Another Boring Machine...

[Brian_Weekley]

Trying to bring another basket case boring machine back to life...  I picked this boring machine up over a year ago on Craigslist thinking it was a "Boss".  Looks exactly like it in every way, except it doesn't have the "Eagle" molded into the cast iron sides.  It also had a broken gear, but I had a spare Boss carriage that I can use for parts.

I need to get the arms off to clean and replace the gear.  I just can't figure out how to get the arms off.  No pins, but it looks like it might have a key of some kind in the ends.  However, the ends are ground smooth and it's a little hard to see in the photo below.  If anyone can offer advice on the best way to safely remove one of the arms so I can get the shaft and gear out, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Brian

[Dave Shepard]

If it's not a Boss, then it's a darn good imitation. :D I bought one cheap that had a broken shaft right where the pin hole was for the drive gear. A friend and I machined a new shaft and had to duplicate that end detail. We set the shaft up in the Bridgeport and milled a hole half on and half off the shaft. We then cut some brass "bullets" that we drove in to lock the handles on. I joked that we should have used .22 shorts, and if you wanted to take the handles off, you could just hit them with a hammer and blow them out. :D I suspect you will need some heat to get them off. Can you see the end clearly enough to measure the diameter inside the handle and compare that to the diameter of the shaft? I think the end of the shaft was shouldered. It might be as easy as using a puller, or somehow blocking up the back side of the handle and driving the shaft out.

[Brian_Weekley]

Thanks, Dave.  Some heat and trying to drive the shaft out is what I was thinking.  I'll give that a shot.

There are absolutely no markings on this boring machine (the carriage or the rack/stand).  Either Boss made this "generic version" or it's an excellent copy!  Here's a side-by-side comparison of the gear carriages...

[Brian_Weekley]

After heating it up good, I was able to drive the shaft out a lot easier than expected.  It's amazing how much gunk these things collect after 100+ years of service!

[BCsaw]

Will be nice to see an old machine come back to life! ;D

[Brad_bb]

It's a boss.  The company went through a number of moves.  I'm really surprised that they changed the wooden mold forms each time.  It may have been the earliest ones that were unmarked, or they could have been selling them through another company like the Sears catalog and that company didn't want the manufacturers branding on it.  I have Have Millers falls machines that are not marked either.  No name or anything.  But  rest assured, your unmarked machine is a Boss, or Double eagle, or whatever name they had on it at the time.  I have Boss machines that are marked Anderson, IND,  Union City, IND, The Hardware Specialties Manufacturing Co, Buckeye mfg co, Lambert Bros. Mfg.   They are all part of the lineage of the same machine.

[Brian_Weekley]

I finally finished restoring my "No Name" Boss boring machine...

[BCsaw]

Very nice. ;D

[Brad_bb]

I've said this in the past, but the main reason the gears wear or break teeth, or chew up teeth in any boring machine is misalignment due to wear in the bearing surfaces of the shafts.  If there is any slop in the bearing surfaces, either the frame should be bushed, or a new shaft made or both.  If the gears mesh correctly, they should last darn near forever.