Thread: CTC Boring Head

thanks for the post dave i didnt watch the vid yet but i think i got the idea. it took me about 1/2 an hour to get both axis right. well within 0.01mm. i wanted to make some cuts to check the diff but there was no time. i made the arc as wide as the table would allow. a few strips of tape helped deal with the t slots. . one of the axis's was .2mm out so it was well worth doing.

Originally Posted by Dave J

It may take you 10-20 minutes to do it the first time, but as you get used to it the time will come down. The longer the rod/bar the more accurate it will be, but no need to go wider than the table with the swing. Some people use a machined car disk brake so thee are no interruptions, but I just go off the table. I find with the dial indicator only lightly touching it will go over the T slots without bothering it.

Dave

You did good, it is generally recommend to get it to within a thou (0.0254mm) and you have got it to within 4 tenths of a thou.
To get it better takes a lot of time, because when you tighten the locking bolts it throws it out slightly. I normally use the dial indicator in the last 0.05mm range so it doesn't catch on the T slots. A test indicator can be used and the tip angled so it rides up the side of the T slot easily.
For some operations like fly cutting it's better to see which direction gives the best finish, because having the tram out a micro amount either way can actually help give a good finish because of the cutting forces.

Dave

hi bob i think you make the geometry of a face cutter sound harder than it is. after thinking about it for a while(i hope long enough before typing this.) just simple pcd. making it say 100mm would simplify it a little. i think the place to start would be to see if you could draw it. i find the hard bit getting my head around how to cut each facet out of the cutter blank. especially having not seen many face cutters latley and not having any indexing tooling. how many cutting tips would a general purposes face cutter need. may be 7.

Azz, The drawing is one thing, the execution, another. I don't have the confidence that I could turn the body of a facemill, incorporating an ISO30 taper arbor, and then transfer it to my mill and machine the angled insert pockets without introducing an error into the end product. I would have spent a lot of time making an elaborate flycutter. I bought a 63mm CTC facemill. It's mounted on a CTC 30 taper arbor. I can hear it cutting on one insert. When that's worn down maybe the others will take a turn.

Now, that's a manufactured item. Undoubtedly CNC machined. Reckon I could do better with a 40 year old lathe and a 50 year old mill. No.

i put this post in the wrong thread yesterday. ill try again
this is an arbor i didn't finish, because the lathe i was using kept hiccuping, as i attempted to cut the tread. you can see the shoulder on the short side of the drive flange. this is what the boring head mounts on. the tread locks it in position.
so the way i see it is. this shoulder has been cut in the same set up as the taper. so will be concentric when run in the mill spindle.
now end for end the job and set up accurately and screw a blank cutter onto the arbor. supporting it with the a live center in the tail stock. after a cut is taken from the blank. the whole job will be concentric to the mill spindle.
that is if the tapper matches. i have had to adjust the angle of the compound slide a few times to get the taper right.
the arbor holding the boring head in the picture does run true as long as it is wound up tight. if not it runs out.

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It took me a bit to get my head around what you wrote.
It will work fine done that way, as once it's all together it will be all one mass.
I tried looking at the picture and but I am not sure if you have it parallel (strait) at the top of the taper to hold onto? If it is you can hold it in a 4 jaw, if not you will need to make a matching taper out of a scrap piece mounted in the chuck to hold it. Trying to hold a taper in the chuck will damage it and is hard to hold. Also you need to have it running true in the chuck to drill the center hole for it to got onto the live/dead centre of the tailstock.

Dave

hi dave how are you.
the Parallel bit at the top was cut off. the draw bar thread was cut in to the start of the tapper. i did this because i was trying to reach the flange part to cut the drive slot. it still didnt reach so i turned the job on its side. ther is a parallel section at the top of the taper. im in a good mood to day because i dint have to work

If you have the parallel near the flange you will be able to hold onto it in the lathe.
Just thinking since the parallel part is so small and there is not much to indicate off to get it perfectly true, how about mounting the blank onto the arbour, then mount it in the mill to centre drill it? this way it would be spot on.

Dave

PS
Thanks for asking, I am only 20-30% back up to speed at the moment. I am only in the shed an hour or two then I am in pain and need a rest.

Originally Posted by Dave J

Did you buy the boring and facing head? One went on ebay a few months ago for around $650 that was like new and come from H&F's.

box arrived today and it is like looking at a mirror image.. (it is the same) ....at the one at H&F...only thing I didnt get was the TM laser etched logo..

Will take some pics later today.....at US$648.20 plus postage of US$65 (also got a arbor for a slitting saw), seems like a bargain compared to the pricing at H&F

sounds good do you have any jobs inmind

Originally Posted by azzrock

sounds good do you have any jobs inmind

no.....