BuildnBurn
Professional Pyro
Have you ever used the REAL tapping fluids like "Tapmatic" before they banned the 111 Trichlorobadchit? Nothing produced now even comes close to it.
I still have a can of the old good stuff, I use it for "high end" tapping and final cut turning as it is irreplaceable.
If it's a high speed steel tap I wouldn't go whacking on it trying to shatter it, it probably won't until you use enough force to wreck your part. Carbon steel taps will shatter pretty easy though.
If you have a through hole, spiral point taps "gun taps" are the way to go; they push the chip ahead of the tap so clogging/binding is not an issue.
An old trick is to grind a shallow groove around the shank of the tap above the threads; if the tap is going to break it will break at the groove and leave you some purchase to grab onto to remove the stub. I always do this with Carbon steel taps.
A 55% thread engagement has 75% of the strength of a 90% thread engagement so it doesn't hurt to go a very little bit bigger on your tap drill.
