Hi. I resharpened my boring bar, and something strange happens. It does not seem to cut much when advancing it into the bore, but it does cut a lot more on the way out. It is quite a bit more. It just takes a sliver on the way in, but really hogs a big chip on the way out. This still does the job. I tightened up the saddle hold down/gib, but it still seems to cut this way. Otherwise, the cut is fine, and the finish is good. When I look carefully, the cutter is cutting in the middle on the way in, and pretty much all along the edge on the way out. Does the grind need to be a little more pointed, so that the cutting is only going on in one place?
I couldn't really find a good picture browsing on the web, but I found one in an old copy of a machinist's handbook. I figured out what the problem was. There was insufficient clearance on the front edge of the bit. Combined with the additional stick out required, it was causing the bit to flex inward and cut less. Then, it cut on the backwards feed, since it had more clearance. The slight bending caused the chip to roll off near the middle of the bit. I will try grinding the front, and if it doesn't work, I will take a picture.
Meanwhile, I will make a larger bar for the bigger job. Most of my work to date has been on bores 0.4" or less. This piece was quite a bit larger.