UNC or UCF

[Steppenwulf]

A mate of mine is going to the Stafford bike show this weekend and I've asked him to look for a tap and die set for me. Question is does it need to be unc or ucf?

[Mr B]

UNC and UNF will do most threads on your bike. They'll come as a combined set usually. UCF?, never heard of it and I've been in the trade 40 years.

Brian.

[Steppenwulf]

My bad, typing error or brain freeze one or the other.
So I need a combined set or is one more useful than the other?

[Mr B]

Your bike is made up of both types.

Brian.

[Steppenwulf]

Cheers Mr B

[Mr B]

Just a thought, when buying taps and dies. Always get good quality sets. You stand a good chance of buggering up your job if the tap or die is made of softer steel than the part you're trying to cut a thread on. Stay away from Chinese ones. You pays your money and you get what you pay for.

Brian.

[Roger]

Coarse to tap alloy, fine for steel (usually)

[Ukkid76]

Unc and Unf stand for Unified Coarse And Unified fine, as stated one is a course thread and the other a fine thread it’s easy to see the difference,

However there are also metric threads on your bike which look much like Unc!! so be careful which one is which before re-cutting the threads, there is a special lubricant made for cutting threads it would be advisable to pick up a can when you purchase tour tap and die set,

[Roger]

Originally Posted by Ukkid76

Unc and Unf stand for Unified Coarse And Unified fine, as stated one is a course thread and the other a fine thread it’s easy to see the difference,

However there are also metric threads on your bike which look much like Unc!! so be careful which one is which before re-cutting the threads, there is a special lubricant made for cutting threads it would be advisable to pick up a can when you purchase tour tap and die set,

Paraffin works fine, if you're a cheapskate

[Limey_Dave]

Originally Posted by Ukkid76

Unc and Unf stand for Unified Coarse And Unified fine, as stated one is a course thread and the other a fine thread it’s easy to see the difference,

However there are also metric threads on your bike which look much like Unc!! so be careful which one is which before re-cutting the threads, there is a special lubricant made for cutting threads it would be advisable to pick up a can when you purchase tour tap and die set,

Emergency drive belt is one thing but "tour tap and die set" is going a bit far.

Paraffin is ideal for alloy.
Ambersil Tough Cut is good for steels inc stainless.

For taps and dies you want at least High Carbon but better is HSS.
The important bit is that they're ground.Cheap ones,sometimes sold for rethreading,are press formed.