some work pictures

[TOM V]

Here's a few line boring pics.

 

[James Sorochan]

Not boring to me, thanks Tom V.

 

[TOM V]

Here's a few more boring shots.

 

[Mike L]

So boring! Hahahaha!

 

[DB2]

Beautiful work !

 

[Welder Dave]

That's a pretty fancy line boring set up.

 

[Nige]

That's a pretty fancy line boring set up.

IMHO if you want to do good quality work you need good quality tooling. Tom, along with RayF & BuMach, was a great help to me when we were speccing up our line boring gear for the last job. We ended up going with a hydraulic drive Climax setup in the end. It cost $85k and that was 10 years ago.

 

[DMiller]

Always intrigued me when the guys with those setups would show up, money was high but far cheaper than all new parts.

 

[Nige]

Always intrigued me when the guys with those setups would show up, money was high but far cheaper than all new parts.

As I said at the time, it was costing us £30k to get a set of loader arms & a bucket line bored using the only outside contractor capable of doing the work. Simple maths indicated that doing the same job three times using our own kit we should already be into savings. Last time I was on site the line boring rig was still getting plenty of work, it must have paid for itself 100 times over by now.

 

[DMiller]

MS Lime Quarries company I worked as Contractor for had a Mobile Machinist on retainer, likely could have owned his company and equipment some three or four times over for the amount of moneys they paid he and his field hands. That ended as were bought out by a larger concern that did not keep machines into Forever Status as did themselves. FRU CO or Fruin Colnon/Fred Weber Companies was bigger into newer machines, trade ups, trade outs and scrapping those that had little remnant value even as still working. Never understood that mentality either.
KNEW MS Lime had spent over $100k in 1983 dollars for line bore weld and machine work on machines I did the disassemble and reassembles on in 83. Mobile Machine shop cut way back in 85, closed house in 86, the owner went to work as a welder for a different concern until retired in late 90. Did not ever ask why could not keep the company or why worked as a employee last four and half years, he died in 92 at 67yo.

 

[Welder Dave]

The gravel pit that has helped me recently got a large line boring set up. They did smaller line boring but upgraded because it made more economic sense to do the larger jobs themself. One of guys said it can cost 10K to do one job depending on the complexity. Even to do a basic straight forward line boring job can start at $1000 to have someone come out.

 

[DMiller]

Just to set up the machine can take a full day, squaring, centering, not including if have to weld or bush the holes out to start.

 

[Truck Shop]

I ran a Kwik Way and Van Norman line boring equipment for automotive engine blocks and small diesel.
Both same basic machines with few differences, this was 35 plus years ago and the both were 20 years
old then. Very time consuming-most wouldn't bother they would find another acceptable core block.
But those blocks were dirt cheap compared to buckets. Oldest block I completely machined-deck, bore
and main line was a 39 Buick Straight Eight. Oldest block I bored was a 1917 Buick.

 

[DMiller]

Van Norman was what I learned on in Trade School, used one also at Continental Rebuilders, Carrie Ave STL MO back a few decades was just a heavier unit for Cummins and Det Dsl.

 

[RayF]

We don't make much money but we make a lot of friends.

 

[TOM V]

We don't make much money but we make a lot of friends.

That's true Ray

 

[TOM V]

Some more boring today.

 

[terex herder]

Looks great. I really like that little thin table top.

 

[Old Doug]

I wish the internet would have been around when i did some boring. I didnt know any thing about it or know any body to ask. Every thing we used was stuff from the scrap. I think the boring bar we used on Jaw crushers was a shaft out of one of them with the ecentrics turned down. We used a motor with a reduction box running a belt to the shaft. It was not good on my nerves . We even made alot of stuff to mic the bores with the bar in place. I wish i had some pictures of the stuff i did back then. I did bore some stuff with a engine boring machine that was every easy. I know it takes skil to setup and run a factory set up but everyone should have to start out with a junk yard set up.

 

[TOM V]

Here are the only pictures I could find of my hydraulic driven, home made line boring machine.