Beginners' Guide to Boring Heads

[@kevinforth7618]

I was honestly braced for a barrage of "boring" jokes, but you exhibited incredible restraint! Thanks again Quinn, always enjoyable and educational.

[@KarlBunker]

I think she was leaving all those jokes for commenters to make. (So get to work!)

[@Hossimo]

Actually exciting, great start.

[@jerbear7952]

That is a sign of how formidable her sense of humor is. She is a truly dangerous animal. Heaven forbid she smirk at you in combat for your fate is sealed.

[@RonCovell]

Quinn - I love your mastery of adding 'nuance', after painting the 'big picture' of a multifunctional tool like the boring head. Very well done, indeed!

[@StefanGotteswinter]

I love boringheads. such a simple tool that can deliver a darn nice bore. Enjoyed a lot!

[@carlmclelland7624]

This is the first video of yours that I've seen, Quinn, and I was impressed! Very knowledgeable instructor, and I even saw a trick or two I'd never thought of, when I'm using my boring head. You've earned my subscription, and who ever said... "You can't teach an old dog a new trick." At 77, I'm still learning.... Now to see what other videos you have.

[@ronnyfurst5511]

Dear Quinn... you really have a big talent for packing a ton of usefull information into a good video. It's always nice to listen to you. Your ability to explain something is really unbeatable...

[@mannyfilmsinc]

"the frames of reference that are created by spinning the work.... your mind expands.." that sounded really profound!!! Great video as always!!! thank you

[@ChrisChandler-dj1wy]

Everything you said on the pros & cons of boring heads is spot on. One thing that helps on any boring head is to upgrade to an indexable carbide insert style boring bar, as there is no taper on the bar typically, strength is at a maximum. Power downfeed is truly a game changer for boring

[@tombier9170]

Thanks for the tips. If you are looking for a boring bar kit I'd suggest getting one with carbide insert bars, or getting a couple carbide insert bars if you already have a boring head. If you only get one - get a short one that's hefty enough to take a decent cut with minimal flex. A lot of bored holes aren't that deep and that 4" long boring bar in the kit can be kind of useless. Also, whether it's a new boring head or used - it's worthwhile to take it apart and clean out any old chips, check the set screws, and/or deburr any parts that need it. Regarding usage - I just snug the slide set screws so that the slide takes a little effort to move and I've learned to hand feed. Trust me, if I can, then anyone can learn to hand feed and get a good finish.

[@joeybobbie1]

Thanks Quinn, I really liked the out of the Box ideas.

[@brunca58]

Great explanation on boring bars. Thanks!

[@outlier4ever]

I used to work in tool & die and did pretty well. If you had been in our shop, I would have been demoted to the burr bench. Excellent job! 👍

[@bf-man]

I'm a simple man. I see a new Blondihacks video, I push like button

[@russellcraven251]

Great teacher!

[@johnapel2856]

I always appreciate the primer on techniques and tips on stuff. Yes, I used the snooty technical term "stuff". I'm just that kind of a guy. 🙄 Thanks, and Meow to Sprocket.

[@daveharriman2756]

That was amazingly helpful thankyou, I've just got a boring head for my mill, so quite timely. Also some great ideas I had not thought of, especially taper turning on the lathe using the head in the tailstock, thanks once again, cheers, Dave UK

[@markmonier-williams2508]

Nice presentation on the boring head. I made a ball turning jig for mine. I also made a holder to mount the boring head in my lathe chuck (so I could bore the inside of 5'x2" stainless pipe to a depth of 2 or 3 inches) My lathe is 13"x24" with a 1.5" spindle bore so I had to build a holder for the pipe so I could mount it in the tool holder and run it on to the boring bar - tail support by virtue of the steady rest.. Sort of a line boring tool but with limited depth.

[@midwestkustomz6350]

Many thanks from the Midwest Kustomz Channel! I learned something today! 👍👍

[@norm5785]

Excellent information. I use mine to size rings. Thank you for sharing. Everyone stay safe, happy and healthy. From Henrico County Virginia

[@RichardMiller-o4w]

For what it's worth. When I use a boring bar I use the two outer screws as gib adjustment and leave them set. Then use the center screw as a lock. This helps keep the adjustments consistent. Then use the center screw to lock it all in place. Another suggestion: it would be nice to be able to use a cordless drill to power the down feed. Maybe an adapter?

[@markbernier8434]

I was thinking a 3d printed crank that could slip over that knob and make the movement very easy and smooth.

[@JiiPeeHoo69]

Agreed. No need to touch the outer gib adjustment screws once they are set correctly. I usually don't touch the middle one either: just set all three screws so that the gibs are suitably snug and then just adjust away without touching the gib screws. I haven't had the boring head settings slip on me yet. Now if I had an absolutely critical dimension to achieve on an expensive part then I would most likely lock the gib for the two final cuts. I am also doing the initial cuts with the handle. If you are smooth with it it goes fine and is so much more convenient than using the fine feed. Just don't overdo the feed 🙂. Fine feed for the last couple of cuts.

[@nosuchuserid]

Edit: many comments point out the same thing about the threaded head. (honestly, didn't know it was threaded at all, so thanks for that part). You can easily upgrade your fine downfeed by replacing the knob with something that looks more like a lathe handle (it has a spinny handle on it that makes it easy to turn without having to coordinate two hands at the same time). My mill came that way and I've really liked that feature. Thanks for the video. You successfully illustrated many of the issues I ran into when I first started using them. Thanks.

[@johnmoorefilm]

Might open a pub for retired engineers… ”The Boring Bar”. Thank you …try the shrimp?

[@davidhardman6291]

Why don't you just move on if the video is not for you? I've been a machinist for 32 years and I still find her videos fun to watch.

[@mikkelwf1984]

@@davidhardman6291 you obviously don't get a joke.. ;)

[@seanalexander9531]

@@davidhardman6291 Woosh.

[@RandomEskimo42]

I've just found the name for the bar I'll put in my workshop.

[@glenellynrunner]

Best teacher ever

[@firebird8600]

Yay!! It's Blondihacks time!!!

[@davidwilliams1060]

More thanks than normal. I bought one of these with my mill years ago but with no clue. Forums generally say “if you don’t how to use it, you shouldn’t own it”. Based on what you said, it’ll still be relegated to just for fun, but that’s still a big step forward. Thanks again.

[@garrykeleher4901]

Thank you so much Quinn , that was so informative.

[@williambowen7007]

Outstanding teaching video as usual. Thanks you for taking the time to help us less learned hobbyist perfect our projects. When you are thinking about your next projects, how about some machinists puzzles.

[@HarderThanCalculus]

saw no video posted this week. Hope everything is ok. Love your content it helps me a lot!

[@mattomon1045]

Thanks Quinn

[@gyrogearloose1345]

Thanks for this Quinn. Have to say the biggest problem I had with my boring head was the incredibly poor quality of the boring bars included with the kit: random relief angles on the brazed carbide cutting tips. Luckily I have a diamond grinding wheel which made short work of re-grinding them!

[@larryschweitzer4904]

Thanks, Not a tool I use a lot but necessary. Most difficult set up I've done was a 9" deep bore in a tail stock casting that I had made. Not enough Z axis, too big for the lathe. Rotate mill head to horizontal & bore with X feed. A 10", .75" boring bar was like a wet noodle. Many very light passes. End result was good but took a lot of time. Very easy to make an indicator holder to sweep the full width of the table for tramming the head using the horizontal hole on the boring head.

[@KS-cp6bj]

New project. Quin builds a power downfeed.

[@seeigecannon]

Yep. I would have to crank that fine down-feed knob exactly once before figuring out how to rig a hand drill to that knob. Just this week I was lapping a taper and got tired of that real quick. I found that if I put double sided tape on the outside of a drill chuck it was able to bite in nicely to spin the part for me.

[@mokdumoknonsharrall1868]

Hi Quinn! Could you do a video on what different operations are SUPPOSED to sound like? For example, What should drilling aluminum sound like if done correctly? What should using a boring bar on mild steel sound like? What do certain types of sounds mean? Chatter/rigidity, dull tools, tool rubbing (not enough undercut), needs cutting fluid, etc. I'm also wondering when/how to stop a power-feed drilling/boring operation if it's not a through hole, and how much should be hand fed or cleaned up?

[@micmathers1]

I usually quill feed but use my finger tips to apply the pressure on the quill handles (slowly of course). I'm able to "feel" the cutter progress through the operation tactilely. I get pretty nice finishes with this method. Great video! Good info.

[@lemkil76]

Just finished the Blondihack Mill skills tutorial. Many thanks to you. You are a great teacher and I had lot's of laughs.

[@jazzyjazbtw]

Really liked this video & wait till you see CNC Sliding Head's it's where the bar moves in and out and your tools are fixed in the Z axis. It requires a new way of thinking to conventional lathes (work as a sliding head machinist)

[@stephencox4224]

What I have used boring heads for in the past is fitting stainless steel o rings to seal combustion chanbers in engines running either turbos or superchargers at high boost pressures. There is a nice tapered cutter available used in hand operated o ring groove cutting tools made for 4 inch bore V8's. I simply make a holder for this tool and then use a boring head to adjust to the diameter I need depending on the engine, But as an example a Top Fuel Drag engine from Keith Black my old boss used to run in a BAH (Blown Alchohol Hydroplane) that engine ran a static compression of 15-1 and from the PSI Blower 45 lbs of Boost with triple O rings two in the block and one in between them in the heads. The O rings are generally 41 thou stainless safety wire carefully trimmed so as to fit into a grove 35 thou deep and the ends carefully adjusted until they just but up against each other the reason for that being how much those engines grow when at operating temperature. A Keith Black Hemi can grow 3/8 inch from cold to hot vertically so the change related to temperature has to be calculated into the mix for machining and fitting the O rings

[@barxracerful]

Bought a cheap boring head years ago. Figured out why it was cheap. The threaded shank / head was threaded backwards- as soon as it contacted work pc it would unscrew and fall apart. Had the pcs tigged together. Works good now

[@9ijnht5rdx]

It was great when I found out about making a counter balance weight for one of the other holes opposite the cutter.

[@manythingslefttobuild]

Great video Quinn.

[@rexmyers991]

WOW - I learned a lot. Thanks

[@almacdonald2506]

Good stuff, as always Quinn. Several uses I hadn't thought of before! It might be worth mentioning before you start using the boring head that it is set up concentric with the existing hole in the work piece using a dial indicator, dial test indicator or coaxial centering dial. Cheers, al.

[@floodea]

Offsetting tailstock was a genius idea!

[@willemgoudsmits5805]

Nothing boring about boring heads 😂. Good explanation. Thank you.

[@aquilifergroup]

Thank you

[@merlinmagnus873]

One of the first add-ons I made for my small mill was a clamp on teardrop shaped crank handle for the fine down feed knob for this exact thing. Bonus points if it's made from clear ABS so you can still see your DRO screen. Such a quality of life improvement.

[@christianstark1055]

I have had luck using the 2 outer grubs just snug, and then the center grub to lock when boring. the outer ones creates mild friction on adjusting the DOC, and then the center grub locks it in. Better feel on the lead screw when adjusting.

[@GuyMarsdenMakesStuff]

Have you considered replacing the big ugly black knob on your fine feed on your mill with a crank handle like a cross feed for your lathe? I did that on my harbor freight mini mill and it makes long, slow, precision operations so much easier.

[@MichaelKJohnson]

I rarely use the fine downfeed with a boring bar. I find that using my forearm across the next quill feed handle to control it lets me get good surface finish on aluminum and steel while hand-feeding directly with the quill feed.

[@GeneralDesignInnovation-es4zz]

I do the same thing but was reluctant to admit, in case it was a no-no. Now I feel better!

[@WinkysWorkshop]

Good video, how do you stop the boring head from unscrewing when running in reverse. When I had an R8 mill I also had a boring head with a taper that was all one piece. My wells Index has a B&S #9 taper and I had to buy the taper/arbor and boring head separately. I'm guessing the only good option is to buy backward boring bars? I considered loctite but would rather be able to use the rather expensive arbor for other heads in the future.

[@Spartan-j7s]

KZbin is at it again. I didn't get your notification Saturday. Not sure if they had an update or what. I've been having problems with about 10 different channels. Some of them have been fixed but now your channel.

[@tomt9543]

Excellent!!

[@kurre_kallkvist]

A boring head made a lot of sense for me when I had to machine holes for axles in 3' long square stock. Machining a boring head from roundstock was both faster and cheaper than ordering a 1" reamer for the mill... Still took me a good two days to make those four holes 😂

[@bradwiebelhaus7065]

Good video.

[@austinlambert3994]

I would love a video series focusing on the part feature instead of the tool. This video was really close but it focused on the boring head compared to the lathe. I would love to see a video where you show what situations would force you to move from a lathe to a rotary table and then what features would force you from a rotary table to a boring head. More tool centric vs decision making process centric if that makes sense.

[@RustyInventions-wz6ir]

Very interesting. Nice work madam.

[@cooperken11]

Watching you hand turn the down feed made me think of a loose belt hung over the feed knob driven by a cordless drill. You could even upgrade it to a large driven pulley and a smaller driver in the cordless drill. If it works I’d love to see it in a video.

[@user-Carl-2964]

You mentioned using on mill as a ball maker, but you can also use it on a lathe for faster ball turning. Interesting instructions on boring heads, definitely not boring..

[@billmoran3812]

Not at all boring! Sorry. Had to. Seriously, excellent explanation of the pros and cons of a boring head. The key takeaway for me was that like most people I think in terms of fixed material/moving tool vs. the way lathe works. I’m beginning to see why you recommend buying a lathe first.

[@twistydogcreations683]

This Old Quinn. Tony will be proud.

[@firbolg]

Thanks, Quinn! I have a love-hate relationship with boring heads. Back when I was a working student, I used them a lot when I worked at a thermoplastic injection mould factory to bore pillar holes and ejection pin holes and they were old and a bit loose so getting within the required tolerance of 0,02mm (0.79 thou) was a bit of a lottery. Unfortunately, the plates and moulds I worked with did not fit our lathes and weight a lot (biggest mould I had in my relatively small Maho CNC was about 1.5t but we had a heavier moulds). But watching your upload has clearly elucidated some misconceptions on my part and move that needle towards loving them for what they're good at. :)

[@chazmodius1024]

have you mounted a part to the cross slide of a lathe and used the boring head in the spindel?

[@EdwardLoftis]

I have 2 of them a 30mm and a 1.5 inch both with straight shanks.

[@Ryan_Smyth]

So, what I'm wondering now is whether or not you can get a small chuck for the workpiece, have that spinning in the mill, and then have the boring bar held stationary on the table with a vise? Yeah, probably a dumb idea, but it turns the mill into a lathe kinda sorta maybe.

[@carlgateman6839]

A nice little 10 to 1 worm gearbox with a handwheel crank on your microfeed would make the world of difference to the quill feed. the 10 to 1 would help get a nice even feedrate by hand.

[@donsundberg5730]

Nice video. Lots of information including the LH/RH for od "boring". I am glad I did spring for a knee mill vs a benchtop. Boring is one of the instances that I engage the powerfeed.

[@partyalldaypartyallnight1057]

Unreasonable thought: Would it be a BAD idea to make a lower head half that can facilitate a square lathe turning tool? For say.....fly cutting? Or too much work to "reinvent the wheel?" I hope you do a pt 2

[@gwynn1104]

Really appreciate the beginner tips & tricks videos. 👍

[@andyfreeman660]

Impressed with Quins grasp of other language's 😂

[@barrygerbracht5077]

If you have a thread on shank, you'd better make sure to loctite it onto the boring head if you want to run it in reverse. Unthreading the head as you are boring could lead to a serious tool breaking crash.

[@drunkenbogan]

To be fair, with the ultra light cuts you make with these damned things, youd have to have the worst luck to back one out.

[@drunkenbogan]

God i wish i could mount tractor axle housings in the lathe for rebuilding kingpin bearing surfaces. Unfortunately, id need a lathe with at least a meter of bed clearance lol. Those boring heads are a pain in the ass, but needs must. Wonder if the make fly-cutter style boring heads? Itd only do bores over a certain size, but just being able to take a decent cut would make it all worth it

[@nunyaf-nbizness]

C'mon Quinn! The feed issue is just another project to show us how to make a clamp on ring with a rotating handle (think carriage feed)😊

[@antontaylor4530]

I haven't watched this yet but I already know it's going to be good. Also I wanted to say that I have a boring head... But that's nothing to do with milling.

[@Rustinox]

Using a boring head has something spectacular, a bit magic. It's just that I don't use mine very often.

[@DrewLSsix]

I would argue that given the relative expense and hassle of getting a proper mill, many hobby level machinists might be better off buying a larger lathe instead of a small lathe and a small mill. My 14" swing antique i got for $500 takes up about the same floorspace as a 7x16 lathe and one of those small tilt column mills, while being a lot more massive than both. I can swing quite a large think off center on my faceplate, and theres even the much maligned milling attachment, though many of the examples i see people using those for can quite easily be done in the chuxk or plate anyway. But specific to this topic, boring is a low load operation naturally, so the issue of the attachment being les sthan rigid is a non issue, its just the ever present puzzle of fixturing. There are also many examples of home made milling machines with proper capabilities built off of and by a decently sized lathe.

[@gravydog51]

Next project: larger hand crank to replace the downfeed knob. Easier and more control of feed rate? Also, on my boring head the outer gib screws are set to a little preload and the center screw is for locking the setting. Are you sure that wouldn't work for you?

[@lexdmitriew1452]

Hello.Where do you buy wheels for a steam locomotive?

[@davidqualls6061]

How do you use the boring bars in the end hole and run the mill/boring head backwards? Mine is threaded and would unscrew from the shank.

[@daanwilmer]

I was tempted to make machining jokes, but I better put an end stop to that because repeatability is not great and I'm sure those jokes are well outside your tolerance.

[@OGTtom]

Great information , thank you Quinn

[@paullehmor982]

If you also need to face the bottom surface of a hole, or a shoulder, there are more fancy boring heads with automatic radius feed.

[@militaryvehiclemarkings4696]

That was a Boring video 🤪 It answered most of my questions on this Boring subject 😂 Thanks a lot.

[@r1mein54]

I should have watch this before I did a SWAG method of trying the boring bar on my used Enco RF30. Great instruction Teacher Quinn.

[@vdubs4life1964]

I liked the tailstock offset idea.. Just be careful using boring heads in reverse because they will unscrew from the mandrel.

[@justthink3375]

I will have to say this video was boring😂😂😂 and I loved it

[@azlandpilotcar4450]

These ae good for refurbishing engine cylinders. Potential next project/mill mod: suicide knob adjustment speed wheel for quill depth!

[@trevorwinter5071]

Treat yourself to a good vertical slide for some but not all bores

[@peterandhelendean938]

Hi there - I cant find the answer to this anywhere but I would like to know how big must the hole be before I can use a boring head. Is it as simple as - if it fits in the hole it will work? I cant help thinking there must be some rule of thumb like your boring bar must have a certain clearance to ensure the back edge of the cutting surface does not rub on the part. Anyone with info on this? Cheers

[@philthorkildsen6714]

Re: fine downfeed wheel on your mill, take a look at a Bridgeport fine downfeed wheel, I'm sure you could easily make something similar for your machine.

[@BarryLitherland]

excellent tutorial

[@ElmerJFudd-oi9kj]

"A pain in the pathooy", now there is an exampple of the humor most machinists channels unfortunally lack. Exept some Aussie ones.

[@billmacfarlane4083]

How do you center the boring bar over an existing hole?

[@qwertyu19951]

Depending on what you have at your disposal, the easiest way is to use a dovel pin the same size as your existing hole. If you have yet to set the diameter of the boring bar, I usually set the diameter a bit smaller than the existing hole and skim the surface on four points, and zero out in between. Using an indicator is the most reliable, non intrusive way to locate though.

[@markbernier8434]

I guess I've seen too much big shop work. I don't remember seeing a cutter inserted in the bottom of the head before and it had never occurred to me that small mills don't have power downfeed.

[@cyrex686]

Thanks for the boring video 😂 My two tips: Don't use the boring head dial. Just use a test indicator. So much easier and more accurate. Solid HSS bars are so much nicer than the brazed carbide that come with them. Also, so much more expensive.

[@MrSeeuu]

Wow… killer video!

[@seanalexander9531]

All hail the algorithm 😁

[@Infinitesap]

What happened? It seems you didnt upload a movie this week? Hope you are ok

[@stevespra1]

I see a new fine feed handle with a spin handle in your future.

[@Mazakuz]

wouldn't those threaded holes in the fine feed wheel be for an extension rod for increased torque as well as for a possible comfortable handle?

[@Gin-toki]

Do boring heads hang out at the boring bar?

[@house89147]

Thanks for doing this video, it's one tool I still don't have for my mill.

[@seandelaloe7063]

"That's not a boring head! THIS is a boring head!" - Kurtis @ CEE probably 😂