Benz Tapping head

[Pete O]

I picked up a tapping head earlier this year with a 3MT shank which also doesn't match any of my gear. Although yours is a different style, I expect the principle is the same- the body needs to be prevented from rotating by bracing against the column of the machine, the gearing inside is cunningly contrived so that when you apply downward pressure with the quill, the tap rotates clockwise; when you stop applying downward pressure, the tap stops turning, and when you apply upward pressure, the tap reverses- all with the machine spindle rotating clockwise. I may of course be barking up the wrong tree as yours looks quite different to mine, perhaps there is some other means of auto-reversing.