That is a very cool tool - I was thrilled to finally get a boring facing head a while back but your machine there has much more capability to it. Thanks for showing us how it works!
Pretty neat tool that I've never seen before. Sort of an articulating boring head. I saw another device years ago from a German manufacturer that does the same thing so this is not the only one. Mounts on the Bridgeport very similar to a right angle head which also takes up a lot of spindle room. Thanks for demonstrating.
Very cool attachment. It makes it like a boring and facing head for a big boring mill with operator control on the fly. I would like to see how it finishes a bore. Generally you run a boring bar with it locked tight, it would need pretty tight gibs to not be prone to chatter I would think.
That is one that I have not run across in fifty years. One of the reasons that your mill is taking a light cut on the back side is likely due to the increased distance from the head swivel point. You are also introducing quite a lot of “joints” that all tend to breath and compress on the front side of the cut, and then clean up most of it on the back side. Tree used to make a boring head that could be set to bore an angled hole. There are some attachments from years past, that were replaced by two axis circular and three axis helical interpolation. Some of these have come into the price range where they could find a home in a garage shop. There was a rotary cross slide milling attachment that will fit a J head or clone.
Thanks for sharing, very cool attachment, one of those bits of kit that your imagination is the only thing that stop's you. So it'll Let you back face a job to, just like on a horizontal Bora. Very Smart .👍
The only thing this does that a wohlhaupter boring head doesn't, is allow you to back it out of the snap ring groove on the fly. With my UPA4 head I can set different feed rates for the facing speed. If you combine the z axis feed and vary the radial feed you can cut tapers. I think setting the diameters for a taper would get interesting, but so is trying to measure them in the first place. Cool tool though. The hand feed on the boremate is a bit less sketchy than grabbing the feed ring on the spinning boring head. How big a diameter is the boremate rated for?
Hi Barry, No paperwork came with the unit, so I would just be guessing at the diameter rating, I found this while on the prowl for a Wohlhaupter, still looking :)
@@ShadonHKW I bought mine off Ebay a few weeks ago. Came with a 50 taper shank and I need a 40. Wohlhaupter wanted $1250cdn for it, so I declined and now will have to make my own. I thought $450 US for it was pretty decent (bare head, no tools) since they are about $6000 new.
@@ShadonHKWAn interesting head and not one I'd known about before. I've got a Narex B&F head and if the Wohlhaupters are better made it sure couldn't be by much. There an extremely nice head and have one of the best head to shank mounting systems I've seen so far. There however pretty proud of those shanks and a new R8 is about $475 at today's price at MSC so I'd try for one that already comes with an R8 shank. Narex also make multiple models of there B&F heads, but anything larger than the VHU 36 is probably too large for any R8 sized mill. Some Wohlhapters have integral shanks that can't be changed so that's also something to be aware of before buying a used one. How true it is I'm not sure, but apparently a shank with a red paint dot in a ball milled recess seems to indicate a removable shank on the Wolhaupter's. Stefan Gotteswinter is probably one guy who can verify that information. To try and spend even more of your money Stan there's also the Tree head that's got some unique features and ability's. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_p-j1vfM0bQ.html if you don't already know of it.
Cool Stan! Could you lower the quill and let that bad boy rest on top of your vice while loosening the final locking screw so you don't have to catch all that weight? I'm a wimpy little guy and I just know I'd drop it onto the vice with my hand under it otherwise.
Great piece of kit. W. have a D'Andrea one that is similar but it has auto feed for facing. Very very rarely used attachment but it paid for itself on one job.
Interesting piece of equipment there Stan! Maybe an an additional spring could be fitted to the unit and hooked to the mill head to help keep the spindle from dropping when unlocked. Just something to offset the extra weight.
Thanks for displaying the tool. My Swiss boring heads are shorter, lighter and very accurate (.0001). I love the concept and the uniqueness of the tool. “Adults having fun so kids will want to grow up”
The dovetail makes it a last choice for actual flycutting. Boring and FACING aspect is more reasonable. Compared to chucking up a odd shape pump in a 4-jaw, these are a terrific option. As mentioned, the ID or OD aspect of O-rings, snap ring grooves, and recesses is a plus. Head tram is not always culprit of back cut in flycutting; people discount fact one essentially is a climb, the other a conventional toolmark, and dependent on tool form at the tip.
Definitely Unique. Being able to adjust the cutting width on the fly is part of the uniqueness. My favorite Specialty tool is the Taper Boring Head. Cut a taper on the O.D. of a shaft or I.D. of a hole, Face and Bore with it.
@@dasworkshop4967 More like the Tree Boring Head Robin R has. A Wohhaupter will do tapers especially the bigger ones. But setting them up to do is is an exercise in frustrating
Neat accessory. But it needs an "extended" length drawbar (hex portion is 8-1/2" long) available from the usual sources. Same goes for the right angle attachments for Bridgeport mills and clones because the quill has to be extended to install them. It leaves enough hex sticking out the top of the head to get at it with the quill lowered. I'm pretty sure Mr. Pete has a video showing one installing a right angle attachment.
Beautiful tool. Id love to have one even though i would never use it. So impractical. Just like the boring and facing head that I hade for many years and really never used it. When You have cnc mills, There are so many faster ways to do things
Regular socket on an extension will get to the standard BP drawbar. I have the BP right angle head and dovetail support, but this guy would be sweet. Needed it the other day for a groove in a bore, as no way to feed the cutter in on a standard boring head... Guess I could set it up on the Tormach like a thread mill, but used the 4-jaw on the lathe and fed in a grooving tool.
Very nice tool..If the conversational is being used and no CNC is available this would be very useful to have..drawbar issue just use the right angle head drawbar it has a longer length..the machine's I run all have kurt power drawbars so this would require dismantle of those..but they do for my right angle head too...
very interesting gadget. looks like a real pain to set up. i could see very limited applications. i have owned a emco self feeding boring head that can do what this thing can albiet on a much smaller scale. i think i have used the cross feed features two or three times in the last 20yrs. but its easy to use and doubles as a conventional boring head.looking forward to a video showing a practical application for this beast.
My thoughts exactly. This thing looks massive, even compared to a similar design D'Andrea TA120, while the Narex style universal facing heads (also made by Wohlhaupter and anothet Japanese company iirc) only have a stopper rod protruding for using the autofeed function, but when that's not in use, they fit inside a bore along with their shank/arbor/extension/spindle nose, like a normal boring head
Nice piece of kit. Worth it? I expect that depends on the shop, size of the shop and work scope. The following is my opinion (yah I know the old line about opinions) backed by 30+ years in an industrial Tool Room environment. This is another example of somebody (the Bore Mates designer, builder and seller) trying to extend the capacity of a Bidgeport*. Similar to the Horizontal Milling Attachment it sucks up alot of room. The Volstra Rotary Head Attachment is another similar attachment. All three of these units definitely need a riser block on the column to exploit their full usefulness. Where these units really come into their own IMO would be in the machine shop that might be on a ship. For the average shop owner I just don't see them paying off in terms of set-up time, frequency of use etc. Take the Bore Mate. A Bridgeport only has so much grunt. It is only so massive. The head tram side to side can get knocked out of tram fairly easily with cutters more in the scope of a Bridgeport's normal range. Never mind fly cutters. I hate fly cutters with a passion. They tempt the foolish to do things like taking too deep and to large a diameter cut. Plus they are hard on the bearings and drive components of the machine. A Horizontal Attachment. If a commercial shop is getting enough horizontal work used horizontal mills seem to be pretty cheap these days. If you are doing a lot of work boring larger holes. The prices on used Moores, Pratt & Whitney and Fosdick jig bores are pretty low. Rotary Head work? CNC killed that decades ago Now for the guy with a shop at home for a hobby. They'll sit and collect dust a lot more than get used. *A Bridgeport Series 1 is a light duty mill. It is not a Jack of all Trades. I sometimes think of them as the World's most versatile drill press. Maybe that's unkind. But I have seen too many instances where someone either by need** or carelessness in either thought or action pushed them beyond their limit. When it comes to standard type milling machines the Europeans got the better deal with the Deckel types. ** I've had a few "need" situations over the years myself. Ever use a Horizontal Mill as a Horizontal Boring Bar? Been there, got the tee shirt. Been forced to do work in a lathe better done on a Jig Bore or Jig Mill.
I have a Bore Mate, used it once, but I have many tools that are in the tool crib that have either been used once or waiting the need....on a variable speed head with a power drawbar, you would have to remove the power drawbar to engage the unit?? I have a pulley head with a power drawbar, but I built my drawbar mount so that I have access to tighten the bar with a wrench....
There are a couple of other manufacturers that make on the fly adjustable boring attachments. At least one that I know of, though I forget the name right now, that has an automatic feed to increase, or decrease the bore diameter as well as feed rates. You can actually bore an internal taper, and even an external taper, automatically. It disengages to your set points. How much does it cost? You’re kidding, right? All of these things came out before CNC.
Wohlhaupter Boring and Facing Heads are the cats backside. There are a couple of copies as good. It's like Criterion Boring Heads and all the copies. The Tenths Set Criterions are especially nice
You kids and your newfangled modern machines lol, meanwhile im using a 1898 kemp-smith line shaft mill that has been converted to electric. i can only dream about making a flat surface cut as smooth as that.😜
Stan, my wife says I'm the "BoreMate". A really interesting, significant piece of add-on tooling/machinery. Thanks for covering this so well; I'd be interested in your thoughts 90 days from now on it!
There have been lathes built with vertical slides for the lathe headstock. Made to allow a lathe to stand in for a Horizontal Boring Bar. The problem is a lathe's carriage assembly really isn't suited to it as a normal use. It an be done. But the scope is limited.
you can do all that and more with a Wohlhaupter boring head, and it's no larger than a Normal Criterion head and , no heavy weight hanging off the quill, no loss of draw bar, no loss of workspace and need for a Riser.......
I imagine that it is a similar mechanism to the facing slide on a horizontal borer. There is a drawing here of one of those: www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/hbm-facing-chuck-how-does-work-372442-post3472260/#post3472260 Basically a differential is set up so that the twice-speed output with one side locked is compensated by some more gearing, so the net effect is that the to coaxial shafts rotate at the same speed. Any rotation of the stationary bevel becomes a phase-change between the shafts that feeds the slide. I achieved much the same effect by converting a Wohlhaupter boring head to CNC. (using a part sandwiched between the head and the removable shank) photos.app.goo.gl/scdC1MUuiA2XrAK38
Stan, is it possible you did not have the borehead perfectly parallel to your indicator? Any discrepancy in that alignment would make the reading smaller than on axis. I would be fascinated to know how the handcrank connects to the moving slide, I would expect a lead screw in there just for the good resistance a screw has to cutting forces. If there is a lead screw I really wouldn't expect the 0.5% under discrepancy in the motion.
i can't really see the advantage of this over a wohlhaupter. it not being dead nuts on the dial really makes it useless to me. i don't want to play guessing games with a tool. though i highly doubt it's supposed to be like that. i wonder if the backcut on both sides is from it dragging the head down
Nice boring and facing head. Waste of time using it as a flycutter unless you art doing an elongated slot. I use a a beautiful french made boring/facing head that surprisingly Enco used to sell. Best part is that it doesn't use up quill travel like the bore mate does. At the right price, I would grab it. I would still love to get my paws on a Bridgeport cherrying head. Have fun with your new toy.
In theory, yes - you could rotate the mill head, but it wouldn't be very practical because the head itself would be in the way for many operations, your part would have to sit fairly high above the table, and it would be really awkward with your quill feed now being 90° from your knee feed, and your long, X-axis movement only controlling depth of cut along with the quill.
Is this thing made in China???? They make inch scales on metric spindels. 5 turns of 5mm is 25mm en not 25,4 (what is one inch) ???? So every turn is missing almost a tenht'.
D' Andrea T-series boring heads are a much better version of this. No longer made due to low market demand, but still supported by D' Andrea. They work like this, lower profile, power feed down and across with adjustable trip stops on the T120 version: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wJJqNRuGcfc.html
