Automatic boring and facing head for the mill...

[tinman123]

perhaps a bit of a long shot but ill ask anyways,
i recently purchased a narex Vhu 36 auto boring head, ive been on the look out for a while now for something of some kind of value and last week i reckoned i had came across one that fitted the bill,secondhand mind as these little things are far from cheap new.

i have a few questions about it if anyone happened to have one or ever used one that could do with some answers.
i have a 14 day money back guarantee so id like to be sure what i have is in good working order.
so anyone happen to have used one or have one that i could compare notes?

 

[Pete.]

If no-one on here has an answer for you put your question on the practicalmachinist forum. read the rules first though they have strict posting guidelines.

 

[tinman123]

cheers Pete.
after i posted that i set about googling and after a while i actually found the instruction manual for it.
luckily enough as there isnt a whole pile of info on the narex out there even tho its a well established brand.
there is a clutch ring that has different graduations on it and once i read up on how it worked i knew then i hadnt bought a pup as that was all i was afraid of really.

practical machinist would be the place to ask alright but them be a smart bunch over there and as you say the forum rules are fairly stringent, i read them before.
i wouldnt really like to wade in as a new poster and just bleed them dry of info either, its not really my thing as id rather be about a place for a while before id start asking questions like that.

 

[scott0031]

All the ones i have used work on the same principle although some are a bit more advanced than others. As long slide moves in or out when you rotate the slip ring in principle it's working. There are actually plenty of simple explanations on you tube, just search boring and facing heads. Be warned though the way I'm seeing some of them being used on you tube is a slight dodgy where they hold the slip ring by hand, the dodgy bit is boring heads are a prime candidate to snag some clothing etc. Normally you use a rod or bar inserted into a hole in the slip ring so your hands are well clear of the head whilst maintaining a stationary slip ring. When you have finished the cut you simply pull out the rod and the slip ring then rotates with the head stopping the feed. Some of the rods are a screw in job and it that case all you do is let go of the rod and stop the machine. More advanced heads have a plunger in the rods you can disconnect the feed while the head is still rotating ie at the end of a cut. Some allow you to only cut in one direction others are bi-directional. Having a look at that narex head, it looks like a nice bit of kit with bi-direction. They are particularly good if you do a lot of bearing fits here you need a nice clean cut face for a bearing to sit on as apposed to a multi cut face which is typical of a standard boring head.

 

[tinman123]

Cheers scott.
i needed to cut a cir clip groove in a pto yoke a while ago and as multi tasking as the mill is you need the auto boring head to do it right, i did it with an ordinary boring head but it was slow and not the right way of doing it either, i stopped each time and moved the cutter out about .2mm a time til i got it cut, necessity is the mother of invention as they say.
since then (and before it i suppose ) ive always wanted one for the cabinet.
it wont be too busy here but when i need one again it will be worth its weight.

it has a plug hole for a bar but i bought this one as it is with no extras, ill learn in time if that was a wise move or not as i need to organize tooling for it at some point, i have a few 16mm tools here so ill see what the fit is like.
the slide on it was slightly stuck from lying up id say and its got a little bit of water damage to one of the dogs on it but other than that its in very good condition, its not a tool that would get much use in general id say.

all in all its pretty much what i wanted tbh and as of yet im quite happy with the purchase as they are over £2,000 new+v.
another tool for the arsenal i suppose.