Jig Borer - I reveal my Ignorance and Stupidity

Nick Hacking

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
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Jan 22, 2017
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Dear All,

I decided to get into hobby machining a couple of years ago. I started off with a small refurbished British lathe. Of course, I soon decided that I needed a mill and I started looking through eBay for an affordable mill close to my home.

Eventually a lovely little BCA jig borer popped up and I smuggled it into my workshop when my wife was out. Of course, I soon found that using the little machine for anything like heavy milling was a serious abuse of the poor thing, so *another* covert operation had to be organized to get an old Bridgeport into the workshop.

So far, so good. I've been learning by doing, reading on here, watching YouTube. I've made a couple of toolposts for my lathe, some T nuts, a lot of chips. But, I've now got this little jig borer sitting in a corner of the workshop and I don't really know how to use it at all. I understand that it's good for precision work and that, these days, it's largely been superseded in industry by CNC and electronic control systems on mills. But, what I cannot find are any helpful tutorials on how to use it properly. There's plenty of material on milling and on running a lathe, of course, but nothing really on "projects for your jig-borer".

Is anyone able to offer me advice? Are there any resources I can learn from? Perhaps old text books.

I want to use the beastie, it would be a shame to simply let it rust away, but I don't want to abuse it. In short, I've bought something that I don't really understand and I've decided that it's better to confess and learn than to continue in my ignorance.

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
Workshop Practice Series #35 --- Milling - a complete course. This book will get you well on your way.

"Billy G"
 
No ignorance or stupidity on here, just questions needing answers.

 
From what I understand they are used for drilling holes at very precise locations.
 
Having run a jig bore many times in the past. I can say this. They are mainly used for precisely locating holes. But can also do light milling to locate slots and other features. As well as widing slots to precise dimensions.
 
Off to Amazon right now.

Many thanks, Billy G.

Nick

Hmm,

A quick trawl through my shelves and I find that I've actually got this book already. It is a very useful introduction to milling, but there's nothing really specific to the jig borer, that I can see. Are there any textbooks with advice specific to jig boring machines?

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
Having run a jig bore many times in the past. I can say this. They are mainly used for precisely locating holes. But can also do light milling to locate slots and other features. As well as widing slots to precise dimensions.

Might I ask what sort of projects you used your jog borer for?

Nick
 
You will find nill to nothing about using the Jig Bore to mill. It is a specific machine for boring holes. Yes Bill is correct, it can be used for light operations but that is not what it is for. We had 12 Moore Jig Borers at GM. They were in a temperature controlled room. No other machines were in there with them. These machines are sensitive to side pressure. You can throw the spindle off center in a heartbeat.

"Billy G"
 
BillyG,
According to Moore they can be used for very light milling. We have used them in the past for only removng a few thousandths to qualify surfaces and slots as well as locating holes. Never had a problem with throwing the spindle off.

Nick,
I was a special machine builder before I became a special machine designer. Then when that company went under due to owner having an accident, I went back to being a toolmaker until I became disabled.
 
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