Jim Betmanis earlier in the day wrote "You can be sure that there will always be some tap you find you need and
don't have and you'll spend a lot of money buying them piecemeal. For
$17
you can buy a 60 piece SAE/Metric tap and die set from Harbor Freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/
which includes the handles and thread gauges. These are not toolmaker
grade,
but for the most part you'd only be using them to chase painted or
damaged threads.
I just ordered one, the shipping was very reasonable and I'll let anyone know who's interested what I think the overall quality level is after I get it.
Tom Sanders
Lansing, Mi USA