Indexable boring head boring bars ... use in horizontal position?

[skcncx]

I'm betting they don't really have it in stock but if they do, let @Aukai know.

I sent an email asking the status. I'll send update if they have it in stock.

I just found this HHIP set, looks to have a similar style horizontal bar option as the criterion. I don't know anything about HHIP other than it's not seemingly the highest quality stuff, basic import items.

 

[mikey]

HHIP sells higher quality Chinese stuff but it's still import quality. I agree that their horizontal bar looks good.

 

[Jimsehr]

Sorry for a potentially ignoramous question, but...

Can the following style of boring bars be used in the horizontal position of boring head style pictured?

I have a 2" vertex boring head like shown, with the through hole. I'm looking to get some boring bars and hoping they can be used in the vertical (upright) and horizontal position if ever needed.

What I can't tell is if there's enough clearance when used in the horizontal position.

The pic of the single boring bore looks like it is slightly angled and would provide clearance.

Open to suggestions on good quality ones too... it seems all these from whoever are all the same, no real difference. I'd love if they came in CCMT style insert instead of the TCMT just because I already have many CCMT shaped inserts.

View attachment 443029View attachment 443030View attachment 443031

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To be honest I would not buy any of the bars shown.
I think most of them will stick out of holder way too much. And all I see is chatter.

 

[GeneT45]

Thanks for the tip on Mesa Tool.

Looks like they have addressed the horizontal option in a few ways, ccmt special accessory, horizontal specific and a standard left handed version.

I gather from their offerings, only a 3" and 4.5" length (for 1/2" shank) boring bar likely covers everything and anything I'd ever use it for.

The 3" horizontal one and standard right hand 1/2" might be all I ever need.



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Not sure what advantage this as over the horizontal specific one above. CCMT is nice... but if I can't go all CCMT, I'm still left with getting TCMT/TPGB styles as well. Possibly a smaller minimum diameter, but my guess that overlaps with using a standard bar in the vertical position.
View attachment 443042

I have the adapter in the bottom picture and like it quite a bit, but I don't use it often. For starters it's more rigid than a bar sticking out the side and the CCMT is stronger than the triangular inserts. Anything larger in my work is usually plate that I can bore more readily in the lathe.

GsT

 

[skcncx]

To be honest I would not buy any of the bars shown.
I think most of them will stick out of holder way too much. And all I see is chatter.

With that... sounds like you wouldn't make use of the vertical boring bar holes at all since your only option is to have a boring bars protrude below the boring head to make it's cut. I would imagine, depending on the hole size you are trying to bore, you may have no option. I have no experience with these setups... but the chatter does seem like it could come into play if your stick out is too much.

Mesa has this version, but it's nothing more than a beefier shank... still has to reduce to 1/2" to be inserted into boring head... at least the 2" versions.

 

[Jimsehr]

With that... sounds like you wouldn't make use of the vertical boring bar holes at all since your only option is to have a boring bars protrude below the boring head to make it's cut. I would imagine, depending on the hole size you are trying to bore, you may have no option. I have no experience with these setups... but the chatter does seem like it could come into play if your stick out is too much.

Mesa has this version, but it's nothing more than a beefier shank... still has to reduce to 1/2" to be inserted into boring head... at least the 2" versions.

View attachment 443565

 

[Jimsehr]

I make most of my boring bars that I use in boring heads like that.
And I try with all boring bars to keep stick out to the minimum. I silver braze carbide tips on most of them and a lot of my boring bars are carbide bars with USED carbide tips brazed to the bars. Then I hand grind them. Some I have had for years. When I break a carbide tip I just braze a new tip on bar. When I was doing production machine work I bought the most heavy duty insert boring bars I could find . But in a home shop I don’t think spending hundreds of dollars on a tool to make one or two parts makes sense. Even when doing production I brazed tips on a lot of bars. Sometimes you needed the tool NOW and you cann’t wait for a new tool to be delivered.

 

[skcncx]

I make most of my boring bars that I use in boring heads like that.
And I try with all boring bars to keep stick out to the minimum. I silver braze carbide tips on most of them and a lot of my boring bars are carbide bars with USED carbide tips brazed to the bars. Then I hand grind them. Some I have had for years. When I break a carbide tip I just braze a new tip on bar. When I was doing production machine work I bought the most heavy duty insert boring bars I could find . But in a home shop I don’t think spending hundreds of dollars on a tool to make one or two parts makes sense. Even when doing production I brazed tips on a lot of bars. Sometimes you needed the tool NOW and you cann’t wait for a new tool to be delivered.

That make sense. I am not one to do the brazing of tips... probably not difficult but that and grinding my own tooling is not something I have a desire to do at the moment. Hence why I'd like to stay with indexable tooling. For my use, a couple inserts will last me a long time, easy to replace and change with different grades for different materials.

I may be better served at the moment and get one bar and try it out... if it works for me, add other bars in different lengths as needed. This way I can get a CCMT boring bar, even it's super long, just cut it down.

At the end of the day, as a hobby, none of it is justified any more than a weekend golfer spending more on a nicer set of clubs. Though for the boring bar set, yes, I see myself using this tool the least. So far, just $80 in a vertex boring head.