Boring head or fly cutter

I have a small amount of machining to do that requires fly cutting. Would you use a boring head which I have or get a fly cutter.

If there is room to use the boring head, and it will come to no harm ... then there is no need for a dedicated fly cutter.

As Liverpudlian friends used to say:

You can use a Rolls Royce to kill a pig.

MichaelG.

Very well put ! You have a great way with words.

I must remember that for future use.

Eric

Much fly cutting involves interrupted cuts which will put more load on the boring head than straightforward boring so if you do use the boring head best to tighten all setting and adjusting screws as well as keeping DOC and speed to a level that the head copes with.
You don't say what machine you will use or which material you will be cutting but that information would be useful to advise on spindle speed, DOC and traversing feedrate.

Emgee

I must remember that for future use.

Probably not. The liverpudlians would likely be using the word ‘pig’ as a metaphor.🙂

The machine is a Warco WM14 cutting mild steel 2" wide by 4" long

Out of kindness to the Boring head, I would feel inclined to make or buy a Flycutter. It will always "Come in handy, one day" for other jobs.

And is likely to be more rigid than a boring head, when subjected to interrupted cuts.

MIke Cox published a design, in MEW, for a Flycutter on the principle of the Tangential Turning Tool.

Although mine differs slightly from his design, it functions quite well!

Howard

I am fortunate that I have one of each, fly cutter, boring head, & a 60mm face ( 4 insert  cutter so I have a choice. For the size you mention I would use my insert face cutter first followed by the fly cutter, & lastly the boring head ( as emgee's reasoning .

George.

Hi Eric, Guys,

You can make a fly cutter quite easily and more rigid than most you could buy.

This one is a simple disc 20 mm thick on a 20 mm shaft, using a piece of 6 X 6 mm square HSS as the cutter. This on will cover about 65 mm. The tool bit is held in an 8 mm diameter hole using an M6 grub screw.