Need boring head recommendations

[ARC-170]

I'd like a decent boring head for my Rong-Fu clone mill. This one shown (Criterion DBL-202) is just under $200 shipped. It looks like the shank is welded to the head. Is this an issue? I have R8 collets, so it will fit just fine.



It looks fine otherwise. Thoughts?

 

[mikey]

I would keep looking. There is absolutely no reason to weld the shank to the head unless you're running the head backwards, something you will never do.

A good used head should run close to $120, even today.

 

[mmcmdl]

There is absolutely no reason to weld the shank to the head unless you're running the head backwards, something you will never do.

Well , almost never . I do to turn ODs in the mill .

 

[Ken from ontario]

Finding a good quality boring head in my non professional hobbyist view is one of the easiest task nowadays, just look around on eBay as I'm sure where you found that one in your post, there are plenty of Criterion BHs for sale, I bought mine from a good seller "bratex"( and he accepts reasonable offers) ,it is a smaller S 1.1/2 with a straight 5/8" shaft, I would not trust a tool like a boring head if it was welded unless I know the story behind it or can verify it is still 100% functional.

 

[great white]

I’s be worried about that weld pulling something off center and causing excessive runout.

I’m no professional, but thats the first time I’ve seen a shank welded to the tooling. Seems kinda “buck shee” to me.

I’ve got somewhere around 60-70 cdn into my boring head with an r8 shank (all ebay bought) and it works just fine. I have no conplaints.

 

[ARC-170]

Thanks, everyone.

What this one from about Precision Matthews? It's $110 and comes with 6 boring bars.

Or, this one from LMS? It's $95 and comes with 9 boring bars.

I've heard there are often issues with the cheap imports such as slop in the screw. I used one and it was metric and I had issues with the accuracy. I thought it might be because I wasn't converting correctly. I measured how much the holder moved and it was not consistent for each revolution.

I appreciate the help!

 

[Janderso]

I bought a 2” Shars a few years ago.
I would have preferred to spend the money once. Criterion.
I need one too.

 

[Ken from ontario]

Here's a good used Criterion , around The same price as the precision Matthews:

 

[ARC-170]

I'd prefer one that has holes in the bottom and the sides.

Must I get an R8 shank? Could I put a straight shank in my R8 collets?

This one is on Ebay right now for about $190 shipped. It has a 1/2" shank, which I could put in a collet. I'm not sure what the model numbers mean (this one is a DBL-152), but this looks like it's 1.5" in diameter and has places for boring bars on the bottom and the side.

 

[ARC-170]

This one has a 1" straight shank. About $196 shipped.