Kearns 'S' Type Horizontal Boring Machine

[Peter S]

I have just bought one of these little machines and wondered if Tyrone, PDW and any others familiar with them can give me any tips for moving it, please?

For example - does the counterweight need to be removed or chocked?

Were there any special tools that I should be looking out for e.g. hook wrenches or ?

I haven't seen it yet, so I can't tell you much about it, except it is the Facing Chuck model (not the Collet Model), with the boring stay and has a rotating table.

I have a Kearns brochure which says it would have been supplied with bar holder, facing tool holder and 3MT drill socket (1&2 MT sockets optional).

Boring bars were "Additional Equipment", 1", 1 1/4" & 1 1/2" each with a bush for the boring stay.

Any advise, comments etc. welcomed, thanks!

I think this brochure is pretty old, perhaps 1949 going by the code on the back cover. I daresay there are 'Kearns' machines in all of the countries listed below:

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I have just bought one of these little machines and wondered if Tyrone, PDW and any others familiar with them can give me any tips for moving it, please?

For example - does the counterweight need to be removed or chocked?

Were there any special tools that I should be looking out for e.g. hook wrenches or ?

I haven't seen it yet, so I can't tell you much about it, except it is the Facing Chuck model (not the Collet Model), with the boring stay and has a rotating table.

I have a Kearns brochure which says it would have been supplied with bar holder, facing tool holder and 3MT drill socket (1&2 MT sockets optional).

Boring bars were "Additional Equipment", 1", 1 1/4" & 1 1/2" each with a bush for the boring stay.

Any advise, comments etc. welcomed, thanks!

I think this brochure is pretty old, perhaps 1949 going by the code on the back cover. I daresay there are 'Kearns' machines in all of the countries listed below:


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That’s a nice brochure that I haven’t seen before. Yes, always block up the spindle frame balance weight on any Hor bore to stop it banging around In transit. They are ideal to move with a forklift As long as you’re careful. You’ll have hours of fun with that. For their size they are a very versatile machine. Lots of them went into training schools and colleges but you did see quite a few in industry.

Regards Tyrone.

 

[john.k]

A lot of people said they were chasing one over the years,but when one sold here recently,it didnt reach reserve,and went for $500..........the old/new maxim now is -----if it aint CNC ,its scrap......millenials dont turn handles,they push buttons.

 

[Trigga72]

I have the same facing Chuck model . They are lovely little machines.
As has been said chock the counterweight! . Very easy to move on sKate’s or on pipe . I rolled mine straight off the trailer and it’s been moved in the workshop several times . Literally a one man job ( if you are comfortable with such things )
Im still looking for the boring steady , they seem to be rarer than hens teeth !
I made a couple of 40 mm tool holders to accept a no 3 morse adaptor and also er 32 tooling which are all readily available

Gluv

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I meant to say, I love the little map showing you how to get the bus to the “ Kearns “ works. Those were the days !

Regards Tyrone.

 

[shapeaholic]

All I can add is " YOU SUCK!"
Been lusting after one for years, but they don't seem to have made it to Canada.
Lucky bastard;-))

 

[john.k]

They were a fixture at technical colleges ,but never seen one anywhere else.....the most recent one sold here came from the remains of the state govts latest "clever state" education initiative........everything auctioned off about a year before the pandemic hit.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

All I can add is " YOU SUCK!"
Been lusting after one for years, but they don't seem to have made it to Canada.
Lucky bastard;-))

I’d be amazed if none had been exported to Canada. They turn up in Australia now and again.

Regards Tyrone

 

[lucky7]

There’s at least two locally in my little city in Canada, so cheer up Shapeholic, you’ll only have to fight me and anyone else local if they ever come up for sale ;-)

But yes, your point that they aren‘t commonly seen at sales in Canada seems to be true. I’ve only been looking for roughly twenty years.

 

[PDW]

OK a bit late but I don't bother with PM a lot since the S/N went to the dogs.

Anyway I moved mine on a pallet jack then leveled it using raiser feet I welded up from pieces of parallel flange channel. I made them high enough so I can get the pallet jack back under if I need to.

The machine weighs 1.6 tonnes from memory and was an easy lift using my gantry and chain block. I can't recall offhand how I lifted it but I think there were lifting holes and we used a bar through them.

It'd be easy to roll on pipes too.

Congratulations on getting one, they are absolute gems of machines. Mine is in perfect condition, one of the Optimetric toolroom models prior to the merger of Kearns & Richards. A friend has one after the merger and they definitely cheaped out on the casting filler & paint, his is cracked & peeling while mine is still perfect. Mechanically his is perfect but not cosmetically. Both machines came out of TAFE colleges where they were very lightly used.

If I ever have to scale back my workshop the Kearns S type will be one of the 3 machines I'll be keeping.

PDW

 

[PDW]

While I have the rear boring bar support I took it off the machine & sat it on the tool cabinet next to it. It won't get lost but it's not in my way either.

Make a bunch of 'snout' bars and buy a parallel shank ER32 and/or ER40 collet chuck for holding stuff. Really useful. And if you don't have one, get some form of centricator so you can get the work & spindle axis dialed in.

And don't forget the grads on the facing slide adjustment work in RADIUS not DIAMETER. I stuck a label next to the hand wheel to remind me of this....

PDW

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

While I have the rear boring bar support I took it off the machine & sat it on the tool cabinet next to it. It won't get lost but it's not in my way either.

Make a bunch of 'snout' bars and buy a parallel shank ER32 and/or ER40 collet chuck for holding stuff. Really useful. And if you don't have one, get some form of centricator so you can get the work & spindle axis dialed in.

And don't forget the grads on the facing slide adjustment work in RADIUS not DIAMETER. I stuck a label next to the hand wheel to remind me of this....

PDW

Nice machine. The first photo shows just what a capable machine they were. What happened to the table clamps in the second photo ?

Regards Tyrone.

 

[PDW]

Nice machine. The first photo shows just what a capable machine they were. What happened to the table clamps in the second photo ?

Regards Tyrone.

Never came with the machine, alas. The one thing I didn't get. So the 90 deg stops don't automatically index as they should. I recently acquired an Elliott 20 x 8 surface grinder in superb condition so now have no excuse for not making a replacement. Just have to locate the round tuit.

Maybe after I get the 'new' DS&G type 17 tooled up.

Those S types are really versatile machines. I don't think I've done the same sort of job twice as yet. Most of the jobs, sure maybe you could do them other ways, but a much bigger PITA factor. Like boring out that planer drive gear/pulley assembly as an example to fit new bronze bushings. The HBM made setup pretty simple.

PDW

 

[PDW]

One other comment - my friend added a VFD to the table motor drive so he has a lot more options WRT feeds. I plan on doing the same because on bigger diameter jobs, you can slow the facing head speed down but the table travel is fixed to 1 of 3 speeds and often you want a finer feed per rev than you can get. As it's a small single speed motor adding a VFD is simple, unlike playing with the main drive motor. I don't want to even think about altering that one...

PDW

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

One other comment - my friend added a VFD to the table motor drive so he has a lot more options WRT feeds. I plan on doing the same because on bigger diameter jobs, you can slow the facing head speed down but the table travel is fixed to 1 of 3 speeds and often you want a finer feed per rev than you can get. As it's a small single speed motor adding a VFD is simple, unlike playing with the main drive motor. I don't want to even think about altering that one...

PDW

It’s unbelievable that something as crucial as the table clamps and centring stop can go missing ! If they’re not clamping the table what else would anybody be doing with them ? That’s the only trouble with buying things from colleges and schools were 99% of the people involved don’t know what they’re handling. Things get lost or thrown in the skip.

On the bigger machines the recesses for the centring stop had hardened and ground inserts and the centring stop was also hardened and ground.

Some people reversed the table clamps and fastened them to the table via the tee slots to lift the table off, especially with the bigger tables. One clamp on each corner. I preferred slot lifting irons myself, nothing to go wrong there. I had my irons made out of round bars with the tee slots milled into the ends. That made turning the tables over with the crane to get at the underside for cleaning or de-burring etc easier and the slot irons couldn’t slip inwards.

Regarding the main motor- I only had to remove one for repair. It wasn’t an easy job !

Regards Tyrone.

 

[Peter S]

I meant to say, I love the little map showing you how to get the bus to the “ Kearns “ works. Those were the days !

Regards Tyrone.

Tyrone,

I put it there just for you, thought you might like it!

This one is from a c.1956 brochure for the "Number O Series" machine. Click on it once, then again and it should enlarge a bit more.

 

[Peter S]

Guys,

Thanks for the discussion - so I need to check for 4 x table clamps and 1 x centering stop for the rotating table.

In a couple of the brochure photos, it looks like the operators are using the same table clamps to hold down a workpiece and also a rotary table. Also, in the brochure set-ups, they have the table positioned so the table clamps would have to be removed to fit tee bolts for clamping the workpiece. I can see why they might get removed and put aside.

Regarding the facing chuck spindle slide - the brochure says "means are provided to locate the bar-holder running true on the facing slide so it may carry a drill in a suitable socket".

Would this "means" be built in to the chuck or should I be looking for something loose?

In an older thread, gregormarwick said there is a small wedge to centre the slide. Just wondering if this is something to look for, or is it built-in?

Thanks, Peter

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Tyrone,

I put it there just for you, thought you might like it!

This one is from a c.1956 brochure for the "Number O Series" machine. Click on it once, then again and it should enlarge a bit more.

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I like the little cricketer in the image for Old Trafford cricket ground. That and the “ Old Cock Hotel “, I wonder why they put that in ?

Regarding that machine in the photo, I could have worked on that exact machine. I certainly worked on ones identical to it. The drive pulleys, that machine had four, were splined aluminium and after a while they wore loose and became noisy. We bored them out and fitted splined steel liners. That’s a spindle only machine. They did one with a built in facing slide. Now that was a really nice machine, so user friendly. Their only flaw was the hand pumped way lubrication. Get a lazy or dozy operator and you could have fire up problems.
I saw one just like it go in the skip/dumpster because the owner didn’t like the way it looked. He said it looked old fashioned. I managed to salvage the “ Accurite “3 axis dro off it.

I have a funny story regarding one of those machines. I was fitting a bolt on facing slide to the main spindle one day. I had it slung in a soft sling about 4” wide on the overhead crane. I’d fitted the facing slide and bolted it up tight. I reached behind myself for the overhead crane pendant to release the sling. Instead of which I grabbed that pendant you can see in the photo. The pendants were roughly the same size and height off the ground. I inadvertently switched the spindle on by accident ! The facing slide was doing about 500 rpm inside the sling. Luckily for me the sling wasn’t too tight and I got away with it.

Regards Tyrone.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Guys,

Thanks for the discussion - so I need to check for 4 x table clamps and 1 x centering stop for the rotating table.

In a couple of the brochure photos, it looks like the operators are using the same table clamps to hold down a workpiece and also a rotary table. Also, in the brochure set-ups, they have the table positioned so the table clamps would have to be removed to fit tee bolts for clamping the workpiece. I can see why they might get removed and put aside.

Regarding the facing chuck spindle slide - the brochure says "means are provided to locate the bar-holder running true on the facing slide so it may carry a drill in a suitable socket".

Would this "means" be built in to the chuck or should I be looking for something loose?

In an older thread, gregormarwick said there is a small wedge to centre the slide. Just wondering if this is something to look for, or is it built-in?

Thanks, Peter

Brochure photos are what ever they want to be. I’ve got a glossy brochure with a photo on the front cover of an old “ Y “ type. The “ operator “ is looking through the telescope on the front of the spindle frame that gave you a Vernier reading from the Vernier let into the column ways. He’s pretending to adjust the height of the spindle frame by turning a hand wheel. The hand wheel he’s turning is the one that changes speed from high to low range. !

The clamps aren’t really a problem, you can soon make them yourself. It’s the centring stop that’s the problem if it’s missing. They were hardened and ground and the nose was tapered to fit into the tapered sockets on the revolving table. They also had a tenon on the bottom to mate with the centre tee slot. Not impossible to make by any means but it’d need a bit of thinking about.

I think there was a device that centred the facing slide for mounting drill holders, line bars, milling cutters etc. I just can’t think for the life of me what it was now. It must 25 years since I last worked on one of those “ S “ types. Is it anything to do with that knob on the front of the facing slide ? PDW should be able to tell you.
On the bigger machines it was easy, you just moved the slide until the outer edge of the slide was in line with the outer edge of the body of the facing slide itself. You could use your fingertips to feel if they were matching or not.

They did make a “ high speed” spindle only version of that machine later on when it was “ Kearns-Richards “ and also a NC version with an “ Airmec-AEI “ tape control system but they were a bit clunky and not very successful. Instead of designing a completely new machine they tried to bolt various things on to the old “ S “ type design.

Regards Tyrone.

 

[PDW]

Regarding the facing chuck spindle slide - the brochure says "means are provided to locate the bar-holder running true on the facing slide so it may carry a drill in a suitable socket".

Would this "means" be built in to the chuck or should I be looking for something loose?

In an older thread, gregormarwick said there is a small wedge to centre the slide. Just wondering if this is something to look for, or is it built-in?

It's built in but things wear so you can't take it as dead nuts by default. I think mine is a little bit out but I've not bothered overmuch with it as I generally don't use the machine for drilling or milling.

Here is a shop-made bar holding a lathe CCMT tool holder. Bit of 1-1/2" round bar cut, welded and milled for the tool shank. I used it for facing that big flange as I needed a lot more swing than a straight holder would give me.The auto-feed made this a simple job though in hindsight I probably should have done it on the Kearns OA borer. But that would have meant re-fitting the facing slide and everything on that machine is bigger, heavier, harder to move - and I'm lazy.

PDW