Taig Boring Head

[ShagDog]

Anyone have experience with the Taig boring head for the mill? I need a boring head for my Taig mill that has ER16 collet; so, I need a boring head with a 3/8" shank for my largest collet. Suggestions are welcome.

I think the Taig boring head would work just fine for me; except, it has no dial to measure movement. I don't know how accurate dials are anyway, so is a dial necessary? How does one go about accurately measuring the diameter that will be produced by a boring bar, anyway?

 

[mikey]

Instead of an uncalibrated Taig head, I would buy a Criterion S 1-1/2 head and put a 3/8" straight shank adapter on it to fit your mill. This head adjusts in 0.001" increments. Basically, you drill a starter hole and set the head to just touch off on the ID. Then make a light pass, making sure the boring bar takes a cut all the way around, then measure the ID. Then use the calibrated leadscrew to advance the boring bar out in increments to cut the bore to the desired size.

 

[ShagDog]

Thanks , mikey. The Criterion would be great. I just don't want to pay that kind of money for it. Out of curiosity, with the criterion, if my bore is at say 1" for example, and I want to go to 1.0075", could I just turn the screw so that the dial would read .0075" of movement and I would be there, or is there an additional need to measure to get to such a tight dimension? Obviously, I have never used a boring head.

 

[francist]

I thought this was a neat way to measure for specific depth of cut on a bore — it uses a dial indicator held in a clamp so the actual boring head needn’t have graduations. Looks neat anyway, I’ve not used one to say how well it works.

 

[mikey]

Thanks , mikey. The Criterion would be great. I just don't want to pay that kind of money for it. Out of curiosity, with the criterion, if my bore is at say 1" for example, and I want to go to 1.0075", could I just turn the screw so that the dial would read .0075" of movement and I would be there, or is there an additional need to measure to get to such a tight dimension? Obviously, I have never used a boring head.

Yes, the Criterion head is direct reading. If the hole is 1.00" and you need to go out 0.0075" more then you dial in 0.0075" and go. It is a bit more complicated than this when using a boring head but not a lot more.

As for affording one, I guess it depends on how lucky you are and how good you are on ebay. I just bought a brand new Criterion S 1-1/2 A head that takes 3/8" shanked bars for $90.00. This head normally sold for near $300.00 so it was a good deal. This kind of find is not common but if you are patient, they are out there.

Just in case you do decide to look for one, the S 1-1/2 came in A and B models. The A took 3/8" bars; the B took 1/2" shanked bars. The A is much preferred as the bars are lighter and cheaper. The lighter bars create less centripetal forces, which is good for a small mill. This head has a 7/8-20 threaded back that takes an adapter if you can find one. If not, it is easy to make on a lathe.