Which BB cutting tools?

Hi all,

I'm seeking advice about which BB machining tools to buy for my
personal use (I'm pretty much planning on dealing with lots of bikes
forever so it's plenty worth it to me). I currently have need of
piloted english taps, so I'll be getting either the Park BTS-1
tap/facer combo tool or the VAR piloted tapset, which doesn't have the
facer and is close to the same price. The VAR is attractive because you
can still get french and swiss taps for it - not super relevant, and it
would be pretty expensive to actually buy those taps, but I have little
doubt that it could be worth it to me at some point, so that's the
piloted tap I'd get over any of the other ones if I was going to get
just a piloted tap set - but whether I'd ever actually get those taps
is questionable.

I've never used any BB facer (and have only used the VAR taps). One of
the big questions I'm looking for opinions on are the drawbacks of the
BTS-1 as a facer compared to all the others, since the BTS-1 uses hand
force rather than a spring to push the cutter against the shell. I
haven't been able to find much about this on the web; Park's
description implies that the main drawback is that it's hard or
impractical to cut especially hard materials with the BTS-1. Would this
only apply to ti, or would some steel shells have issues as well? What
about for operators that don't have a lot of upper body strength? Is
difficulty or inaccuracy in trying to apply consistent force an issue
on either hard or soft materials? If you needed to prep lots of nice
frames all the time, would the BTS-1 alone work well and/or save time,
or are there drawbacks to it where you'd want to use a seperate tap and
facer to do the best job possible?

If I get a seperate tap set and facer, which facer should it be? I'm in
the US so if the Park is as good as anything, that's what I'd get for
the greater replacement part availability.

Finally, what actually is involved in making these taps, and how
feasible would it be to get some made for the Park or any other set?
What tools would be necessary to make them?Note these wouldn't ever
need to be used very much. Thanks

Nate Knutson wrote:
Hi all,

I'm seeking advice about which BB machining tools to buy for my
personal use (I'm pretty much planning on dealing with lots of bikes
forever so it's plenty worth it to me). I currently have need of
piloted english taps, so I'll be getting either the Park BTS-1
tap/facer combo tool or the VAR piloted tapset, which doesn't have the
facer and is close to the same price. The VAR is attractive because you
can still get french and swiss taps for it - not super relevant, and it
would be pretty expensive to actually buy those taps, but I have little
doubt that it could be worth it to me at some point, so that's the
piloted tap I'd get over any of the other ones if I was going to get
just a piloted tap set - but whether I'd ever actually get those taps
is questionable.

I've never used any BB facer (and have only used the VAR taps). One of
the big questions I'm looking for opinions on are the drawbacks of the
BTS-1 as a facer compared to all the others, since the BTS-1 uses hand
force rather than a spring to push the cutter against the shell. I
haven't been able to find much about this on the web; Park's
description implies that the main drawback is that it's hard or
impractical to cut especially hard materials with the BTS-1. Would this
only apply to ti, or would some steel shells have issues as well? What
about for operators that don't have a lot of upper body strength? Is
difficulty or inaccuracy in trying to apply consistent force an issue
on either hard or soft materials? If you needed to prep lots of nice
frames all the time, would the BTS-1 alone work well and/or save time,
or are there drawbacks to it where you'd want to use a seperate tap and
facer to do the best job possible?

If I get a seperate tap set and facer, which facer should it be? I'm in
the US so if the Park is as good as anything, that's what I'd get for
the greater replacement part availability.

Finally, what actually is involved in making these taps, and how
feasible would it be to get some made for the Park or any other set?
What tools would be necessary to make them?Note these wouldn't ever
need to be used very much. Thanks

Nate, if these are for home use, consider the tools from Cyclus:

http://tinyurl.com/k9ggw

(Click "Enter", then "Cyclus Tools")

IMO, these tools are far better than the price would lead you to
believe.

wrote:
Nate Knutson wrote:
Hi all,

I'm seeking advice about which BB machining tools to buy for my
personal use (I'm pretty much planning on dealing with lots of bikes
forever so it's plenty worth it to me). I currently have need of
piloted english taps, so I'll be getting either the Park BTS-1
tap/facer combo tool or the VAR piloted tapset, which doesn't have the
facer and is close to the same price. The VAR is attractive because you
can still get french and swiss taps for it - not super relevant, and it
would be pretty expensive to actually buy those taps, but I have little
doubt that it could be worth it to me at some point, so that's the
piloted tap I'd get over any of the other ones if I was going to get
just a piloted tap set - but whether I'd ever actually get those taps
is questionable.

I've never used any BB facer (and have only used the VAR taps). One of
the big questions I'm looking for opinions on are the drawbacks of the
BTS-1 as a facer compared to all the others, since the BTS-1 uses hand
force rather than a spring to push the cutter against the shell. I
haven't been able to find much about this on the web; Park's
description implies that the main drawback is that it's hard or
impractical to cut especially hard materials with the BTS-1. Would this
only apply to ti, or would some steel shells have issues as well? What
about for operators that don't have a lot of upper body strength? Is
difficulty or inaccuracy in trying to apply consistent force an issue
on either hard or soft materials? If you needed to prep lots of nice
frames all the time, would the BTS-1 alone work well and/or save time,
or are there drawbacks to it where you'd want to use a seperate tap and
facer to do the best job possible?

If I get a seperate tap set and facer, which facer should it be? I'm in
the US so if the Park is as good as anything, that's what I'd get for
the greater replacement part availability.

Finally, what actually is involved in making these taps, and how
feasible would it be to get some made for the Park or any other set?
What tools would be necessary to make them?Note these wouldn't ever
need to be used very much. Thanks

Nate, if these are for home use, consider the tools from Cyclus:

http://tinyurl.com/k9ggw

(Click "Enter", then "Cyclus Tools")

IMO, these tools are far better than the price would lead you to
believe.

I'm aware of Cyclus and I agree it's pretty exciting. If I end up
getting a seperate facer and the Cyclus one is just as good as any, I
may go with that one.

I was vague on this in my original post, but these will be for shop use
(at times at least) and will be used at least a fair amount,
indefinitely. I don't want to waste money or be redundant for little
reason, but cost isn't the first concern.

Nate Knutson wrote:
wrote:
Nate Knutson wrote:
Hi all,

I'm seeking advice about which BB machining tools to buy for my
personal use (I'm pretty much planning on dealing with lots of bikes
forever so it's plenty worth it to me). I currently have need of
piloted english taps, so I'll be getting either the Park BTS-1
tap/facer combo tool or the VAR piloted tapset, which doesn't have the
facer and is close to the same price. The VAR is attractive because you
can still get french and swiss taps for it - not super relevant, and it
would be pretty expensive to actually buy those taps, but I have little
doubt that it could be worth it to me at some point, so that's the
piloted tap I'd get over any of the other ones if I was going to get
just a piloted tap set - but whether I'd ever actually get those taps
is questionable.

I've never used any BB facer (and have only used the VAR taps). One of
the big questions I'm looking for opinions on are the drawbacks of the
BTS-1 as a facer compared to all the others, since the BTS-1 uses hand
force rather than a spring to push the cutter against the shell. I
haven't been able to find much about this on the web; Park's
description implies that the main drawback is that it's hard or
impractical to cut especially hard materials with the BTS-1. Would this
only apply to ti, or would some steel shells have issues as well? What
about for operators that don't have a lot of upper body strength? Is
difficulty or inaccuracy in trying to apply consistent force an issue
on either hard or soft materials? If you needed to prep lots of nice
frames all the time, would the BTS-1 alone work well and/or save time,
or are there drawbacks to it where you'd want to use a seperate tap and
facer to do the best job possible?

If I get a seperate tap set and facer, which facer should it be? I'm in
the US so if the Park is as good as anything, that's what I'd get for
the greater replacement part availability.

Finally, what actually is involved in making these taps, and how
feasible would it be to get some made for the Park or any other set?
What tools would be necessary to make them?Note these wouldn't ever
need to be used very much. Thanks

Nate, if these are for home use, consider the tools from Cyclus:

http://tinyurl.com/k9ggw

(Click "Enter", then "Cyclus Tools")

IMO, these tools are far better than the price would lead you to
believe.

I'm aware of Cyclus and I agree it's pretty exciting. If I end up
getting a seperate facer and the Cyclus one is just as good as any, I
may go with that one.

I was vague on this in my original post, but these will be for shop use
(at times at least) and will be used at least a fair amount,
indefinitely. I don't want to waste money or be redundant for little
reason, but cost isn't the first concern.

IMO,the only potential drawback to, say, the Cyclus BB taps is the
availability of replacement taps. I'm not saying that it is a problem,
but I don't know either way. The question is, how many times a
week/month/year do you think you will be using that tool?

Also, some of the Cyclus tools (e.g., the headset press) are a little
more time consuming to set up than, say, the comparable Park tool. IMO,
unless you are running a high volume service department, this isn't
much of an issue.