Atari ST connectors (was: Atari SIO bus connectors found)

[Tony Duell]

> 
> Small Parts (http://www.smallparts.com) here sells metric taps and 
> dies in sets of the same size down to M1.0.  I suspect that the same 

I've not found any such suppliers in the UK, but I will admit I've not 
done a serious search yet.

Most modenl enginners over here use BA threads. BA taps/dies down to 12BA 
are easy to get (if expensive!), I've seen 14BA ad 16BA

> 
> Much below 2mm, my hands and eyes just aren't steady enough to trust, 
> even with the aid of a loupe so I can see.  For larger sizes, I use a 
> drill press or lathe to hold the tap or die when possible on the 

That's what I do. Put the tap in the tailstock chuck (with the tailstock 
free to slide) and turn the mandrel round by hand. This also gets the tap 
running straight down the hole -- tapping 'at an angle' is another cause 
of broken taps, of course.

> securely-clamped workpiece.  It's just too easy to apply side forces 
> or have the workpiece slip with a hand wrench.

I tend to only use the hand tap wrence for recutting threads or using the 
second-cut or plug taps.

-tony