I "think" I need a Jig Borer...

swatkins · May 14, 2014

After going through a big reorganization of my small job shop I came to the realization that I have sold off my machine that has a manual quil and now I have no machine capable of easily placing and tapping holes. I also have realized that I have a nice 16" shaper that is really nice to have but is probably third in line, behind the CNC bridgeport and the horizontal/vertical B&S #2 Heavy.

Here in the Houston area a nice machine needs to be kept in a climate controlled space for rust control. I am expanding the climate controlled part of my shop and I have room for one more machine. I was planning on placing the Cincinnati 16" shaper in that spot but now I am thinking a jig borer would be a better fit for me.

This thread features a machine that I think would fit the bill perfectly but it's a LONG way away and I can't talk the wife into taking a trip to Detroit

Anyone, within a days drive of the Houston area, willing to trade a Cincinnati 16" shaper for a Jig Borer?

NateA2 · May 14, 2014

No reverse on a Moore. Even if you could make it reverse, the taper would come undone due to the large square shouldered threads that are the taper retention mechanisim.

Great machines other than that.

Davis In SC · May 14, 2014

NateA2 said:
No reverse on a Moore. Even if you could make it reverse, the taper would come undone due to the large square shouldered threads that are the taper retention mechanisim.

Great machines other than that.

AND, since the quill feed on the Moore is round, instead of a handle, you cannot use your chin to put pressure on the quill feed, while you are turning the tap handle to do manual tapping.. I may be the only one that taps that way in a BP, sometimes..

All kidding aside, I love my Moore B-18 (newer #3).. Use it a lot for measuring and checking squareness of parts, in addition to drilling and boring. The backslide height adjstment makes them very versatile.

i_r_machinist · May 14, 2014

There is a series 1 off of telephone road on craigslist.
i_r_

Cole2534 · May 14, 2014

Davis In SC said:
AND, since the quill feed on the Moore is round, instead of a handle, you cannot use your chin to put pressure on the quill feed, while you are turning the tap handle to do manual tapping.. I may be the only one that taps that way in a BP, sometimes..

All kidding aside, I love my Moore B-18 (newer #3).. Use it a lot for measuring and checking squareness of parts, in addition to drilling and boring. The backslide height adjstment makes them very versatile.

Maybe so. Lol

kenh · May 14, 2014

"I may be the only one that taps that way in a BP, sometimes."

If it works, fear not what the World may think!

.

jhruska · May 14, 2014

Davis In SC said:
AND, since the quill feed on the Moore is round, instead of a handle, you cannot use your chin to put pressure on the quill feed, while you are turning the tap handle to do manual tapping.. I may be the only one that taps that way in a BP, sometimes..

Wow,you may be the only one

All the guys just put the tap in the Jacobs and power-tap.
John

Tyrone Shoelaces · May 14, 2014

Mm, buying a jig borer ? Mistakes I have made ? Well not this one. You'd be better of with a really good gear head pillar drill. Regards Tyrone

sable · May 14, 2014

Tyrone Shoelaces said:
Mm, buying a jig borer ? Mistakes I have made ? Well not this one. You'd be better of with a really good gear head pillar drill. Regards Tyrone

Or a small radial.

matt_isserstedt · May 14, 2014

There are some really narrow drills out there. Check out Avey, Edlund, Cleerman to get an idea. You can stuff those into a very slim space, the widest part of course being the table. I have a 20" Clausing for this capability but I've come very close to trading it out for a Cleerman that HGR had...of course a DP is a much rougher tool than a Moore....

gbent · May 14, 2014

Tapping on a Moore is problematic. You can chuck the tap and run it in, but then you have to unchuck it and back it out by hand. You could use a tapping head. And milling or positioning is a pita. The lead screws are .1 pitch, so its twice as many turns as even a Bridgeport. There are no power feeds available.

But as Davis said, changing the daylight under the spindle is much easier than a BP.

Moore is not the only jig bore out there, perhaps someone will chime in with the strengths/weaknesses of others.

swatkins · May 14, 2014

I didn't know the machine did not have a reverse.

And I never used my chin to tap either.... Just doesn't seem Manly

I have enough space to put another BP in but that just seems like a waste of a machine and unless it had power feeds ( damn tired of always turning handles) on all axis it would only be used for tapping..

I could always put a tapping head on my drill press but the Jig Borer seems like a more "refined" way to go

Tyrone Shoelaces · May 14, 2014

The clue is in the name. If you have drill jigs, fixtures etc to machine it's worth a shot. If you're a general machinist you don't need that level of sophistication. Don't let your heart rule your head. You can fall in love with machinery if you're not careful. Regards Tyrone.

toolsteel · May 14, 2014

I think you WANT a jig borer (for whatever reason)......but it sounds like you NEED a good manual mill with power feed and a tapping head.

swatkins · May 14, 2014

toolsteel said:
I think you WANT a jig borer (for whatever reason)......but it sounds like you NEED a good manual mill with power feed and a tapping head.

Maybe

The problem is I have a good manual mill with power feeds sitting 10 feet away from the space where __________ will go... It just has a fixed head. Right beside the __________ is a CNC Bridgeport, again without a manual quill. So that would be three mills in my limited conditioned space with ______________ being used very little as a mill and more as a precision drill press.

That's why I was "thinking" I needed a jig borer....

Tyrone your right about the "falling in love with machinery" aspect... It can color a decision. Luckily I'm still having to work hard for every penny and a machine has to earn it's keep around here... Having to "make do" for so long has taught me that I don't have to have every machine and the ones I do have need to have more than "one trick"

That's where the shaper is right now, It's really close to that "one trick" area and will take up a lot of A/C space.. In fact the space it will need is not enclosed right now ( but soon will be) and I need to see if another machine would better suit my needs and space..

nalambright · May 14, 2014

+1 on the tapping head and drill press. You might want to look into ways you can drive a tap on the Brown & Sharpe Mill too. Think compression/extension tap drivers & setting the feedrate close enough, etc.

MrFluffy · May 14, 2014

I dont know what fitment your fixed machines are, but you can get a sensitive feed quill to fit qt40 spindles. I just got outbid on one for my Arno mill as nothing I have has a quill apart from my little dp, guess I didn't bid hard enough.

nalambright · May 14, 2014

CAT50 Bilz Extension Compression Tap Driver with Tap Holders Free Shipping | eBay

Davis In SC · May 14, 2014

jhruska said:
Wow,you may be the only one
All the guys just put the tap in the Jacobs and power-tap.
John

I usually at least Start the tap by power, but for larger sizes, I hate to stress the back gears..

swatkins · May 14, 2014

nalambright said:
CAT50 Bilz Extension Compression Tap Driver with Tap Holders Free Shipping | eBay

Never needed one of these... How does it handle reversing.. Remember that reverse switch is all the way around the back

I "think" I need a Jig Borer...

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