Hand taps and dies are tools used to create screw threads in many different materials. Hand taps are ideal for internal threading of through-holes or blind holes with adequate bottom clearance. Dies are used for cutting external threads on plain rods. Two common taps are the hand taper tap and the spiral point (or gun) tap. Both are available in high speed steel. The taper tap does just that: its leading 8-10 cutting threads taper toward a point to ease the start of a threading operation in a drilled hole. The spiral point or gun tap can be used for machine tapping through-holes or blind holes with adequate bottom clearance. There is a third type, the bottoming tap, where internal threads are desired to the bottom of a blind hole.