[Titaniumboy]

Are you saying I don't really need a boring head? That would indeed save me some money.

I would still need boring bars for my G0602 10x22 lathe.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Are you saying I don't really need a boring head? That would indeed save me some money.

I would still need boring bars for my G0602 10x22 lathe.

I can't think of a single time I've needed to use my boring head since I CNC'd my first real mill (the X2 doesn't count....). I've done lots of bearing pockets using circular interpolation, and it's WAY faster, and more than accurate enough.

Regards,
Ray L.

[LeeWay]

I haven't used mine since the X2 either.

[rlockwood]

As always, I'd encourage you to wait until you have a proven situation in which a tool is economical before purchasing said tool.

A tenths set boring bar is far more valuable to a manual machinist than a CNC one. We run H7 tolerance holes on a daily basis, and have probably used a boring bar once in the past 5 years.

Different story on a lathe, though.. But you don't need the tenths set there, just the bars themselves.

[Hirudin]

I've used my boring heads a few imes but rlockwood's advice not to buy one until you need one is very good, especially considering how many people apparently never use theirs. I bought my first boring head from Little Machine Shop many years ago when all I had was my TAIG. I never used it because I was scared of it. Finally, probably about a year ago, I went to use it and the ****ing thing wasn't threaded properly! I double checked my order confirmation email - although I ordered a boring bar with a 7/8-20 threaded top they sent something undersized - I couldn't get the Tormach boring shank to even start in the threads. After that I bought another boring head, something cheap. I think it was from Tormach. It's a piece of ****. I mean, it gets the job done I guess, but adjusting it is a pain. It isn't fun to try to split the little tick marks when the god damn thing needs excessive amounts of torque to get over the stiction of a badly made tool.

After that I bought a used Criterion off someone on Ebay. It's 5x better than the other crap I bought. Super smooth and easy to adjust. I'm beginning to really buy into the "tools made in the USA are better" mantra.

[LeeWay]

Boring heads are complicated little tools. I used my elcheapo a couple times on the X2 when it was manually operated. I wound up breaking something in the head, so never used it again as a boring head. I did use the bars on the lathe. I bought a couple of larger ones for the lathe though. Bigger is better on boring bars if yo have the room for it in the part. You still need small ones at times though, so don't throw those out.

A Shars boring head is probably mid range quality wise. If I had need of one, it is likely the one I would get rather than the cheaper versions.

Even my 80/20 mill interpolates holes very accurately. If you have a cnc mill with very little backlash, you can make accurate enough holes for bearings or press fit parts relatively easy.

[rlockwood]

The type of places you'll wind up needing the boring head are.. 1.5" bore 4" deep, etc. Not going to interpolate easy, a 1.5" reamer is pretty spendy, so the boring head is more economical.. etc.

[Titaniumboy]

Thanks for all the responses about my need (or lack thereof) for a boring head. Purchase deferred for now.

I still need a boring bar set for my G0602 10x22 lathe, so I ended up getting this set from discount_machine (Shars) over on eBay. I got the 3/4" shank just for the extra rigidity, plus the fact that it will fit my QCTP.

SHARS 12 PC Premium 3 4" Shank Boring Bar Set Carbide Tipped Bore 7 16 13 16 | eBay

Attachment 226238

I think this is the same set at Shars.com, but not completely sure. shars.com - 34quot C6 Carbide Tipped Boring Bar Set


About a week ago I had purchased a 7/16" clamping kit for the Torus since my G0704 mill has 1/2" T-slots. I was pretty happy because my eBay score only cost $53 with delivery and tax. Pretty happy, that is, until it showed up on my doorstep today and I opened the box to find this.

Attachment 226244

Somehow I ended up getting a clamping kit for a 3/8" T-slot! What is even worse is that the threaded rod is ridiculously small. Anyone know somebody that could use a 3/8" clamping kit? I don't even know which mills utilize a 3/8" T-slot.

Once I got over being gobsmacked at what a dunce I am, I came to the epiphany that I really didn't need a completely new clamping kit for the Torus. All I really need is my G0704 clamping kit and six new T-slot nuts. Shars on eBay had them for $1.50 each plus shipping.

SHARS 3 8" 16 T Slots Nut New | eBay

Titaniumboy

[Titaniumboy]

The drawbar on my Torus has a square head. Rather than making a completely new drawbar (thanks LeeWay for the detailed description) or using 8-point sockets, I decided to try a third way and machine a hex head out of the square head. The square head of my drawbar measured 0.650"

I decided to use a 5C six-sided collet block and do the machining on a manual Bridgeport mill in my community college machining class. The instructor said the best way to do this was to have one of the corners of the square head pointing at 12 O'Clock and then machine one of the hex flats at that position.

I had two problems staring me in the face while standing at the Bridgeport:

1. Was the orientation that the instructor suggested correct? If yes, why?

2. Assuming that the suggested orientation was correct, what was the maximum sized hex head that could be machined out of the 0.650" square head?

Doing some quick searches on my smart phone (not a real smart use of scarce machining time) I found the two websites listed below and determined that the instructors suggested orientation was spot on.

Square in a Hexagon etc

geometry - Smallest square that can be fitted outside the regular hexagon - Mathematics Stack Exchange

Attachment 226728

I still had no idea of what the largest size hex head could be machined out of the square head. Both of the websites above, and others that I found, always gave the size of the hex vertex when given the square side dimension. I, of course, wanted the hex head flat-to-flat dimension given the square side dimension. Surprisingly, I could not find such a relationship in any of my Internet searches.

Using the two website above, and a bunch of work, I came up with the following formula.

F = S√3 (√6 - √2) ; where S is the square side dimension and F is the maximum hex flat-to-flat dimension

2

Or F = .8965754722 S

So, plugging in my square head drawbar size of 0.650" gives a maximum hex head flat-to-flat dimension of .5828". I actually went a little larger than the "maximum" size calculated by the formula and made a 15 mm (.5906") hex head. I decided that I didn't care if a couple of the hex corners were rounded a little bit by going over the "maximum".

Almost done machining the hex head on the Bridgeport using the 5C collet block
Attachment 226730

Set up at home on my G0602 10x22 lathe and ready to face the end and cut a chamfer
Attachment 226732

Finished hex head drawbar. I didn't take a lot of material off the end of the drawbar, but you can see some voids that were uncovered during the lathe facing operation. I finished the hex head by deburring with an 3M EXL grinding wheel and then "polishing" with a 3M scotchbrite wheel.
Attachment 226734

Titaniumboy

[Titaniumboy]

I managed to break the top "bell" of the coolant generic Loc-Line just below the plastic valve. I pulled the clear plastic tube off the bottom of the valve and removed the broken section of Loc-Line. I reinstalled the clear tube back on the valve, and then tried to reinstall the Loc-Line back onto the valve. I failed miserably - the darn Loc-Line will not pop back onto the valve. My experience with real Loc-Line at school is that while it may pop off if bumped, it pops back together very easily. This fake Loc-Line seems really cheap and prone to breaking.

Attachment 226736

I think I've read where others have upgraded this fake Loc-Line with something nicer, but I can't seem to find that info right now.


New topic. Does anyone know if the Torus, Torus Pro and Pulsar are painted the same color? I wanted to find the color of the Torus so I could paint the steel base I'm making for the leveling casters. I also need to do some touchup where the paint has peeled away at the back bottom of the column.

Titaniumboy

[LeeWay]

Nice draw bar mod. And here I was about to suggest a 4 point socket.
I've got a spare for you when you wear that one out.

I had my loc-line come apart a couple times, but did get it popped back in place. I agree, it is sub quality, but it seems to work okay for me. I have broken the really cheap ones easily before, so this one may be mid grade.

I think the machines have different paint schemes, but they all may use a combo of three colors that I recall noticing.
The light cream color. The light gray color like on the head of the Torus and then a darker gray like the head on the Pulsar. Your best bet to match is to pull a chip off and get it matched. Novakon may actually have touch up bottles too. You might ask. Then you could easily get a match.

I didn't paint my caster base. It is aluminum, but I was more concerned with time at the time and now it doesn't bother me. Shiny is nice too.

[waltpermenter]

The drawbar on my Torus has a square head. Rather than making a completely new drawbar (thanks LeeWay for the detailed description) or using 8-point sockets, I decided to try a third way and machine a hex head out of the square head. The square head of my drawbar measured 0.650"

I decided to use a 5C six-sided collet block and do the machining on a manual Bridgeport mill in my community college machining class. The instructor said the best way to do this was to have one of the corners of the square head pointing at 12 O'Clock and then machine one of the hex flats at that position.

I had two problems staring me in the face while standing at the Bridgeport:

1. Was the orientation that the instructor suggested correct? If yes, why?

2. Assuming that the suggested orientation was correct, what was the maximum sized hex head that could be machined out of the 0.650" square head?

Doing some quick searches on my smart phone (not a real smart use of scarce machining time) I found the two websites listed below and determined that the instructors suggested orientation was spot on.

Square in a Hexagon etc

geometry - Smallest square that can be fitted outside the regular hexagon - Mathematics Stack Exchange

Attachment 226728

I still had no idea of what the largest size hex head could be machined out of the square head. Both of the websites above, and others that I found, always gave the size of the hex vertex when given the square side dimension. I, of course, wanted the hex head flat-to-flat dimension given the square side dimension. Surprisingly, I could not find such a relationship in any of my Internet searches.

Using the two website above, and a bunch of work, I came up with the following formula.

F = S√3 (√6 - √2) ; where S is the square side dimension and F is the maximum hex flat-to-flat dimension

2

Or F = .8965754722 S

So, plugging in my square head drawbar size of 0.650" gives a maximum hex head flat-to-flat dimension of .5828". I actually went a little larger than the "maximum" size calculated by the formula and made a 15 mm (.5906") hex head. I decided that I didn't care if a couple of the hex corners were rounded a little bit by going over the "maximum".

Almost done machining the hex head on the Bridgeport using the 5C collet block
Attachment 226730

Set up at home on my G0602 10x22 lathe and ready to face the end and cut a chamfer
Attachment 226732

Finished hex head drawbar. I didn't take a lot of material off the end of the drawbar, but you can see some voids that were uncovered during the lathe facing operation. I finished the hex head by deburring with an 3M EXL grinding wheel and then "polishing" with a 3M scotchbrite wheel.
Attachment 226734

Titaniumboy

now this is a simple ingenious solution, thanks for sharing.
walt

[Titaniumboy]

Nice draw bar mod. And here I was about to suggest a 4 point socket.
I've got a spare for you when you wear that one out.

now this is a simple ingenious solution, thanks for sharing.

Lee and Walt, thanks for the compliments. The project wasn't very time effective, but I learned some new things so I guess it was worth it.

I had my loc-line come apart a couple times, but did get it popped back in place. I agree, it is sub quality, but it seems to work okay for me. I have broken the really cheap ones easily before, so this one may be mid grade.

I finally got my generic Loc-Line back together today. I ended up unscrewing the threaded connector so I could remove the entire Loc-Line hose. Even off of the mill I wasn't successful in getting the darn pieces to pop back together. I ended up taking a heat gun to the Loc-Line to heat it up and soften it enough.

The first time didn't work because I got the Loc-Line too hot and melted the inner clear vinyl tubing. I then replaced the vinyl tubing with one that I had. The new vinyl tubing had a thicker wall and then wouldn't fit down into the nozzle. I had to cut the end of the nozzle off a bit in order to fit the thicker wall tubing. The second try with the heat gun finally worked and I got the Loc-Line pieces to finally snap back together.

Does genuine Loc-Line have the inner vinyl tubing like the Novakon-supplied generic Loc-Line?

After all this rigamarole, I learn that there are Loc-Line pliers.

Loc-Line Coolant Hose Assembly Pliers, for 1/4" Coolant Hose System: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Attachment 226994

I think the machines have different paint schemes, but they all may use a combo of three colors that I recall noticing.
The light cream color. The light gray color like on the head of the Torus and then a darker gray like the head on the Pulsar. Your best bet to match is to pull a chip off and get it matched. Novakon may actually have touch up bottles too. You might ask. Then you could easily get a match.

I didn't paint my caster base. It is aluminum, but I was more concerned with time at the time and now it doesn't bother me. Shiny is nice too.

John at Novakon confirmed that they don't have touchup paint; evidently shipping is a hassle because of hazardous materials. He, like you, also suggested matching a chip at a paint store. John also said that the paint is a lacquer base and that any good oil base paint should work.

My caster base is 3/4" x 4" steel bar. It isn't going to stay shiny like your fancy-schmancy aluminum.:stickpoke

Titaniumboy

[Hirudin]

The genuine Loc-Line I've seen doesn't have an inner hose.

[LeeWay]

I haven't seen it with an inner tube before either. If you think about it though, it is probably more efficient that way and will likely last a lot longer because of it. It will certainly put out the juice.

[AiR_GuNNeR]

My preferred machine paint is Rustoleum Industrial Grey. It's an oil based paint that takes quite a while to fully cure, but it is EXTREEMLY tough once it does. I've painted my Boyer Schultz surface grinder and carbide grinder&stand with it so far. I have a Millrite that I just purchased along with a Bridgeport J head that I am retrofitting onto it. Both of those will be getting a coat of the same paint once I am finished rebulding them.
Eric

[DICKEYBIRD]

I've read that you can add a catalyst to Rusto to speed up the cure plus make it glossier & harder. Here's one:
Majic® Catalyst Hardener, 1/2 pint - Tractor Supply Co.

[AiR_GuNNeR]

I've read that you can add a catalyst to Rusto to speed up the cure plus make it glossier & harder. Here's one:
Majic® Catalyst Hardener, 1/2 pint - Tractor Supply Co.

Thanks, I'll be heading to TS today during lunch for sure!

[TOTALLYRC]

Does it contain Isocyanates?????

Mike

[Titaniumboy]

So the caster base is finally cut, drilled, and painted. I used some Rust-Oleum premium spray enamel that I had laying around. The color is "Smoke Gray" color code 7786 and, while not an exact match, is close enough to satisfy me. Of course, the Rust-Oleum is still a bit soft after painting one side on Sunday and the other side on Monday.

I rented a pallet jack today intending to get the mill off of the pallet and onto the caster bases.

But now I'm stumped. How the heck do I get the mill off the pallet with just a pallet jack?

Titaniumboy