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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    Default I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as this Tree...

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave J View Post
    I hope the good deed comes around and you get the one you want.
    Not sure whether I should proclaim Dave's words as prophetic but this is a beautiful bit of kit. But to the beginning...

    Shortly after getting the non-working Kaiser boring head that featured in the thread on Kaiser dissection, I chanced on a brief description for a Tree boring head "Tree boring head - near new". I suspected that it was a boring/facing head and so asked the seller for a photo. It came through and looked in good enough condition to be worth the punt. After a 2 week trip from the US it arrived yesterday and it is a thing of beauty.

    The box it came in was a bit grubby but certainly sturdy and well made. Opening it up, all the tools originally supplied with it were present, even the boring bar. The boring bar looks like it could be unused.
    P1020076 (Medium).JPG P1020077 (Medium).JPG P1020082 (Medium).JPG

    The head itself also looks unused. It has that oiled but clean look. There is no muck accumulated in the joins or knurl. The worst is a little mashed wood in part of the knurl from being shaken around during the trip. If you look carefully at the slide surface in the second of this triplet, you may even see a pattern that reminds me of Damascus steel, I assume from the grinding.
    P1020085 (Medium).JPG P1020087 (Medium).JPG P1020088 (Medium).JPG

    The only thing that did not come with it was a set of instructions, but fortunately I found another Tree seller who was prepared to send a photo through of the necessary pages. These boring head are a little unusual for two reasons. Firstly, most boring and facing heads will do only that. The Tree can be set up so that it will feed the slide on an angle, so something like the tapered propeller bore is quite possible. The other thing is that to do that it is internally driven so that if you wanted to bore a hole you could either lock up the head and feed conventionally with the Z axis or lock the Z axis and feed with the head.

    P1020090 (Medium).JPG IMG_0850.jpg IMG_0847.jpg

    It is bigger than a Kaiser - the shaft is 3/4", so not 13 size but I have some room under the spindle so it should still work for me (provided I'm brave enough to use a mint condition accessory)

    Michael (stunned at what was "in the box")

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Perth WA
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    Default

    For those that don't know and there can't be too many given my three years of whinging, 13 size means particularly small.

    It surely is beautiful Michael. A wonderful acquisition. I am looking forward to seeing the results of it in action. Even better, a YouTube clip.

    BT

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
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    74
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    5,080

    Default

    Tree-riffic score.

    Ray

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
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    4,779

    Default

    Nice!

    Simon
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
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    Toorloo Arm, VIC
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael G View Post
    The Tree can be set up so that it will feed the slide on an angle, so something like the tapered propeller bore is quite possible.
    Now that is very cool.

    except for the fact I'm now going to have to go check Ebay, even though the bank account certainly won't allow for any purchases...

  6. #6
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    Jun 2011
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    Australia east coast
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jekyll and Hyde View Post
    Now that is very cool.

    except for the fact I'm now going to have to go check Ebay, even though the bank account certainly won't allow for any purchases...
    Allow me to save you the trouble....

    Tree Taper Boring Head | eBay

    Nice toy but I have no current intention of buying it so feel free....

    PDW

  7. #7
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    Jan 2011
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    Far West Wimmera
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    63
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    Default

    Michael lives in a leafy neighborhood, and here I was thinking about all the complaints in the Advertiser about all the significant trees that have been cut down in recent times.

    Dean

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    Default

    Here we are - some action shots of a Tree.
    Both boring and facing are set up the same way, as in the first photo below. The only difference is that when facing the knurled ring around the top is held (second photo). Let go and it just stays in the same place. Not sure whether I think this is better or worse than Wohlhaupter et al. While it is simple and direct, having to hold on to get it to work doesn't quite work for me as I prefer to keep my hands away from moving parts. However, there are no things ready to grab your hand so in reality it's not too bad.

    P1020093 (Medium).JPG P1020097 (Medium).JPG

    Taper boring is similar to facing, but the slide is put on the angle of taper. The tool holder is secured to the head using a taper. Works very well - holds securely but at the same time will release without too many dramas. I did this cutting with the carbide cutter included in the box and there discovered a problem - it's a RH tool so some thought is required to position it so that it cuts while traveling in the right direction (the slide does not rotate fully). If I had to cut a taper in anger I would either get a LH tool or use some HSS in the other holder. There is an interesting feature on this head, in that there is a screw to disengage the slide from the feed. When it first arrived I thought it was broken but soon discovered that I had a screw loose - so, once the cut is made (and the spindle is stationary) the slide can be wound back easily.

    P1020102 (Medium).JPG

    These last two are just of the result - the slide was set on 45 degrees, I held onto my ring and away it went. I think it would be fiddly trying to bore a tapered hole to match an existing taper (like a Morse or a 7/24) because the slide rotation is graduated in degrees and like the base of a milling vice, held only with T nuts. It could be done though. The quicker way of doing things would be to mill the taper with the head first and then match the other part to the taper on a lathe. It is possible to use this for external work too so theoretically the plug could be milled and a socket turned on the lathe if that was necessary.

    P1020099 (Medium).JPG P1020101 (Medium).JPG

    Michael
    Last edited by Michael G; 1st Feb 2014 at 05:05 PM. Reason: spelling

  9. #9
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    May 2010
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    Lower Lakes SA
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    All well and good Michael, but when are you going to pull it to bits?

  10. #10
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    This is one of the great things about this boring head - It actually works straight out of the box!
    (no need to strip it down and find out why an "excellent condition; good working order" bit of kit has mysteriously stopped working in transit.)

    Michael

  11. #11
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    Jul 2010
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    Melbourne
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    Default

    Hi Michael,

    I want one.......... I just dont want to pay for one lol
    Which way does it feed when the mill is running clockwise?(right to left in the second picture?)


    Stuart

  12. #12
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    May 2010
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    Lower Lakes SA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael G View Post
    This is one of the great things about this boring head - It actually works straight out of the box!
    (no need to strip it down and find out why an "excellent condition; good working order" bit of kit has mysteriously stopped working in transit.)
    'Because it's there', and 'Because you (or other people) want to know how it works', are both legitimate reasons.

  13. #13
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    Oct 2011
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stustoys View Post
    Which way does it feed when the mill is running clockwise?(right to left in the second picture?)
    When the mill is running clockwise (looking from on top), the cutter is feeding out (fixed rate of 5 thou per rev)

    Michael

  14. #14
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    Melbourne
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael G View Post
    When the mill is running clockwise (looking from on top), the cutter is feeding out (fixed rate of 5 thou per rev)
    Out in the second picture?

    I only ask becuase it looks like the load ends up being on the dovetail not the flat ways... but maybe I'm worrying about nothing. I like the set up in the first picture better... but its not much use if it feeds the wrong way.

    Stuart

  15. #15
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    Jan 2011
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bryan View Post
    'Because it's there', and 'Because I (or other people) want to know how it works', are both legitimate reasons.
    I don't understand! It's there. Have you seen inside it? No? I would have thought that pulling it apart was, like, obligatory. Not immediately, like, but the next day or so!

    Dean

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