Boneham and Turner boring/facing head

[RLWP]

I'm wondering if anyone can help me with this. I have just won a delightful boring head on Ebay for my Aciera milling machine. It's a Boneham and Turner boring/facing head which came with a 4MT taper and a bunch of tools - good stuff. Trouble is, I know what it should do, but I can't work out how it works

This is an overall view:



There are two drive slots like this that seem to drive the outer sleeve around:



This is the bore/face selector:



and this is the zero mark and a view of the scale, plus some curious slots:



Finally, a view of the top:



Can anyone explain how I use this device? Is there something important missing? Help!!!

Richard

[Mr Ron]

I believe; to operate this head, you grip the large outer ring with your fingers while it's turning and this allows the boring bar to adjust for a larger diameter cut. I think that's how it works, but I will let Glenn explain it better.

[RLWP]

You can certainly hold one of the outer rings and turn the other one relative to it. There is a lot of drag in the assembly, so doing that while the head is revolving is a bit dicey (I tried it in the lathe to see)

Also, that would adjust the diameter of the cut - I think. So, if you were boring, it would be easier to stop the machine, measure, set the cut and then start the machine again.

Richard

[GlennW]

I believe that there may be some missing pieces, but I have never seen one of those before.

The reason I say that is because there is a transmission inside and I don't see any obvious way to control it. It would also need some sort of stops to control the amount of movement for facing.

I am familiar with Walhaupter boring facing heads and on them you have a knurled adjusting ring similar to yours that you used to set/adjust the diameter when boring. You just manually adjust it by rotating it, and each increment designates .001 on the diameter of the bore. Pretty simple...

When you use it for facing, the same knurled ring is used, but you plug a rod into it that is used as a torque arm. The arm is held by hand, or rests against a stationary object so it keeps the ring from rotating. When the spindle is rotating and the arm is stationary, the tool feeds out or in depending on whether a left or right hand boring bar is used. It all sounds very simple until you factor in the transmission, which on the Walhaupter reduces the feed rate relative to the knurled ring rotation speed. I believe it is a 10:1 reduction so a very nice finish is achieved when facing. Then there are the pre-set stops. One that disengages the facing feed at a set point, and then another that disengages the feed in the other direction, as it has a rapid reverse to take the cutter back to it's origin. All of this is done with two adjustable stops that you set, and two buttons that you depress in different combinations to control the feed and retraction of the tool/slide.

I did a quick Google search on yours and all I could find was a reference to it having a three speed transmission that controls the feed and retraction, so it would appear to operate similar manner to my Walhaupter. What I don't see in your pics is an obvious method of controlling those functions. What I am curious about is the two larger holes in the side of the head. One may be a receptacle for a torque arm, but I am wondering if there is a knob or lever that was once in the other hole that may have been broken off. I do see a slotted screw that may possibly be a feed stop adjustment.

Sorry I can't provide any specifics on that particular boring/facing head, but they all work pretty much the same, but it's a matter of how to make those functions happen...

[RLWP]

Hi Glenn



The top hole gives access to the tool clamping grub screw. The bottom one does the same, and in addition gives access to another grub screw that seems to adjust the dovetail slide

The slotted screw is an illusion - it's the edge of the slideway

Would it be possible for you to post some pictures of your Walhaupter?

Richard

[GlennW]

I imagine that yours has some sort of internal stops, whereas mine are external.
This shows two gib adjustment screws, the three set screws to retain the bar, and the wheel that locks the slide for boring.

This one shows the adjustable stops and one of the buttons to control the movement. The other button is vertical and just above the knurled ring.

I had to get out the Sunday Walhaupter with the preservative goop on it for the pics, as my favorite one that I regularly use it a bit rough looking...

[RLWP]

Cor! It's pretty exciting inside a boring head. Lots of wheels and rings and a hundred million ball-bearings:






Richard

[RLWP]

Hang on, I think I've got it. If I use the facing lock, hold the body and turn the locked rings, the slide moves!

But veeerry slowly. I hadn't realised just how finely geared this head is

Richard

Now, how to use it for boring....

[tetramachine]

I have a Rebublic model, on that model one turn of the ring is .004", it works with a cam effect, so that it is easy to count the rev's as you go, So 5 clicks is .020, very nice if making a bunch of facing cuts to the same diameter, as there is a stop the disengages the feed so each face is the same size. Handy to face the bottom of a bore, in fact just finished 6 bearing boxes, faced the bottoms so depth was same on all 6 pieces.

[dave treadwell]

Hello, I just picked one of these up. An INT30 fitting with a 12" facing cut max. There is a coarse (rapid feed) You should have two little knobs that push in to the two sockets on the side. You hold them in whilst holding the top ring stationary and rotate the lower ring. It feeds the head back in about 10 turns.

These heads are unusual because if the unit is rotating and you grad hold of top and bottom ring together nothing happens. Its the movement between the respective rings that shifts the tool holder.

There are no stops. You hold both rings and If you want to feed the tool holder in .010" you just rotate the lower ring 100 increments. (the Increments on mine a .0001" or 0.002mm on the metric head)

When your on the face setting you only hold the lower ring and it auto faces .003" a rev.

The one I bought has its original instructions with It. Never would have guessed otherwise.
***Oh an when using the rapid feed if there is any resistance turn the ring back in the opposite direction a little and then carry on. Otherwise they can jam up real tight. Even a bit of dust will do it. Fantastically over engineered piece of kit.

[Peter York]

Any information on stripping down this head. I believe that it has swarf inside or has suffered some damage as the rings for setting are very stiff and have tight spots. I have read that it has 3 feed rates to the facing head but no indications as to how to select. Overall a super piece of precision engineering

[Mr Ron]

Any information on stripping down this head. I believe that it has swarf inside or has suffered some damage as the rings for setting are very stiff and have tight spots. I have read that it has 3 feed rates to the facing head but no indications as to how to select. Overall a super piece of precision engineering

If it were mine, I would send it back to the factory for repair; that is if it is still in business. I wouldn't want to risk messing it up or lose any parts.