Just received my first boring head, 2" capacity on an R-8 collet for use in my small mill. Also a set of Cobalt boring bars. Will be boring aluminum that's 1/2" - 1" thick.
I could use a little help. As I was assembling the boring head, I realized (for the first time) the boring bar itself could be rotated so that the cutting edge could encounter the hole being cut at an infinite number of angles of attack. How do I know when I have the boring bar set to the correct rotational angle? Should the face of the boring bar lie along the hole's radius line? Or does it need to be rotated a bit more to give positive rake? (Or negative?) If rake, how do you know when you've got enough? How accurate does one need to be with positive-negative-zero rake?
There must be some good shop wisdom on how to set your boring bar correctly into the boring head, care to share?
Wait, one more question: Do I want to remove most of the metal from the hole (with an end mill) before using the boring bar? Is the boring head for removing the last couple of .010s, or can you just sink the boring bar straight into the work like a drill?
Honestly, never used one before, so am trepidatious about how to start...
I could use a little help. As I was assembling the boring head, I realized (for the first time) the boring bar itself could be rotated so that the cutting edge could encounter the hole being cut at an infinite number of angles of attack. How do I know when I have the boring bar set to the correct rotational angle? Should the face of the boring bar lie along the hole's radius line? Or does it need to be rotated a bit more to give positive rake? (Or negative?) If rake, how do you know when you've got enough? How accurate does one need to be with positive-negative-zero rake?
There must be some good shop wisdom on how to set your boring bar correctly into the boring head, care to share?
Wait, one more question: Do I want to remove most of the metal from the hole (with an end mill) before using the boring bar? Is the boring head for removing the last couple of .010s, or can you just sink the boring bar straight into the work like a drill?
Honestly, never used one before, so am trepidatious about how to start...