Video Transcript

Hand Tool ID & Terminology III

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1. Introduction
Proper tool identification is the first step in using a tool correctly, and safely. In this
video presentation, several types of general cold metal tools, including micrometers,
screw extractors, twist drills, and taps and dies, are shown and described. Doctor Lon
Shell, Professor of Agriculture at Southwest Texas State University, discusses the
tools as they are displayed identifying their proper name, distinguishing
characteristics, and safety tips for their use.

2. Scrapers, Stud Removers, Hacksaw, etc.

General Cold Metal Tools
Gasket and carbon scrapers are used to scrape off old gaskets or carbon from
machine parts. Always use caution when using any gasket scraper. The scraper's
edges will need to be resharpened periodically. This gasket or carbon scraper with the
plastic handle and one inch wide blade is sometimes confused with a chisel. It should
not be hammered on. This scraper works best with the beveled side up. The spring
steel blade of this flex carbon scraper is sharpened to a knife edge. Flexibility of
blades is controlled by sliding steel band up and down. Putty knives come in different
sized blades. Putty knives are used in automotive applications as a gasket and
grease scraper to clean parts. Blades range in size from 1 and 1/4 to six inches and
may be flexible or stiff.

Screw extractors are used to remove broken bolts, cap crews, or studs, and
sometimes are referred to as stud extractors. They normally come in sets ranging in
size from 1 and 1/4 to 5/8 inch. When using a screw extractor, it is important to drill a
pilot hole the correct size and in the exact center of the broken bolt. All screw
extractors will have the correct drill to use stamped on them. The whole drill must be
the size required by the screw extractor. There are several types of extractors. With all
extractors, it is important to use good judgment when twisting them out, or the
extractor will be broken off in the hole. They are made of extra hard steel and are very
difficult to remove if broken.

This straight fluted screw extractor is equipped with a sliding turnnut. Stamped on the
turnnut is 11/32, which is the size of twist drill to use to make a pilot hole. Shown here
is a tapered screw extractor. It is also known as a spiral screw extractor, or Ezy-Out,
which is a tradename and is generic with this type of screw extractor. The 7/64 inch
twist drill size required for the pilot hole is stamped on it.

Tapered bit screw extractors have left hand bits to bite into drill bolts and studs.

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Hand Tool ID & Terminology III

Cam and wedge type stud remover. It is used to remove studs which are extending
beyond the surface of the part. This differentiates a stud remover from screw
extractor. The wedge shown by it comes in different sizes to accommodate different
diameter studs. This stud remover has a 1/2 inch drive.

Reamers are normally used to remove the inside bur left from cutting a pipe or tube.
Small capacity reamers may also be used to remove the bur left when drilling holes.
Both reamers shown here have square shanks and are turned with a carpenter's bit
brace. The fluted reamer has a capacity of 1/4 to 1 and 1/2 inches. The spiral fluted
reamer has a capacity of 1/4 to 1 and 1/4 inches. In addition to having a smaller
capacity, the flutes on it spiral.

Countersinks or countersink a hole in order that a flat head bolt or screw will fit flush
with the surface. These bits are driven by electric power hand drills. The angle of bit is
82 degrees. Countersinks are sized according to their diameter. Some countersinks
are for wood or plastic and should not be used with metal. This is a 5/8 inch
countersink for steel.

Hacksaws saw metal. Most hacksaws have frames that are adjustable and will accept
blades from 8 inches to 12 inches in length. All adjustable hacksaw frames are made
so the blade can be installed in a vertical or horizontal position. When placing a blade
in a hacksaw, after adjusting it for proper length, place the blade on the pins so that
the teeth point away from the handle and screw the adjusting nut until blade is tight.
Hacksaw blades come with 14, 18, 24, and 32 teeth per inch. The 18 and 24 tooth
blades are most common in automotive mechanical work. The thickness of the
material you are sawing determines the teeth per inch. A good thumb rule is to have at
least two teeth in contact with the metal you are sawing. On very thin metal, when this
is not possible, clamp the metal between two pieces of wood to saw it. Quality
hacksaw blades should be used, and a hacksaw should be hung up when not in use.
Do not throw it in a toolbox loose, for metal objects rubbing against the teeth will dull
them.

As the name indicates, a scratch awl is used to scratch a mark on metal. The part
may be painted with a bluing compound to make the mark stand out. Scratch awls are
kept sharp, so the mark is small and accurate. A scratch awl may be used with a
straight edge such as the combination square shown with it. Do not hammer on a
scratch awl.

Twist drills come in many sizes, both diameter and length, with a variety of shanks,
with the straight shank being the most common. Twist drills larger than 1/2 inch are
usually tapered shanks as shown here and require a different chuck to hold them in
the drill press. Length of common twist drills are proportional to diameter with the
larger drills being longer than a small drill. Drills are sometimes erroneously referred

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to as twist bits. Bits normally refer to drill bits to drill wood such as auger bits. To help
distinguish between twist bits and twist drills, there are two things to look for. These
two are twist bits. This is an auger bit. This is a twist drill. Twist bits and an auger bit
have square shanks, which are used in a carpenter's brace like this. The twist drill is
used in a drill press.

Another distinguishing characteristic for twist bits are the ends and the augers. You'll
notice here, these lips are much sharper for cutting into wood than the twist drill which
is for cutting metal. Another thing that makes these three things bits is, for example,
on the auger bit, it has a feed screw, and the bits are these cutting lips right here. As
they bite into the wood, you think of them as a bit. This bites into the wood. It's also
considered to be bit, as this one is. So we have two twist bits, an auger bit and a twist
drill.

Twist drill diameters are sized by fractions of an inch, drill gauge or drill number, letter,
and metric. Sets of twist drills are usually kept in holders called indexes, and that the
size diameter drill can be determined by placing it in the hole of the index, which is
identified. The most common set of drills are 1/16 to 1/2 by 32 increments. More
precise fractional sets are incremented by 1/64 of an inch.

Displayed here is a fractional twist drill index. 29 drills are included in this index,
ranging from 1/16 to 1/2 inch by 1/64 inch increments. Even more precise twist drill
sets are sized by drill number or gauge 1 to 80, with number 80 being the smallest.
The number 80 drill is 0.0135 inches in diameter, with the 79 being 0.0145 or 1/1000
of an inch larger.

To give you a comparison, a 1/64 fractional twist drill is 0.0156 inches in diameter. A
number one twist drill is 0.2280, a little larger than 7/32 fractional twist drill.

Displayed here is a 1 to 60 numbered twist drill index with 60 drills. Next to it is a 61 to

80 numbered twist drill index with 20 drills. The letter twist drill index shown here
starts where the numbered index stops. The letter A twist drill is almost the same size
as a 15/64 fractional twist drill and is 0.014 of an inch larger than a number one drill. A
Z is 0.4130, which is slightly smaller than a 27/64 fractional twist drill.

The 3-jaw, plain bearing, keep tight drill chuck has a capacity up to 1/2 inch straight
shank twist drills. It is commonly referred to as a Jacobs Chuck, which is a
tradename. This chuck is used as original equipment on most drill presses. The chuck
key comes in different sizes for different chuck sizes. It is important that the twist drill
is tightened properly in the chuck, so it will not slip and damage the shank of the drill
by burring it. A burred twist drill cannot be put back in the proper index to size it.

Taps and dies are used to make bolt threads. Taps make threads in holes, and dies
make threads on round stop. Taps and dies are sized according to diameter and
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thread type. There are three types of bolt threads. There are metric, national fine, or
NF, and national course or NC. There is also a NPT, national pipe thread, but they are
tapered and are used on pipe and fittings. They are not interchangeable with national
coarse threads, even though they may look the same.

Sizes are stamped on the tap or die. For example, a die with 9/16-12NC marked on it
will make threads on a 9/16 diameter rod with 12 threads for each inch of bolt length.
A 9/16-NF20 has 20 threads to the inch. The type will usually identify which drill size
to use to make the hole for that particular type. For example, a 1/2 inch NC type calls
for a 27/64 twist drill. There are three types of taps, the taper, the plug, and the
bottoming. The taper tap, as the name implies, is tapered and is used to start a thread
in a hole. The plug type is used after the taper in a blind hole. A blind hole is one that
does not go all the way through the metal. The bottoming tap follows the taper for it
has threads all the way to the end.

The NPT, our national pipe thread tap, is to make threads for pipe or pipe fittings. It is
not a bolt thread. Even though we call this a taper tap, these two threads are not the
same. A pipe thread tap tapers. The threads actually change in diameter from the tip,
all the way to here. Even though this is called a taper tap, the threads do not change,
the tap changes. The threads are actually the same diameter all the way up. In the
pipe tap, actually the further you screw the tap in the hole, you change the diameter of
the threads. This is a tap wrench. It is used to turn these taps.

Split dies are adjustable. Their diameter can be changed by tightening a set screw in
the die or die collet. It is desirable to be able to adjust the diameter of dies to allow for
wear on the teeth of the die, and in the case of chasing threads, dies may need to be
expanded. Split dies require different die stocks, depending on if the die collet is used
with the die. Die stocks are the handles which hold the dies.

The tubing cutter cuts tubing, normally copper, to lengths.

The flaring tool, which includes anvil and yoke, flares tubing for a flare nut. Flared
fittings are commonly used in fuel and hydraulic lines. The capacity of these tubing
tools is 3/16 to 5/8 diameter.

The triple header tubing bender bends tubing and calibrated bends. It is also used for
short radius bends to prevent crimping or collapsing the tubing walls. The tubing
bender will be on 1/4 to 3/8 inch tubing.

Most measuring tools used in mechanical applications are considered to be precision

tools, and that they measure dimensions to the 0.001 of an inch, are approximately
0.038 of a millimeter. A few like the steel tape are not as precise and only are
graduated in 1/32 of an inch.

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The screw pitch gauge determines the number of threads per inch on a fastener.
These come in inches and metric. By placing the gauge on the threads, and by trial to
find one that fits perfectly, looking on the blade, the number of threads per inch is
stamped on it. The range is nine threads to 40 threads per inch.

Feeler gauges are thin metal strips which are ground to precise thicknesses. There
are many configurations of feeler gauges, but they all serve the purpose of
determining clearance between parts to the nearest 0.001 of an inch. A general feeler
gauge set has 35 blades, which are 1/2 by 3 and 5/16 inches long and thicknesses
from 0.003 to 0.040 of an inch. These sizes are engraved on the respective blades.
This gauge set shows both metric and standard number numbered sizes.

Long feeler strips are also available to determine fit over longer surfaces, for example,
piston to cylinder sleeve or air gap between the flywheel of a small air-cooled engine
and the coil.

The wire-type spark plug gauge has eight different gauges, ranging from 0.022 to
0.040 of an inch. Wire gauges are better than flat strips when checking point and plug
gaps, because maximum opening due to wear on the electrode can be determined.

The number drill gauge is also called drill and wire gauge. It is used to size twist drills.
It is usually best to use the point of the twist drill, because sometimes the shank will
be scarred by the chuck.

The American standard wire gauge, or AWG, is used to gauge or size copper or non-
ferrous wire. Determine that by placing the wire in the gap or the groove, not the hole.
This gauge shows this wire to be a 14 AWG wire.

Micrometers measure parts to the nearest 0.001, or if equipped with a vernier, to the
nearest 0.0001 of an inch. Micrometers are calibrated in metric units also. They
measure to the nearest 0.001 of a millimeter. Caliper or outside micrometers are used
to measure outside dimensions. Inside micrometers do not have the c-frame of the
outside micrometer. Micrometers are sometimes called mics for short. They are sized
according to the largest diameter they will measure. For example, a one inch
micrometer will major dimensions up to one inch. A three inch micrometer will
measure two inch minimum to three inch maximum.

On some micrometers, an extension can be added to the anvil, allowing them to

measure smaller sizes. Some of the newer micrometers have digital and LCD
displays to make them easier to read. Micrometers are a very necessary precision
tool when working on engines. They are precision instruments and should be handled
carefully. They should not be forced and only tightened with the friction thimble. They
should be kept clean and lubricated. They should be stored with the spindle backed
off from the anvil to allow for expansion. Store them in a dry, low humidity cabinet.
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Precision tools that work in conjunction with outside micrometers are telescoping and
small hole gauges. Both are used to measure inside dimensions. By placing the
telescoping gauge in the large dimensions, the small hole gauge in the smaller
dimensions, and locking them at the end of the handle, the dimensions can be
transferred to a caliper micrometer to be measured. Normally, telescoping gauge sets
range from 5/16 to 2 and 1/8 inches. Small hole sets measure openings 1/8 to 1/2
inches.

Combination squares with centering head attachments can be used to determine if

something is square or is a 90 or 45 degree angle. The blade of the square is
calibrated in 1/64 inches. Combination squares may be calibrated in metric units. The
centering head attachment can be used to find the center of round objects.

Steel tapes or tape rulers measure distances to the nearest 1/32 of an inch. There are
metric tapes also. Tape inserts can be ordered with different colors and graduations.
End tabs are slotted so that the thickness of the tab will not be included with the inside
or outside measurement. The 20 foot locking retractable steel tape is graduated in
1/32 on the end foot and 1/16 on the remainder of the tape. The tape is equipped with
a belt clip.

Steel rules are available in different lengths. Pocket rules are usually six inches long
and graduated in 1/32 of an inch. Decimal equivalents are sometimes given on the
back of the tape.

Recognition and identification are the first steps toward using tools properly. By
properly using a tool, the damage to equipment and personnel will be reduced, and
the productivity will be increased.

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