Small Boring Head build

[cathead]

It's still below zero in the north country so needed a shop project to keep busy. A small boring head
seemed like a good project so decided to make one. I wanted something relatively small so decided
to make one with 1.5 inch cold roll material I had laying around. The first problem was that I didn't have
a small enough dovetail cutter so I had to make one out of a broken off HSS end mill. It was somewhat
of a crude cutter but it did get the job done. The second difficulty was that I wanted a threaded shaft
with 40 turns per inch. I threaded a 3/16 inch piece of steel to 40 TPI and ground on the end to form a
tap. After tapping a piece of brass for the nut, I threaded another 40TPI shaft to make the threaded rod.
I didn't have much to go by so had to cut and figure as the project proceeded. It seems to be quite
functional so expect I will have to bore some holes next and see. The photo is of the boring head
completed along with the home made dovetail cutter and home made tap. View media item 95957

 

[cathead]

View media item 95961Here's a better photo of the boring head and several cutters I made up to use with it. The cutter shafts were made
from H-13 steel, apparently some high grade tool steel. The only way I could cut it was with a carbide parting tool.
The surface is extremely hard and relatively easy to cut once past the skin. I had several small carbide scrap pieces
so used them for the business end. The carbides are silver soldered to the H-13 and ground on a diamond wheel.
Then a little hand dressing and they are ready for whatever comes along. I don't know if anyone is familiar with H-13
but it certainly is dimensionally stable and has a hard surface. View media item 95960

 

[RandyM]

Very nice! I can see where that will come in handy. Thank you for posting.