Which Boring Head To Get For A Mill?

Will be abit b4 i start this job and hopefully i figure out how to post picks by then
 
Depends on where the pictures are at. Most sites want you to host your pictures somewhere else like Picturebucket or somewhere. You should be able to click that icon that looks like mountain & sun to enter the url where the picture is stored. Or you can use embeded code from the site & just copy & past that into the box your typing at what ever point you want the picture to show. If your doing full images I'd suggest hitting enter/return before pasting the hotlink & again after to keep the format a little nicer.
 
Holes can be bored by making a boring bar and simply sliding the tool out taking measurements from the tool tip to the bar. I have different sets made up that I run through in a series, just switching bars and keep one set for the finish size. I still use them today even though I have boring heads.
 
A mid priced boring head can be had through Enco when they have a sale. APT is mid level and price. It is not a bad boring head but not at the level of say a Criterion. I have no experience with the cheap Asian brands. Just be sure and try and find one that the adjustment is direct reading. Also the typical cheap boring bars will cause you grief. Look at Borite bars or HSS or Cobalt bars. Better to spend your money on good quality bars, even if you only buy one at a time.A 2" boring head will do a lot of tasks and is a bit cheaper than the 3". The question is how deep are the bushing bores? A 2" head uses 1/2" boring bars while a 3" uses 3/4" bars typically, although a 3" Bridgeport head uses 5/8". The 1/2" bars limit your depth of cut without fighting flex.
A lot of equipment manufactures offer hardened bushings with seemingly odd bores. If you are using new hardened or chrome pins, make sure your new bushing I.D.s will be the correct dia. after allowance for press fits. You do not want to have to bore those hardened bushings. You can get by with some honing but when they say hardened they are not joking. This apples to OEM heavy equipment bushings. YMMV.

Darrell
 
I made one, but then got a lathe......:) (easier for me to bore on a lathe...)
 
I went through the same thought process when looking for a boring head for my Bridgeport Mill. I elected to get a used criterion head on eBay and then a borite ½" boring bar kit with inserts (IB-500) from Kahn Tools. No complaints and I would do it again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rw1
I always wondered why my boring bars screamed like a banshee until I read in a book about grinding extra relief on your boring bar tools. What a difference, so if using hi speed steel or brazed carbide, give your self some more relief , like about 5-10 degrees more relief than the bar came with. Cheap Chinese boring heads suck, plain and simple, ya you can use them, but the screws are junk, they are not direct reading, basically a kit that will always remind you that you were penny wise and pound foolish. Get a Wohlhaupter or Criterion and cry once. Enco in the old days had some nice Enco branded heads that were made in USA and also France, the french one has the auto facing feature, they both show up on ebay from time to time.

michael
 
I think I was just insulted & called foolish. Lol

I don't mind my boring tool. If I bought the high dollar tooling is only have a tool or two & couldn't use it because I couldn't afford the other tools to go with it or even the material to make anything out of. I'll make my own boring head & bars later. I'm already working on my own tooling instead of buying. Even "the cheap stuff" isn't cheap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top