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That actually got a hit on .com that I could retrace on national eBay (.nl).
One that I could not resist clicking on since it was the last in stock.



Probably a similar set as on the local site I mentioned but this one was priced even more interestingly.

I don't get why stuff that's shipped internationally suddenly seems to not appear on local eBay anymore.
Also it says there's "so and so" many items found and I hardly get to see any (think I mentioned this before).

And that's not all... I feel you need to be a lot more specific with the search terms to find the right thing lately.

I wonder if the quality will be good enough to make some 3mm threaded rods... price was a low as they come.
Naturally a proper set would be much preferred.
At least I'll have a couple of handles and a box if that is not the case.
I'll upgrade the 3mm then (that's the one I'll be using most).

Hey... another search term - it is apparently called a draper as well...
That's just a brand name.

Anyone know the correct German term for these tools?

Did nobody else notice the recent change in search results on eBay?
The set I finally got, was found with "taps and dies set" but did not turn up with "taps and dies". Weird.

Apparently "metric" is the magic word for a proper result.

Local search 3mm metric die

And this now qualifies as a result for "3mm die" :



Really... diaries?

Ebay are always fiddling with their searches - but for me it's usually a case of having to put a large number or negative terms to exclude things I don't want, haven't asked for & bear no relation to what I did ask for, but that eBay think are the same thing

The other issue for more is that by default, items "on" the UK site (i.e. overseas but will ship here) are included in searches, whereas it used to just items that were genuinely in the UK ... and speaking of which, I don't seem to be able to exclude the sellers that lie about their location - the ones that claim to be in the UK but judging by terms & poorly autotranslated text are elsewhere ... I don't mind buying from overseas as long as I know about it & can make judgements about delivery times & how likely I am to get hammered on import duties.

My search issues sound like the exact opposite of yours though



I've got two concerns about the tap & die set you bought ... first that there's only one sort of tap for each size, really you need all three (taper, second, & bottoming) to cut a new thread, IDK which type is included, my guess would be the bottoming tap ...

Also, the quality of the steel... HSS quality varies with, as does the quality of the cheaper carbon steel ... yours doesn't even say what they're made of, so my guess would be it's whatever the Hu Flung Poo Steel Company happened to be melting down that day

That sort of price I would think also totally precludes any heat treatment


Re brands, it's not unusual to see the exact same tools with several cheap brand names, usually Draper, Silverline, Toolzone, Rolson, Blackspur & possibly others ... it doesn't necessarily mean they're rubbish (that depends on who actually made them), just that there's no difference in quality between them, and no point paying extra if you perceive one "brand" as being better than the others.

I don't have overly high expectations of the set...
And had not realised it's a three-step process.
No cash for proper tools of this type so I'll just make it a small experiment.

I think my issues with the search on eBay came from the fact that I had not before chosen such simple terms.
Apparently "d-i-e" is a combination that pops up a lot.
Can't say they made it easier to find stuff this way...

Hmm... out of stock notice and a quick refund.
I think that gives me a chance to reconsider and opt for a 3mm dye/die (is that UK versus US btw?) and handle only.
In the hopefully near future I'll pay a visit to a specialist shop near here.
And find some tools that are more likely to be high quality...