How to remove a broken tap

[deathman53]

I was tapping my frame with a 8mm 1.25 pitch tap and I lost my grip and accidently pushed down on the tap and broke it in my frame, it sunk in a tad into the frame, any ideas of how to get it out? I was tapping the hole to clear out some of the crap from pc on the frame.

[NorCalRacer]

Small cobalt drill bit, easy out and some patience:D I've been there before. Just drill it enough to get a small easy out to bite and it should come out of there.

[250rAL]

There are tap removers for just such a situation. It has "fingers" that fit down into the flutes of the tap to back it out. Don't ask me where to get one!

[MIKE400EX]

If you try to use a drill then make sure it's a left hand one. You can get the tap removers with the fingers at most industrial hardware stores such as MSC. Good luck!
Sometimes you can get a small wire or nail next to the tap and gently spin it out. Use two and hold with a pair of vice grips and you almost have one of the "store bought" tap removers.

[Warnerade]

if you can drill into a tap using a cobalt drill...then your taps are definately not good.

tap extractors might work, depending how deep the tap is...you said you were just cleaning the threads out, so if you can find a tap extractor, it probably will work...just make sure you get the right size and the right amount of fingers...if its a 2 flut tap, get 2 fingers...if its 3 flute, get 3 fingers...4 flute, 4 fingers...

if some of the tap is sticking out of the frame, and you were just cleaning out threads...not tapping new ones, I would try just using a set of pliers of channel locks and trying to twist it back out...

[witech]

There are several ways to remove a tap. The tap remover is prefered. You can also break the tap up with a punch-kinda tough. I prefer a carbide drill bit but they are very expensive and great care must be used.

[Warnerade]

i dont even like using carbide drills in a CNC mahine...they break so damn easy

[wistech]

So true but sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do.