Originally Posted by
grounded B
They are only tapered in the beginning, to aid in starting the tap.
You need to run them in until you hit the straight section of the tap. You will find the effort to turn the tap is reduced when this occurs.
Steve
WRONG the entire tap has a taper designed into it to assure a snug thread seating. if you run the tap all the way through, the spindle thread will be loose as heck, and the load will be carried only by the face of the spindle shaft, leading to rapid wear of the crank arm.