Snap-On Metric Thread File
SNAP-ON METRIC THREAD FILE
EVALUATION
MIRACLE WORKER MADE METAL
IT NEVER FAILS. YOU'RE PULLING maintenance on Old Faithful, and just as you start threading in a crucial bolt, it instantly does the tighten-up. “Go one Newton-meter more," it warns, “and I'm history." Unless you've got a fistful of taps, dies or helicoils, you’re stuck in the grip of some unholy threadlock that little short of a magician's wand can fix.
Instead of searching out a magic shop, though, you should hustle on down to a Snap-on tool dealer and ask them to conjure up a Metric Thread Restorer File, part number TFM7530B. At 8.5 inches long, the file is shorter than most magic wands, and a magician probably wouldn't know w hat to make of the four rows of teeth cut on both ends, one per each side. Each of the eight rows of teeth accommodates a different thread pitch, from 0.75 (threads per millimeter) to 1.00. 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00. 2.50 and 3.00. As a result, the thread file can work its magic on a w ide variety of male fasteners, from 6mm bolts, studs or screws, to biggies sueh as axles. And it does so with an ease that belies the result. By overlapping the remaining good threads with the appropriate side of the file, it takes only a few strokes for the teeth to sharpen up damaged, flattened threads. In fact, in determined hands, the file can make all but the most threadbare fasteners usable again. For testing, we even hammered a few bolts until the threads were flattened and the file restored them with only a few minutes' work.
Even a magic wand has its limitations. though, and Snap-on’s thread file is no different. The file's usefulness is limited to male fasteners only, and it can't resurrect a fastener that's so damaged that it looks like a dowel pin. But on bolts, studs and screws with a vestige of threads. Snap-on's Metric Thread Restorer File can perform magic. Moreover, it's a bargain, w ith a suggested retail price of $6.05, including a red vinyl sleeve and a removable red plastic handle. The best part is it makes thread repair almost as easy as waving a wand—and easier than pulling a rabbit out of a hat. E3
