Starrett T-Handle Tap Wrench - Ideal for Holding Taps, Drills, Reamers and Small Tools - 1/16-3/16" Capacity Tap Size, 2" Body Length, 1/16-5/32" Square Shank - 93A

Why did you pick this product vs others?:Absolutely, positively the best I ever used. Go for it, you will own it and you will be happy!

Love the Starrett tools. I have one and purchased two more so I wouldn't have to change out constantly for 0-80, 2-56 and 4-40 taps. Super handy and great quality.

Starrett quality is always top notch. Their stuff is all made here in the US by a company that takes pride in producing measuring devices and tools that are of superior quality. They charge for that quality, but with all the junk out there these days, finding high quality tools has become more difficult. I have hurt myself several times in the past with cheap tools that broke and sent me to the hospital. I have had major work undone because measuring devices were not accurate. I own three costly Starrett dial indicators and two magnetic bases. They are absolutely wonderful and dead accurate. I have become a strong fan of this company because of these items, so if I see Starrett as a choice of maker for something I need I now place that item at the top of my list for consideration. I happened to have the money for this, needed it soon, and hey, it is made by Starrett. So I got it. This has been a solid choice. I usually use my smaller tap handle, but recently had work come up where I needed to do some tapping with larger ones with .25" shanks. This one worked very well. It clamped down to the tap tightly and stayed that way. It released the tap with no trouble afterward. The only thing I am not crazy about is that the handle comes off. I can just see myself losing it. My other tap handles have detents in the ends so that you can snap them in place at the very end for more leverage - and you cannot easily remove the handle because of this. The Starrett handle comes off easily and lacks the detent that allows you to use the handle at the very end. Still, it is a very small thing. I have never really needed to use that sort of force to tap anything in the past and probably never will. I just got used to knowing that the handle cannot come off. I will simply have to pay attention when I toss this one back into my tool chest so that the handle does not come off and end up in another drawer. Well made tool. Excellent USA company with people who answer the phone and talk to you if you have issues or questions. I would highly recommend Starrett products to anyone who wants machine shop quality measuring devices - or a really nice tap handle.

The handle is held in place by a C shaped clip inside the hole in the wrench. I found that giving the handle a little twist helps push the handle through the clip. Once the handle is in the clip it slides without much effort, but it won't fall out. In fact you can hold the wrench by the handle and shake it and the wrench won't fall off, at least while it's still new. Only time will tell if the clip loosens with use. The wrench does have a hole in the top for using a spring tap guide.The one thing that did bother me was the fractional tap size description for the 93A and 93B. When's the last time you went to the tap drawer and pulled out a 3/16" or a 7/32"??? They should list the machine screw sizes. I bought the 93A, 93B, and 93C just to make sure I had the right size when I needed it. All 3 seem to be the same high quality so I can combine the reviews into 1 and use it for all 3.I sorted out the tap sizes so here they are. The 93A will hold machine screw taps from #0 to #8. When I tried a #10 it went in, but felt like it wasn't meant to. The 93B will hold a #10 to 7/16. The 93C, like it says, does 1/4 to 1/2.I saw a previous review where the user had some trouble tightening the chuck. The 93 series tap wrenches have V shaped jaws to hold the square end of the tap to prevent the tap from twisting in the jaws. It only needs to be tight enough so the tap doesn't slide out. The jaws fit inside a slot cut in the solid body of the wrench and the chuck threads on the solid body. This design means the torque applied to the tap can't cause the chuck to loosen, even if it is already loose enough for the tap to fall out. Some other tap wrenches are designed to grip the round shank of the tap so you do need to put a death grip on those.

Works great

Unlike hardware store tap handles, these tap wrenches grip your taps without slipping. Just do yourself a favor and throw out your old ones and get one of these. These are made very well and just work. I started out with buying a 93A. That handle wildly exceeded my expectations. While looking through my tapping supplies I saw I did not have a tap handle in this rage. So I got this 93B. Eventually I'll add a 93C to the collection. These handles are that good.What is nice about the 93 series handles is the dimple in the handle which is inline with the tap axis. This means you can use a spring loaded tap follower to guarantee flawless tapped holes in your work. Once the hole is drilled, leave the workpiece in the vise. Install the tap follower in the chuck. The tap handle (and the tap) will be in perfect alignment. If you drilled the correct size hole for your tap, the threads will come out beautiful. These tap handles are made to last a lifetime. They are exceptionally well made and a work of art in themselves.Once you have one of these handles, do yourself a favor and buy nicer taps. Buy them from (any) machine tool supplier, they are worlds better than 98% of the hardware store items. A fresh quality tap in a Starrett 93B cuts so finely, it almost brings one to tears. Buy good taps, they are only a few dollars more, they last longer, and are truer to size.

Great quality tool