Portable Boring Head

[spro]

Wow! Nice work. I didn't understand that old tool holder. Now that you explained the rake issue, I see it was a "perfect storm" when the tool hit the port The new one appears to work beautifully. Great design, thanks.

[sicivicdude]

I'm sorry about the quality of the pics. They were taken quickly with my old LG cellurized telephone. Blow them up and they're not so clear.

They do get the point across though, the tool bit holder I was given had 7°-8° of rake putting a lot of upward pressure on the column. When the bit would hit an interrupted section it would fall down taking a large bite out of that sleeve. The new bit wouldn't fall down when it hit the transfer ports and continued to cut.

[spro]

Well I knew what you were saying and that is important. The pics were good enough to ask if you have a Sunnen or what type hone do you use?

[spro]

This isn't being nosey and a three legged could work well with control. The "cross hatch" surface was the best for seating the rings. So just wondering about that. You did the boring and it would be great IF the same set up could accomplish honing. I know it can't but it s absolutely centered now. Worth a discussion because the honing is the final ticket.

[sicivicdude]

I have two rigid hones for finish work. A Lisle 15000 for larger diameters and a Ammco 4950 for the smaller diameters. Both are "portable" models, I use them with a 1/2" drill. The cylinder's are bolted down to a work plate I stick in my bench vise. One of these days I may make a tank and frame for doing all wet honing.

Actually, I bought both hones and a bore gauge used on Ebay and so far, the Ammco hone has been the most profitable by purchase cost tool in my shop. I've used it many times for a .010" oversize just haven't been able to sleeve a cylinder until now.

I bought the boring bar a year and a half ago and never could use it because of broken parts (and a broken owner). I now have finally turned out a sleeve job using the machine, I'm over the moon!

[spro]

I enjoy your success. ! Fwiw, back in the days ..before I knew too much, we had a Volvo 444 with a B16 engine. One cylinder was totally screwed because the ring broke and scored the cylinder wall. This car had a lot of miles and we had no money. We took turns honing that one cylinder and putting in one oversize piston and rings. Otherwise the engine was okay (with thinking at that time). It was a relative low speed engine and ran very well for some years then sold.
The point is that we treated the operation like gold. While the honing was done, backyard, no cover, we covered the crankshaft and wiped the stones and cylinder regularly. Total wash after because even then, we knew what grit could do to an engine. POS but later pretty cool that it wasn't scrapped.

[Tom - AMS]

I own four 4 Kwik-Way boring bars (made by CEDAR RAPIDS ENGINEERING COMPANY) which are similar to your Storm. We use them daily to bore engine blocks, and other part. I think Goodson still offers tool bits and tool holders for the NS model. www.goodson.com › Short Block Rebuilding › Boring Bar Tools Also try calling Beam Equipment for a manual. www.beamequipment.com They often have other manuals not listed on their website.

[sicivicdude]

I've looked on Goodson and Beam's websites for info on the Storm's but found nothing. I haven't called anyone about it.

The Kwik-way bars look and operate under similar principles as the Storm. All of my gearing is internal (no belt drive swinging around out there). The really lacking part is mic depth control for doing o-ring grooves and such, this bar was designed for older plunge cut engines where depth control wasn't an issue. For my application it works as well, I'm taking the entire sleeve out of these cylinders to shrink fit in another sleeve.

[spro]

Fwiw, the history of portable cylinder boring machines is interesting. They originally worked by a long Tee bar operated by a guy standing or straddling the engine. They were complex in that there was planetary reduction to the boring head feed. Fastened well to the block, A head of 4 cutters would descend through the cylinder. Piloting the cutting or boring head were rings, sets of different size rings which were ground to receive the conical part of the boring head.

[spro]

Since I interrupted the vein of this topic, I will also mention that there were Two heads for the very early ones. The smaller one is usually missing. Somewhere at some time , a person removed the smaller head and associated rings from an entire set. Doing a job and it laid on a bench and perhaps was interesting -because it is. So they stole or bought that one head to use in a drill press or something. They didn't care or didn't know that the back of the bits were to mate and adjusted by a cone through the center.

[Cary Stewart]

Rail roads had large boring machines that could be attached to the locomotive cylinder after the heads and piston had been removed. This obviously was much easier than a complete dis assembly of the loco. Some small RRs did not have a large shop and this was a major help in their maintenance schedules.
Cary

[spro]

Someday on the net, there will be the UTC. Universal Tool Company cylinder boring bar. With the main unit and the large case of rings, it was heavier than more modern, powered bars. There was a time a tractor or older vehicle is stuck out in nowhere. Perhaps a ring broke or piston seized. Maybe the farmer or not, took the head off, disconnected the piston rod and pounded the piston out. Variations of this left a scored cylinder and it was beyond a honing. A machine as this, attached to the block would bore the cylinder oversize. Could be one or all, without electricity. I considered using mine on my Toyota truck but it isn't a 1928 Franklin. The guide rings of these are right huge and the guys who powered them were right strong.
I wondered about the larger rings, mostly unused ~6" and didn't think about the RR connection.