That's one of the problems. No 1 there's NO automatic downfeed on my mill. Therefore using a boring head with hand downfeed, there will be inconsistent SFM and feedrate so most likely there will be chatter, inconsistent bore size, and inconsistent surface finish because the pressure exerted on the tool is always changing. Secondly supporting the workpiece standing up on the mill vise is far less ridgid than clamping it down to the lathe cross slide (the method I'm seriously taking a look at). I would stand it up in the mill vise *IF* I had an auto downfeed like a Bridgeport. I think I could get away with it, or at least I'd try anyway. However that is not the case. This method of line drilling and using a boring bar mounted between centers (w/ part clamped to cross slide) has been used for decades upon decades- just I have never done it before or even seen someone actually do it, just read about it, that's all. It was very commonly used in Model Engineering in the last century up until maybe the 60's when mills became more affordable to Home Shop Machinists (people are still using this method though, just I don't hear about it much). If you look old issues of Model Engineer mag from the 30's, 40's and 50's, articles were written where the author(s) advised line boring between centers routinely because most guys didn't have a mill! Case-in-point: Edgar T. Westbury's articles.Why not drill/ream the hole on a square peice on a mill and then mill down one side?....
Enter your email address to join: