US Boring head manufacturers

Louis Ohland wrote in news:UCRli.1545$aJ6.268 @newsfe12.lga:

Command and Komet.

Wow. If I am running a CNC shop, I'll keep these in mind.

Any less advanced manufacturers that still use R8?

D Murphy wrote:

I don't remember the name, but maybe someone else knows of, a tooling manufacturer in Oceanside or San Diego CA.

I bought a box of 2" boring heads made by that company, on ebay (about 5 years ago, maybe).

Hah, found the name in some old files recently transferred to the new machine, but searching for boring heads made by them doesn't produce any results.

Mesa Tools Corp Oceanside CA 2602 S SANTA FE AVE (760)-599-0630

A new APT on ebay item 280133211719

Louis Ohland wrote in news:XjXli.550$u06.37 @newsfe03.lga:

They make straight shank. You've got collets?

Not that I know of. R8 is dead as far as new machines and any kind of sales volume, so why bother?

OTOH there are plenty of straight shank boring heads made here.

I suppose a straight shank in a R8 Weldon holder would do. Any suggestions?

I prefer > Louis Ohland wrote in news:XjXli.550$u06.37

According to Louis Ohland :

Aside from US makers -- if you want a good one (and one not made in the Chinese part of the world), consider the Gamet (made in France, and sold by Enco under their own brand).

They are not just boring heads, but if you grip a knurled ring at the top, the head will step out one two or three clicks (depending on setting and size) while the spindle is in motion. It can be use for facing, among other things. Some versions have a settable automatic stop for maximum diameter.

The first that I ever saw was ordered for the shop at work, and came with an R8 spindle. Mine has a 30 NTMB (or is that NMTB?) taper shank. I got it from eBay, recognizing it as a nice tool from that earlier exposure.

Enjoy, DoN.

Louis Ohland wrote in news:vpgmi.688$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe06.lga:

Ok. How about Bokum Tool then?

It has a built in tenths indicator.

D Murphy wrote in news:Xns996E126E8C22BBW12BU20MU38SY@130.133.1.4:

Wrong link.

Yep, I believe there are still some new Mesa units available, but don't know what the company is doin' now. Back when I got that box of boring heads, there was a southern CA seller that had large lots of new 2", 3" and maybe some larger ones for sale, which looked as though Mesa was liquidating stock.

WB ......... metalworking projects

I think you may be worrying too much on this one.

I agree that less layers means better accuracy. You don't want to mount a three jaw chuck on an arbor in your R8 spindle and then use that to hold a collet chuck. Both accuracy and rigidity would suffer.

A boring head is a different animal, in that accuracy doesn't matter. The only accuracy in a boring head concerns the pitch of the feed screw and, for a head that also faces, that the travel is perpendicular to the axis. Both of these are built into the head itself, and neither are affected by the mounting method.

Looking at it one way, a boring head HAS to be inaccurate to work. All it does is put a single point tool at some distance OFF center. The dial graduations don't position the cutting tool, they move it. You take a cut, measure what you are getting, then adjust the dial accordingly. Yes, you can use the dial numbers to hit bores on repeat parts if you have to bore them in steps, but it's better to lock the head and take it in one pass if you can.

Rigidity is very important in a boring head, and I agree with you that less layers contribute to greater rigidity. I think you'll find, though, that the mounting of a boring head on a large threaded shank is about as rigid as you can get. The shoulder provides all the rigidity you could want. I've only seen a few small boring heads with integral shanks - all of the heavier ones have been made for removable threaded shanks. Not that you would want to - or sometimes even could

- remove them after they have been mounted.

John Martin

National Machine Tool Builders

NMTB

At least, it is if I am remembering correctly!

Cheers Trevor Jones

I agree with John's comments with regard to boring head rigidity, particularly where the arbor is captured in/or near the spindle nose.. such as a straight arbor on boring head that's held with a collet & drawbar, for example.

The shoulder of the threaded adapter is rigid and makes a tight connection, at least until the spindle is rotated in reverse (get some LH boring bars/cutters).

WB ......... metalworking projects

Thanks. Now all I need to remember is that machine comes before tool. :-)

Again, thanks, DoN.