HQS. What is it?

I have aquired some M6 taps from the Tap and Die Co. They are marked up HQS, I assume that it refers to the steel they are made from but what is it? To be honest they look quite poor quality, they were bought to replace a set of M6 Sherwood taps which got lost when I moved house.Does the team think that I will get the same amount of use from them (I had the Sherwoods for over 15 years) they were used very frequently in steel/stainless steel ally etc.

Mark P.

I think they are a high carbon steel, a quick touch on the grinder to perform a spark test should give an indication of what the material is. The non business end of a tap will do if losing the centre is not a problem.

Mike

Thanks for the reply, thought as much as I said they look "cheap"

Regards Mark P.

Have a look at the Tap and Die company website. They refer to HQS as Highest Quality Steel, considered a tougher and better alternative to HSS: cut even stainless steel. I’ve had some taps from them in the past and was happy with them. They are not certainly cheap: take look at the prices.

Ray G

As Ray says, I have heard of HQSS taps as a step up from HSS.

Neil

Advertising hype other wise you would be able to find more references for it.

Popular sizes are Ok on price but anything special is obscene.

1 1/8" Whit, normally £170 08 reduced to £105.51

Even J&L can't get anywhere near that and they do HSS not monkey metal.

I can't look at the Tap&Die site, it makes my eyes smart.

hsco= good

hss-e=good

hqs=never heard of it outside their site..........

Maybe it's "Highly Questionable Substances" ?

or "Hasty Quick Salesmen"

or "Hardware Quackery Supplies"

Just sayin.....

JD

I generally take HQS as Asian speak for ordinary HSS, the next grade up for me would be Cobalt, but never having tried any...?

George