Adjustable Tap Socket Holder (Irwin Hanson / McMaster-Carr)

A drawer holder for a pair of 3/8" drive adjustable tap sockets. Both sockets stand upright, square drive down, and a slide-in plaque on the front says which taps each one takes.

Which sockets

It's made for these two sets:

• Irwin Hanson 3095001 two-piece adjustable tap socket set: 3095001A (small, #0–1/4" taps) and 3095001B (large, 1/4–1/2" taps). Irwin set on Amazon

• McMaster-Carr 8334A31 (small, No. 0–1/4" and M1.6–M6.3 taps) and 8334A32 (large, 1/4–1/2" and M6–M12.5 taps). 8334A31 · 8334A32

Both sockets have a 0.800" (20.3 mm) drive-end barrel, which is what fits the pockets. The knurled rings are 1.075" (27.3 mm) and 0.875" (22.2 mm). Other knurled-ring tap sockets of the same size should fit too; see Make it fit. I suspect the 8334A31 is the 3095001 and from the same manufacturer.

How it works

The sockets sit 27 mm apart, with only the plain barrel in the pocket. The knurled rings stay above the holder, so you can grab one and lift it straight out. I was looking to take up little additional room.

The label plaque drops into a dovetail slot on the front of the holder and rests on a ledge. Nothing holds it but gravity and the dovetail, and a finger notch behind its top edge lets you pinch it to lift it out. It holds surprisingly well. Text:

• 3/8 DR TAP SOCKETS

• 1/4-1/2 (large socket, left) and #0-1/4 (small socket, right)

• M6-M12 and M1.6-M6

The holder takes about 58 × 30 mm of drawer space and stands 18 mm tall. The plain version has no slot and is 54 × 28 mm, 16.6 mm tall.

What to print

With the label: the holder and the plaque.

• tap_socket_holder.stl: the holder, one color.

• tap_socket_label_plaque.stl: the plaque in one piece, printed text up. If printing at 0.2 height, add a filament change at 1.80 mm; the text is the three 0.20 mm layers above that.

Without the label: tap_socket_holder_no_text.stl, one color.

All STLs are already in print orientation, which is down.

Printing

• PLA, 0.20 mm layers, 4 walls, 20% infill.

• No supports, no brim. The dovetail grooves print as vertical walls, so there's nothing to bridge.

• Everything fits a 180 mm bed.

Make it fit

The OpenSCAD file is parametric (OpenSCAD 2021.01 or later). The label uses Liberation Sans, which comes with OpenSCAD, so it renders the same everywhere. Change these at the top:

• label: false for the plain holder.

• barrel_d: your sockets' drive-end diameter.

• clr_d: pocket clearance (0.5 mm). Lower it if the sockets wobble, raise it if they stick.

• knurl_d_lg, knurl_d_sm: the knurled rings, which set the footprint.

• pitch: socket spacing.

• dt_c: plaque clearance in the slot (0.15 mm). Raise it to 0.20 if the plaque binds.

• rows: the label text, one list per row.

How AI Helped

This is my design. I decided how the holder works and looks: two upright sockets, a square drive down, 27 mm apart, with a slide-in label plaque on the front to save drawer space, plus a plain version.

An AI assistant found the socket dimensions, wrote the OpenSCAD code to my specifications, checked the model’s fit and printability, set up the slicer projects and renders, and helped me draft and keep track of the documentation.