# Alternative to special big drill bits



## skiprat

Here's an alternative to buying hard to find drill bits. It's called a Boring Head. They are used primarily in milling machines but are quite at home in a lathe tailstock too.

First you'd drill a hole smaller than what you need, then mount the boring head and adjust the bit so that it just skims the inside of the hole you drilled. Make a note of the setting on the dial and measure the diameter of the skimmed hole. Now just adjust the bit with the dial graduations till your kit tube fits perfectly.

This set is is nice because it came with various accessories. 

I'll check the UK price from where I got this one, but I'm positive that you guys can get them cheaper. Possibly for the same price as 2 or 3 big drill bits.:wink:

Just checked...£70 incl tax and UK delivery. http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/Chronos_Catalogue_Boring_Heads_89.html

Little Machine Shop has them for much cheaper...http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_search.php?critFast=boring+head&B1=Product+Search  Just pick and choose the head, morse taper and bit you want.


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## Papa Bear

Thanks for the advice!I did the same thing with a boring bar mounted in the bit holder cause I don't have a boring head for the tail stock yet!


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## skiprat

Papa Bear said:


> Thanks for the advice!I did the same thing with a boring bar mounted in the bit holder cause I don't have a boring head for the tail stock yet!


 

That's the traditional way on a metal lathe, but like this it can be used on a wood lathe too....:wink:

Here are tha pro's I can think of...

Can bore any size hole.
Blank doesn't get hot.
No blow out on the back of the blank.
Easier to sharpen the bits. 

The only con I can think of is the limit of depth you can bore. You couldn't bore a blank for a long clicker for example. Unless you bought a length of tool rod and ground your own, which is dead easy anyway:biggrin:


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## RAdams

well wouldnt that be the same issue with a regular length bit anyway?  what is the smallest / biggest hole size something like that could do?  


No matter far as i am concerned... This tool right here is AWESOME! Definately on my list... Thanks for sharing!!


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## Russknan

OK, I'm convinced. But, it's not clear from the websites selling them, will it fit an M2 taper? Russ


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## mredburn

MT2 Boring Head for Milling Machine | eBay 

Here  is an example of an mt2 boring head set on ebay

IF you follow Skips link You can buy the boring head seperate and the mt2 shank off the same page.  I did not see a complete set but i didnt look to hard


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## Russknan

Here  is an example of an mt2 boring head set on ebay

IF you follow Skips link You can buy the boring head seperate and the mt2 shank off the same page.  I did not see a complete set but i didnt look to hard[/QUOTE]

Thank you! That's really helpful. Actually, I can't find things - especially when they are right in front of me. Ask my wife . . .

This looks like a great accessory to have. Thanks to you both. Russ


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## Ed McDonnell

If you want to use one of these in your tailstock, make sure your tailstock has a thru hole for a draw bar.  Without a draw bar, you may find using a boring bar head in the tailstock to be anything but boring.

Ed


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## mredburn

why would he need a through hole. It would have no more issue pulling out than a drill chuck on an mt2.


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## Ed McDonnell

mredburn said:


> why would he need a through hole. It would have no more issue pulling out than a drill chuck on an mt2.



My view of the world:

Drill chucks can and do pull out of MT.  Usually the lateral force of drilling will keep a drill chuck arbor seated.  But drilling with some bits at a rate less than the bit wants to feed can unseat the arbor. 

A boring head is not going to have the same lateral force keeping the arbor seated.  An inexperienced user may get more vibration during roughing operations.  It seems to me that both significantly increase the risk of the boring head arbor unseating unless a drawbar is used.  

A drill chuck arbor coming loose during drilling is probably not the end of the world.  A boring head arbor that comes loose with a long bar that digs into the interior surface could be bad news.

At least that's the way I see it.  

Ed


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## mikespenturningz

The drill chuck coming out when withdrawing is very dangerous. I had this happen to me only once and it broke a 10.5mm drill bit in 3 places and tossed the chuck. I am much more careful when I withdraw and keep my hand on the chuck. If things come loose I don't have the tailstock withdrawn more than a fraction of an inch.


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## Smitty37

Interesting - how well will it work on a wood lathe?  Maybe that's what you were talking about but it seems to be listed as a milling machine tool.


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## mredburn

it will work well as far as boring goes. If your mt on the tool matches your tailstock mt irt wont matter if your using a wood lathe or a metal one. Your basically drilling the hole out with a single point tool. You adjust the boring bar out a couple of thousand and runit in and out with the tailstock. Measure it and do it again until you have the right size for your needs. It would work well to open up a drilled hole a few thou to accommodate painted tubes.

That being said you may encounter a problem if there is slop in your tailstock quill as you run it in and out.


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## EBorraga

Here are a few from Victor Machinery.

Boring Head Sets


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## mikespenturningz

Unfortunately you have to purchase the MT2 separately, I am noticing that quite a bit. Does this scrape the wood or cut it as the tool goes in? I am going to go to this method as suggested by Skiprat in an earlier post but don't know anything about using it. Can't be that tough though. How much can you remove in a single pass? Things like that will have to be learned I guess.



EBorraga said:


> Here are a few from Victor Machinery.
> 
> Boring Head Sets


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## Scruffy

*Ernie, I followed your link ...*

and since I am ignorant of how they sell bores, I hope you understand.

The way I interpret the information I see is (I need a MT 2) that there are only 2 shanks I can use on that page.  (I have no idea what the difference is between a tang or drawbar.)  Is that correct?

Drill requirements for pens start around 7mm and go up to 12 mm  (maybe higher but I lack the knowledge).  What would be the correct boring tool to go on the shank?   (AS  you see my knowledge and experince is sadly lacking in this area.)


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