# My latest build - a stand for my Van Norman boring bar



## Gearhead88 (Jan 11, 2022)

A couple of months ago I bought a nice old Van Norman 944 boring bar , complete and in great shape. I'm no stranger to this type of equipment , my reason for purchasing this is , as a career and as a hobby , I rebuild engines , primarily motorcycle engines , I've rebuilt several automotive and a few Diesel engines as well . Rather than outsource cylinder bore work , I've decided to equip my home workshop to do this type of work. In addition to the Boring bar a couple of months ago , in 2020 I bought a used Sunnen Honing machine and have been outfitting it since then to equip it for doing several types of bore sizes , bushings , rod fitting etc.
In the past I've worked at a few shops that do engine machining , re-bores , valve & seat work , crank rebuilding , at those places , I was the guy that did much of that kind of work . I'm semi retired at this point and over time have been equipping my home workshop to expand my capabilities to include precision cylinder boring & honing . When boring motorcycle cylinders , most of those engines have removable cylinders that need to be mounted in a stand or fixture of some kind and a portable boring bar is then used to re-size the bore . Smaller , more compact cylinders can be bored out using a bench mounted boring bar such as a boremaster , I've worked at a couple of shops that have those machines , including the shop where I work now.

I have been trying to find a used boring bar stand for a few months now , knowing that this was not going to be easy to find , my back up plan was to build one , so that is what I am going to do.

I started by finding a slab of steel , 15 1/2" X 15 1/2" X 1 5/16" thick , it was torch cut on two sides but roughed in to the size I wanted as a top for the table.






I used one of the milling machines at work to square up & surface the "chunk"

At this point I could take it home to finish it on my smaller machines , I have a mill / drill and a small knee mill . The mill drill can be run slow enough to bore a hole with a hole saw , don't laugh guys , some of you are not gonna believe this but I used a hole saw to cut two 4 1/4" holes and a 4 1/2" hole in this plate , which is now , after being surfaced on both sides , is 1 1/4" thick . I took my time ( lots of it ! ) and I wasn't cheap with the cutting fluid . The hole saws survived ! and can be used another day.
















I moved over to the knee mill for the next bit , which consisted of , drill and thread two holes for the jacking mechanism that will be below the table , drill three holes and thread them , for the hold down / anchor bolts that hold the boring bar to the table , and then drill / counter bore the four corners to attach some legs.


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 11, 2022)

The project continues .....................











I have to buy some more steel tubing for the base .
I've got some pieces of 1 1/2" x .188" wall tubing cut for legs , there are going to be some 1" square stock pieces that will be drilled and threaded then welded into the tubes that make up the legs . Those will be bolted to the bottom of the table with 1/2" socket head cap screws , where I have counter bored the table on the four corners.
I'm still finalizing the design for the base and the clamping arrangement that will hold the cylinders up against parallels under the table .


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 11, 2022)

Legs for the upper section of the stand are done , I built the clamping device that holds the cylinder up to the bottom of the table .


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## ducdon (Jan 11, 2022)

Very nice


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## Hacker (Jan 11, 2022)

Nice, you got your money out of that hole saw.


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## Susquatch (Jan 11, 2022)

Gearhead88 said:


> Legs for the upper section of the stand are done , I built the clamping device that holds the cylinder up to the bottom of the table .



Very nice! 

I like your fabrication table too!


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## historicalarms (Jan 11, 2022)

Wow ---I would have never considered a hole saw for that operation...fine work man.


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## Doggggboy (Jan 11, 2022)

The guys on the Make It Extreme YouTube channel get their money`s worth out of a hole saw too, but this is next level stuff.


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## YYCHM (Jan 11, 2022)

Godda get me one of those hole saws..... amazing...


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## John Conroy (Jan 11, 2022)

Very nice work, I used a boring bar like that when I worked in a motorcycle dealership back in the 80's. Where are you located, I could probably send you some cylinder business from up-coming project bikes.


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 11, 2022)

Hacker said:


> Nice, you got your money out of that hole saw.


Yes and it survived to be used another day.


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## LenVW (Jan 11, 2022)

Nice work.   Go Big or go home !!
That’s . . . Heavy Metal.


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 12, 2022)

historicalarms said:


> Wow ---I would have never considered a hole saw for that operation...fine work man.


I was going to take it to a shop with a water jet table , It was Christmas , a lot of shops were shut down .


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## Mcgyver (Jan 14, 2022)

Gearhead88 said:


> I was going to take it to a shop with a water jet table , It was Christmas , a lot of shops were shut down .



that's an impressive build, and I confess I didn't know what a Van Norman boring bar was so thanks the education.  I also would be in the "good luck" camp hole sawing so much steel...but you got it done.

getting one big chip is an efficient way to machine!


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 14, 2022)

Mcgyver said:


> that's an impressive build, and I confess I didn't know what a Van Norman boring bar was so thanks the education.  I also would be in the "good luck" camp hole sawing so much steel...but you got it done.
> 
> getting one big chip is an efficient way to machine!


Thank's , honestly , I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull it off . I started out with a slightly used cheapo 4 1/4" holesaw , a second 4 1/4' & a 4 1/2" carbide tipped hole saw that I bought for this project . To my surprise , all three survived . The trick was to pull up a chair  to the machine , avoid being forceful or ham fisted , take my time and not be cheap with the cutting oil . I will admit , several times the cutting tool would grab and I'd have to lift out of the cut , when that happened the belts would slip . The belts on that machine were not in very good condition at the begining and in  a ragged state at the end , I have new ones . Also , close to the end the forward / reverse knob fell off , it's cracked , I re-glued the two halves together , it was broken and glued before I got the machine. I'll take a picture of the three "chips"


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## LenVW (Jan 14, 2022)

Flood cooling usually will flush and carry the chips away from the hole saw and eliminate the ‘grab’.
It is hard to cut with a hole saw like that. Heat is generated when the cuttings have nowhere to go, so they build up and induce friction.

It probably took quite a bit of force with that size of saw blade.


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 14, 2022)

LenVW said:


> Flood cooling usually will flush and carry the chips away from the hole saw and eliminate the ‘grab’.
> It is hard to cut with a hole saw like that. Heat is generated when the cuttings have nowhere to go, so they build up and induce friction.
> 
> It probably took quite a bit of force with that size of saw blade.


I didn't use much force or down pressure , however it did take several hours to complete three holes.


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 14, 2022)

Mcgyver said:


> that's an impressive build, and I confess I didn't know what a Van Norman boring bar was so thanks the education.  I also would be in the "good luck" camp hole sawing so much steel...but you got it done.
> 
> getting one big chip is an efficient way to machine!


As a matter of fact , there were three big chips ...........






Gotta like the Chinglish label on the machine , I bought this old thing used many years ago and have hardly used it , there's a few minor issues with it that are easily fixed .


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## thestelster (Jan 14, 2022)

1 1/4" thick!! My god man.  That must have been the most boring thing in the world.  I've used hole saws for metal but not more than 1/2" thick.  Oil, drill, lift, wipe, blow, oil, drill, lift, wipe, blow, repeat!  Well done.  Looks great.


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## LenVW (Jan 15, 2022)

Gearhead88 said:


> I didn't use mush force or down pressure , however it did take several hours to complete three holes.


Several hours !!
As stomping Tom Connors used to say . . . My back still aches !!
I applaud your perseverance.


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## Gearhead88 (Jan 24, 2022)

The stand isn't complete yet , I'm on a fixed income and I need to save up to buy more steel  , soon .

It is in a state where I can use it , I've bored four cylinders .

Depending on what the vintage of the cylinders I'm boring is  , old , new  or in between , I use different fixturing that also doubles as torque plates.

I added a stack of old valve springs to the two draw bars that pull the clamping bar up to the table from below , it helps to release the clamping force when you back off the nuts.


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## Gearhead88 (Feb 13, 2022)

I've been busy ...... again

I rearranged the shop a bit to make room  , bought a  Miller Tig / stick welding machine to keep my Mig company .

I need to buy a gas regulator , lease another cylinder , round up some consumables and filler rod before the new to me Tig welder is ready to use.

I spent the morning and most of the afternoon cutting , fitting & Mig welding.

My stand is nearly done , I'm adding a shelf or maybe a drawer or two .

Then , once I buy it , some paint.


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## Gearhead88 (Mar 5, 2022)

I are a painter now , no fancy sprayer , even though I have a few , this is a brush job


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## LenVW (Mar 6, 2022)

Nice work on the VanNorman stand !!
Paint always brightens that metal fab.
My brother has a Honda CB750 that will need some engine rework.
Where is your shop ?


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## LenVW (Mar 6, 2022)

Sorry . . . I just saw the bottom line.   (Jeff ……… Calgary)

Funny though . . . My brother actually bought the motorcycle when he was out in Calgary in 1988.    LOL


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## Gearhead88 (Mar 7, 2022)




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## Gearhead88 (Mar 7, 2022)

I figured , since I was making a red paint mess , I should fix up a few other pieces .

One is a valve spring tester I had given to me , the crystal and bezel is missing , I'll be on the search for a suitable replacement .

The other is a generic arbor press made out of chinesium .


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## Dan Dubeau (Mar 7, 2022)

Very nice job.  You have a very nice and organized shop.  Must be a pleasure to work in.  Cheers.


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## Susquatch (Mar 7, 2022)

Gearhead88 said:


> View attachment 21749
> 
> I figured , since I was making a red paint mess , I should fix up a few other pieces .
> 
> ...



Very nice. 

But your shop is a total disaster. Waaaay too neat and tidy. I'd never be able to find anything and would get hives.


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