8-40 tap?

[FatCatsDad]

I must be really stupid, as I have tapped more thousands of holes than I care to remember, almost all with a hand drill.
Having said that, I wouldn't use it for smaller than #8, and definitely not for a blind hole.
Hand drill tapping is industry standard for production machining where it isn't worth the time/effort to set up the mill or lathe to include it in the cycle.

I was specifically talking about thes smaller tap sizes.

I've tapped 1000's (without issue) of #8-32 with a ⅜ cordless drill after using the proper #29 drill bit mounting electrical components in panels.

I've seen people break taps making a #8 after using the wrong size tap drill

 

[Meroh]

Mcmaster-Carr does but a three tap set is over $60.00 US.