# Boring Bar Holder from scratch ...



## wquiles (Aug 31, 2008)

I recently got some solid carbide boring bars, and the smallest one (3/16") lacks a good way to be held securely - in fact I was getting a little bit of chatter due to lack of a solid hold. So I decided to make one ...

I still need to buy shorter screws, but I turned a block like on the left, to the holder in the right:







I of curse started on the mill (new Al holder in the back):






And used a variety of bits to get the right shape (including 60deg dovetail cutter):











Once I got the holder to "fit":











then I proceeded to drill the 3/16" hole. Unfortunately, my new large chuck does not hold bits that small, so I used my ER40 holder to hold the 3/16" drill bit. Note that I would never attempt this at speed - this was done very slowly for obvious reasons!!!!!!:





















I test fitted the 3/16" holder - great fit!:











I still need to buy smaller/shorter screws at the hardware store, and figure out a depth stop, but I am basically done:




































Will


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## PhotonFanatic (Aug 31, 2008)

Will,

Think you got enough set screws in that tool holder? :devil:

Grind a flat on your boring bar and it will be nicely aligned with your workpiece. I'm just trying to find some more work for you, since you seem to be a sluggard.


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## Mirage_Man (Aug 31, 2008)

Bravo Will! It's pretty cool that we can make things that we need isn't it?

I tired to find it but J&L's site is down right now. But there's a 5C collet holder for the quick change tool holders. It allows the use of 5C collets of any size. I would think it would work really well for boring bars and such.


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## gadget_lover (Aug 31, 2008)

Nice work Will. That's one of the things I wll be doing this weeked; making QC holders for the rest of my boring bars, tool holders and threading tools. 

I envision a 1 and a half foot long bar with a dovetail cut the full length, then sliced down to 10 - 15 tool holders.  

Daniel


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## Torque1st (Aug 31, 2008)

Good work, have fun!

The depth stop does not have to be anything real fancy. Cut off that depth stop, slot it, and thread on a locknut. Get those shorter setscrews and you are done.


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## wquiles (Aug 31, 2008)

Thank you guys 

I will work on those suggestions, hopefully this coming week


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## Torque1st (Aug 31, 2008)

Reaming the hole for a boring bar will make for tighter fits if necessary. Drill bits tend to make a hole that is oversize. 

If the boring bar hole is spaced out a little it can be bored oversize at a later date to fit a larger bar if the original hole gets wallowed out.

The hole for the bar can also be slotted and bolts used to clamp it down to hold the bar. This makes it possible to change the tool rake angle and the screws do not mar the boring bar (not usually a problem with carbide bars).

Drill chuck holders like the link below can be made to mount a drill bit in a lathe chuck:
http://www.sherline.com/3074pg.htm

-Many possibilities for tooling! :thumbsup:


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## jhanko (Aug 31, 2008)

Nice work Will. :thumbsup: I really need to get about 5 more toolholders. It's a pain constantly switching tools and readjusting for center. Must be nice to have a mill. :sigh:

Jeff


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## Mirage_Man (Sep 1, 2008)

The MSC website came back up. Here's the holder I was talking about. I plan to get one eventually.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=3226890&PMT4NO=48708965


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## gadget_lover (Sep 1, 2008)

JHanko said:


> Nice work Will. :thumbsup: I really need to get about 5 more toolholders. It's a pain constantly switching tools and readjusting for center. Must be nice to have a mill. :sigh:
> 
> Jeff



I know it's a pain, but you can do some milling on the lathe. Just about every aspect of making the toolholder can be done by facing a block in a 4 jaw chuck. The last step of cutting the dovetails can be done by clamping the piece to the toolpost and putting a dovetail cutter in the chuck. Think of it as a sideways mill with only a Z and X axis.

But it's easier to just buy the toolholders.

Daniel


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## SafetyBob (Sep 1, 2008)

Daniel, I know it may be easier to buy the toolholders (and I have done so numerous times), however, isn't the whole idea of having a mill/lathe in the first place to make crap since we are all cheap and want to make everything ourselves? 

Bob E.


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## PEU (Sep 2, 2008)

wquiles said:


>



When I saw this picture I tought: OUCH he broke the drill, but then I quickly realized it was a finished hole view 

Good Work!


Pablo


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## wquiles (Sep 2, 2008)

I got the shorter screws and I found a way to set the depth adjustment (still not "elegant" as the OEM holders, but it works really well):






















I am getting ready to do the next one for the 1/4" solid carbide boring bar. Note the current "less than ideal" holder being used:












Here I got the block cleaned up, and ready to start:


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## gadget_lover (Sep 3, 2008)

Great looking work.

Is the finish on those blocks as they come from the mill, or are they cleaned up on a lapping plate?


I'm talking about the finish in this picture:







It's really easy to make a knurled stop nut. The way I did mine: Turn a 3/4 inch rod, 
knurl it,
drill it,
tap it to match your screw,
and then mark it every 3/8 inches with a 60 degree tool, leaving a v groove a bit wider than your parting tool,
put a 30 degree taper on the end with the same tool,
finish by parting off 1/4 inch sections, cutting at the middle of the 60degree cuts.

You end up with 3 stop nuts out of every inch of rod, depending on the thickness of your parting tool.

But you already knew that, right?

Daniel


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## Mirage_Man (Sep 3, 2008)

wquiles said:


> I am getting ready to do the next one for the 1/4" solid carbide boring bar. Note the current "less than ideal" holder being used:



I'm not quite sure why you think this holder is _not_ OK? I can't tell form the pictures but does it not have the v-groove in the bottom for the round bar to seat? Doesn't the bar itself have a flat on it for the screws to position it on the right angle?


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## precisionworks (Sep 3, 2008)

Nice work (as always) Will

For my tiny boring bars, an Erickson Tenthset head is used as a "holder". The Tenthset has a 3/4" shank, and my standard QC block has a 3/4" bore, so it works really well. Bring the bore within a couple of thousandths using the cross slide, finish up using the tenths dial on the boring head.











The bar above is 1.75", mounted on my 10" South Bend. When this was made, there was no large, square stock in my shop - so four slabs of 3/4" flat bar were welded together:shakehead Pretty fugly, but quick to build and stout as a brick house.


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## wquiles (Sep 3, 2008)

gadget_lover said:


> Great looking work.
> Is the finish on those blocks as they come from the mill, or are they cleaned up on a lapping plate?


Straight out of the mill. Specifically I am using this 3" head - making one single pass. Maybe it just looks shinny depending on how the light hits it. I kind of like, since I like seeing the light milling marks - looks more "hand-made"  










gadget_lover said:


> It's really easy to make a knurled stop nut. The way I did mine: Turn a 3/4 inch rod,
> knurl it,
> drill it,
> tap it to match your screw,
> ...


Thanks Daniel. Your explanation is perfect, and I will definitely give it a shot - hopefully this weekend


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## wquiles (Sep 3, 2008)

Mirage_Man said:


> I'm not quite sure why you think this holder is _not_ OK? I can't tell form the pictures but does it not have the v-groove in the bottom for the round bar to seat? Doesn't the bar itself have a flat on it for the screws to position it on the right angle?



The holders that I am using do have the v-groove, and my 1/4" solid carbide bar does have the flat for the screws, but, I want even more clamping surface and more screws so that I could extend the boring bar farther out for those "deep" boring/cutting jobs. Plus it is a good excuse to make another custom boring holder


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## Torque1st (Sep 5, 2008)

If you really want a solid boring bar holder use the split bore and clamp method, like an Aloris #4D. They are extremely easy to make, very rigid, and can be bored to use split bushings to hold more than one size of bar.

Picture:
http://www.industrialboys.com/columnar.aspx?category_site=STARTOOL&cat_id=3102&prod_id=20812


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## wquiles (Sep 5, 2008)

precisionworks said:


> Pretty fugly, but quick to build and stout as a brick house.


It surely looks very strong and stiff - nothing wrong with that


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## wquiles (Sep 5, 2008)

Torque1st said:


> If you really want a solid boring bar holder use the split bore and clamp method, like an Aloris #4D. They are extremely easy to make, very rigid, and can be bored to use split bushings to hold more than one size of bar.
> 
> Picture:
> http://www.industrialboys.com/columnar.aspx?category_site=STARTOOL&cat_id=3102&prod_id=20812



My Quick Tool Post kit came with one of those holders, but of course only works for a 3/4" or so bar. What about additional bushings - who makes these?


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## gadget_lover (Sep 5, 2008)

wquiles said:


> My Quick Tool Post kit came with one of those holders, but of course only works for a 3/4" or so bar. What about additional bushings - who makes these?





Ummm. You?


Could not resist. 

Daniel


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## wquiles (Sep 5, 2008)

gadget_lover said:


> Ummm. You?
> 
> 
> Could not resist.
> ...



I am not following you here .... I have never done my own bushings before - how do I make the bushings?


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## gadget_lover (Sep 5, 2008)

A bushing is, in effect, a collar that is a tight fit to another piece. It's a hollow rod.

Ideally, you will turn a rod to a close fit for the 3/4 inch hole. 

Then you will drill and bore the center of that rod to a close fit for the boring bar.

Then you part it off at an appropriate length. 

Last, you will make a slit on one side to allow it to compress when the holder squeezes it.

Instant bushing.

Daniel


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## Anglepoise (Sep 6, 2008)




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## Torque1st (Sep 6, 2008)

wquiles said:


> My Quick Tool Post kit came with one of those holders, but of course only works for a 3/4" or so bar. What about additional bushings - who makes these?


Many tool companies carry split bushings. You can also make your own. Bore the inside and turn the outside of a piece of stock then split the length with a hacksaw. Just align the split when you clamp down. Thick bushings may have to be relieved with the hacksaw on the thick side.


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## wquiles (Sep 9, 2008)

Thank you Daniel, David, and Torque1st :thumbsup:


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## gadget_lover (Sep 14, 2008)

Well, it's my turn to make some boring bar holders from scratch. I was thinking of what way would work the best. Now that I have a bad saw that cuts straight, I'm thinking I could go with the pillsbury cookie dough method. That's where you cut slices of cookie off a long roll and bake them.

Here's what I'm thinking. I'll put a 1 foot section of 6061 on the mill. I'll run a suitable end mill (3/4 inch) down the length of the bar, then come back with an dovetail cutter to create the sides of the dovetails. Then I'd slice off 1 inch pieces to use as needed.

As you can see in the pictures, the bar is close to the size I will need anyway. The two holders on top are just to show where the dovetails will be cut.






Is it better to cut the slices of bar to size before I do the milling?

Daniel


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## Torque1st (Sep 14, 2008)

Mill the bar and then saw to size.

One small piece of advice tho. Aluminum is easy to machine and is great for occasional use but steel makes much better tooling.


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## gadget_lover (Sep 14, 2008)

I hate the way the digital cameras show every piece of swarf, dirt and dust.

Blech.

Daniel


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## gadget_lover (Sep 14, 2008)

For a small lathe (7x12) , would I get enough benefit from using steel? The tool post is aluminum, as are the rest of my QC tool holders.

Dan.


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## Torque1st (Sep 14, 2008)

Steel cuts vibration problems. If you have any vibration problems while turning look to that aluminum tooling. Aluminum is probably OK for really light cuts. I tend to take heavy cuts tho.

I have used a few aluminum tooling pieces but they never gave satisfactory results so I always replaced them with steel or carbide.

You wouldn't make a boring bar from aluminum. There is a reason we pay the $$ for carbide.


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## gadget_lover (Sep 14, 2008)

That's an interesting thought. Now that I have the equipment for making larger pieces, I might recreate my tool post in steel.


Hmmm. Projects!



Daniel


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## wquiles (Sep 14, 2008)

gadget_lover said:


> Hmmm. Projects!



The problem I have (maybe you as well), is not lack of projects - but lack of time!!! :devil:

Will


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