Arc Euro boring and facing head

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Haha, I think you walked right into that one, Neil! A write-up beckons…

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Maybe Neil will post the MEW boring and facing one as it must be pretty old now as a freebee. People could skip the facing aspect if they wanted. It will be in an early edition. I did take it for a while when it came out. The part I wasn't keen on is mild steel on mild steel for the facing collar. It could be lined with something else if concerned.

These are ideal for a DIY design really though. All that needs to be noted is the general proportions. The feed for facing is a trickier.

John

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[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Copyright remains in force for 75 years after the author's death. Copyright in drawings remains for 15 years whether the author is dead or alive.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Bruce Edney on 23/09/2015 06:20:41:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 22/09/2015 17:34:05:

I made one out of a length of 2" bar, so pretty small, but it works up to 3" plus and I've been pretty happy with it. the expensive parts were an MT3 arbour and a set of boring tools. No auto feed.

Do you have drawings you would be willing to share Neil? Or is the design a MEW or ME project?

Afraid I did it by eye… I might see if Stub is gullible enough to write it up for me.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Do you mean Harold Hall's design, John?

http://www.homews.co.uk/page199.html

Neil

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 23/09/2015 14:24:16:

Do you mean Harold Hall's design, John?

http://www.homews.co.uk/page199.html

Neil

From a making it and accuracy it would need I feel I best say zero about that design. So no not that one.

I might still have the mag that had the other one in. My wife has bought some doughnuts so once they have gone I will have a look.

John

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[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Afraid not. It seems to have gone awol somehow. I did find the small lathe design in oct/nov 91, free pull out plan. I suspect that the design I am on about would be before or around that that time but can't really remember for sure. I don't think I have the magazine wrong. It was MEW.

Excellent & nice fresh – the doughnuts

John

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[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Several to choose from. Westbury's will be a reprint, probably a bit complex but likely to be of sound design. John Steele with the Hobbymat was an alter-ego of HH.

About time we had one in the magazine; I get the feeling that we don't get as many tool builds for non-specialist equipment as we used to (except vices!) Perhaps it's all so much cheaper than it was.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 23/09/2015 18:10:59

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John W1 on 22/09/2015 18:53:17:

The pins are struck by a see saw like attachment with a pin on each end. It misses them when the see saw is level and has click locks to hold it in place when it isn't.

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John,

Is it the one illustrated here ?

MichaelG.

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

John, there are a few description of home-made boring heads that you can download, her's a couple:

***Link***

***Link***

Thor

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 23/09/2015 18:09:04:

Several to choose from. Westbury's will be a reprint, probably a bit complex but likely to be of sound design. John Steele with the Hobbymat was an alter-ego of HH.

About time we had one in the magazine; I get the feeling that we don't get as many tool builds for non-specialist equipment as we used to (except vices!) Perhaps it's all so much cheaper than it was.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 23/09/2015 18:10:59

As it was a boring and facing head it looks like it must have been the one in 2001. That is around the correct period.

John

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[Steamer1915Participant @steamer1915]

I made a boring and facing head based on a design in the ME about '89 or '90. The design was by an American chap called A.J. Lofquist.

The design was for a South bend lathe but I just reduced the register and thread size to suit my Myford and it worked very well. In hindsight, I should have scaled the whole thing down as it is quite a lump. the original was made from castings but I chewed mine out of a couple of lumps of nice cast iron that I had to hand.

It's a nice tool but I've only used it about four times in 20 years so I do wonder sometimes. It's a "clicker" as opposed to a constant geared feed like the wonderful d'andrea head that I used in the late seventies. What did surprise me was that it was impossible to see where the "click feed" took place on the finished surface.

Steve.

[Bruce EdneyParticipant @bruceedney59949]

Posted by Thor on 23/09/2015 18:51:17:

John, there are a few description of home-made boring heads that you can download, her's a couple:

***Link***

***Link***

Thor

Thanks Thor

That first one looks just the ticket

Just have to finish my Mill CNC conversion first

Bruce

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Thor on 23/09/2015 18:51:17:

John, there are a few description of home-made boring heads that you can download, her's a couple:

***Link***

***Link***

Thor

Thanks Thor those may interest others. I have a perfectly adequate boring head that I posted a shot of earlier but facing with it now isn't so easy due to the see saw attachment it needs to face.

I'd make a couple of points about many of the ones that are about. One of the reasons mine is heavy, bit short of 4kg, is to provide some fly wheel effect. The main body is a lot heftier than it need be. It was from castings but the same could be done from square section steel rather than round. This then gives a nice long slide and there can be more tool positions than the usual small round ones. The very dear commercial heads tend to be a lot bigger. This is probably more important when the head is used for facing but always having a good length of contact in the dovetails must be good for rigidity. If I made a round one I would probably base the main body on 4in dia steel 2 to 3in thick.

I think mine was designed by Westbury hence the actual tool holder being bolted onto the slide. That way if I ever need it for something I hadn't thought of I can quickly make something to fit to it. He's also the sort of person that would think about flywheel effects for interrupted cuts and general smoothness. Some of the older designs are pretty clever really. Why use a plain bore in the universal dividing head for instance. It even makes sense if it's going be fitted with a collet chuck.

Mine fits on a myford spindle nose. Matches the miller and I have a 3 morse to myford adapter for my boxford.

Michael posted a link showing me how I can get it to face on my miller – a dore westbury. Silly me. It will be tight but I could mount the see saw on the quill using the ring that carries the quill travel stop. Fitting it to the lathe wont be so easy. For that the type with a ring that's moved to engage the feed would be easier. I think that the MEW one worked like that but my memory of the details is sketchy.

John

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[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John W1 on 23/09/2015 19:41:19

As it was a boring and facing head it looks like it must have been the one in 2001.

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John,

Yes, that looks like it … and he references Edgar T. Wesbury

M.E. Vol. 124

12/01/61 and 26/01/61

Castings were available from Southworth Engines, Chesterfield

Hope that's useful

MichaelG.

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 23/09/2015 20:32:18:

Posted by John W1 on 23/09/2015 19:41:19

As it was a boring and facing head it looks like it must have been the one in 2001.

.

John,

Yes, that looks like it … and he references Edgar T. Wesbury

M.E. Vol. 124

12/01/61 and 26/01/61

Castings were available from Southworth Engines, Chesterfield

Hope that's useful

MichaelG.

The MEW one I was thinking about was more like a common type of commercial boring and facing head.

The interesting thing about them really is the feed mechanisms. The boring head aspect might be described as well boring. It's just a slide. As long as it's strong enough and well fitted nothing else much matters but I do think it will help to keep the weight up as well.

John

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[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John W1 on 22/09/2015 18:53:17:

This is the ME one. …

[ But ]

The one in MEW had a collar round it that was simply grasped when facing was needed and could be locked up out of the way when not in use.

.

Sorry, John … I think I misunderstood your post, and took myself off on a wild goose chase.

In quoting you; I have taken the liberty of adding [ But ] … which might save others from making the same mistake.

MichaelG.

.

Edit:  Now that I have [hopefully] realised what you are looking for:

Try Don Unwin's article in Issue 6 of MEW

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 23/09/2015 22:43:22

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> The interesting thing about them really is the feed mechanisms. The boring head aspect might be described as well boring. It's just a slide. As long as it's strong enough and well fitted nothing else much matters but I do think it will help to keep the weight up as well.

Indeed, but that makes them excellent beginner's projects. The two challenges of making a well-fitting and smooth acting slide and producing a neat leadscrew arrangement are good practice for more ambitious projects later. It also gives them a genuinely usable tool without an excessive investment in materials or time.

Ideally the slide is as light as possible (to reduce out of balance forces) and the body reasonably hefty.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

John if the one you are thinking of had a straight knurled collar around the top like the comercial ones then it was in EIM

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Don Unwin's design has such a collar. It's fairly complex and the method of operation doesn't jump out at you. It's in teh archive.

Neil

[Anonymous]

Much simpler to just buy one and then you can use it straight away :

For the cognoscenti it's a Wohlhaupter UPA4 boring and facing head on an INT40 taper with 12 feedrates, auto feed knock off and auto return.

Cheque book engineering at its finest.

Andrew

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Just a budget one then Andrew, though you may have a D'andrea

[Anonymous]

You have to take what comes along on the secondhand market; beggars can't be choosers. Mind you it did cost more than the horizontal mill on which it is used.

Andrew

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I know a man with one for sale if you are feeling flush though only on a MT3

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

That'll be a UPA3 then which is more suitable for most model engineers. Strange that despite the cost Wohlhaupter make nice slots for the attachments but can't be bothered to make the wooden box actually support the head properly.

[Author]

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