I got pretty good at tapping by using this technique:
-Clamp workpiece in drillpress or mill vise and locate hole to be d+t
-Drill with correct size drill for tap (work up in stages if it's a big hole)
-Without moving or unclamping workpiece, put the tap in the chuck
-Apply a bit of A9 for aluminum or TM or whatever
-Start drillpress and turn off (you just want the inertia of the spindle, not driven by motor)
-Lower tap into hole and let the inertia of the spindle+chuck to "thread" the tap into the hole
-Be ready on the brake so as not to go too far or fast
-Blow out chips with compressed air
-Reverse DP rotation and lift tap out of hole under power
It takes some practice and you might break a tap or two while learning, but once you've got the technique down it will save tons of time, and you always get perfectly tapped holes this way.
(Of course you have a broken tap extractor kit on hand, don't you?)