RVcircus wrote:
byronlj wrote:
For cleaning up large pipe threads for which I don't have a tap, I use a steel nipple and cut 3 grooves evenly spaced and parallel with the pipe across the threads. I use a cut off wheel in my portable grinder and only cut thread deep. This gives it a cutting edge and a gap for material to collect. Works just like a tap.
Dave
Interesting, I'll need to give that a try sometime. I've used a nipple to cleanup threads that weren't too bad, but have never seen one turned into a makeshift tap.
You did it right the first time. The soft metal of a pipe nipple will mold to the water heater threads and not produce a good thread. You can get a tap that is good enough on Ebay for $10 to $15. Someone not skilled with using a tap could easily damage the threaded hole, so explain that the tap must be run in as far as possible by hand before using any kind of tool.
