊

God, I had NO idea electroless plating existed. I was already impressed by stuff like that bluing solution so it may not be saying much, but the finish was incredible on that nickel! I'll have to add it to my repertoire for sure.

Fantastic work, Neil! It turned out crazy beautiful! Well done!!! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

so beautiful, amazing work! had no idea saltwater could be used so easily to etch like that!

Nice! I learned from Clickspring that you can countersink the plate before putting the rivet for peening. Then the rivet could be sanded down totally invisible and flat. It stays fixed because the countersink gives it space to expand

Wow! Impressive build, watchmakers quality. Thoroughly enjoyed watching this one.

That was the coolest etching setup I've ever seen. I've never seen someone use a 9volt battery to edge metal! That's crazy!

Your shop made tools always look so amazing

Those clamping fixtures are brilliant, especially that 45deg one for the mill!

I know I’ve said this before, but your skill set is insane my friend. Great video 👍🏻👍🏻

As always, great results and super fun to watch the process :)

Nice little tool ! 🙂👍
Also I like nickel plated stuff. Didn't knew that it would be as easy to do.

Amazing technique using belt sander for thickness. I’ve been filing and then sanding on flat surface. Great tip. Thanks

You are beyond amazing Neil.
It's such a joy to watch each project you accomplish and it's all done with the greatest of precision and the finer details like on this amazing tap wrench is outstanding.
Fantastic video mate 👌 👍🏽🏅

Sensacional!!! Uma obra de arte.

Really nice! That nickel plating is amazing.

Great as always! By now you have more tools and materials than I can shake a stick at. Nothing wrong with that, I’m just jealous……..

Hi Neil, great work again ! I’d love to see your handmade rebuild of the Stanley Odd Jobs in the future. Im sure you’d find ideas to make it better again.

The grinding of this piece in the beginning is pure genius. I didn't even know you could do that!!!

Absolutely impressive! I want one, if you decide to make anymore!

Every one of your videos drags me somewhere new and interesting. I initially started watching your scrap wood challenge videos when I was doing the same and I haven't ever really been into metal work but it is very cool! It's always been interesting to me that a fair amount of woodworkers transition to metal, but maybe this is just a natural progression of a curious artistic person changing medium. I came to woodworking via being a tileman of all things - the tile pays the bills and the wood makes the gifts and feeds the soul.

So cool to see someone make something so small & precise

Brilliant work and video as always, topped off by educating us all as you go along.

Beautiful work, I love it!

Ok, that tap wrench is ADORABLE. Don't ask me why tiny versions of tools are adorable, they just are.

We got several of these at the workshop & they get used all the time. They are great little Tap Wrenches.

It's wonderful! I want more projects like this!)

Love the nickel plating. Looks very clean.

I'm jealous of the equipment you have the way you use them. You're a rock star.

This isn't merely a tool. This is a piece of useful art. If I could afford such a tool, after seeing the care and love that went into making it, I'd cherish it and hand it down to my grandchildren. When I was 14 years old, I made my grandfather a phillips screwdriver out of carbon hardened steel in 8th grade metal shop. When he passed away at the age of 93 nearly a decade ago, he still had that screwdriver in his toolbox. I'm now 56 years old and that screwdriver now resides in my toolbox, and my son will some day have it in his. It's the care and love that goes into making such a tool which makes it special, not merely its usefulness.

Was a fun video to watch. Good assortment of techniques and tools. Always a top notch job from ya!

Great work mate as alway. Amazing finished product

I have the same tap wrench left for me by my granddad who was a jig and tool engineer. Great work!

Absolutely amazing work, Sir!
I'm a bit surprised that you decided to pin your guide tails rather then tap and screw them in case you would have to do any repairs down the road.
Have a safe and exciting trip!

Cool. You and I have the same approach to turning on lathe. Cut small feed rates. Everybody loves to overload lathes and see what's the most they can cut in one pass. My tools last for ever and my lathe still works like new.

What a beautiful object in its own right! Your videos continue to be a joy to watch 😊.

A nice little wrench, i have an old one that i have never seen anywhere else, its usual because it has 4 moving jaws that close inwards with a single thumbscrew, ive never taken it apart to see how it works though.

Brilliant work as always!
I've been wondering why I haven't felt the same enthusiasm about your videos for while. I can say for sure that it has absolutely nothing to do with you or your work! You keep blowing my mind. Rather, I think it's because I have a small woodworking workshop and cannot set up a metal workshop. I'm in a basement and neither the noise nor safety could be handled in any satisfying way. So I guess I can't relate to your projects most of the time now-other than I would love to have a metal workshop! I would also really like to do some basic black smithing, but I can't see how or where. So it's me, it's not you 😅 You just keep doing your stuff and I will watch all of it! I just hope I can do some metalworking some day. I think I could as minimum do some lathe work.

I'm sure someone has said this already, but if you weed your vinyl before applying it and use proper transfer tape, you'll have a much easier go of it.
Great video as always! I learned a lot! That "electroless" nickel plating is really cool, but now that I went and bought myself a benchtop DC power supply, I'm not sure which approach is better.

It's just a masterpiece!
Congrats.
Very well done, i learned a lot!

This is high level craftsmanship simply beautiful!

V nice little wrench, both the original design & your making one! :) I hadn't realised this design was no longer available; I guess the fully enclosed movable jaw & nut was a bit fiddly to mass-produce for cost reasons, which is why you only seem to get the knurled nut/adjuster on the end of the wrench nowadays..?

The camera work must be a challenge with details that small. Thanks for recording this, it is fascinating to watch!