B.C.A Jig borer VS Warco WM12

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

The Vitrea range of Oils having been discontinued …

This is a handy reference : **LINK**

https://www.lubefinder.com/range/shell-vitrea.html

MichaelG.

.

P.S. __ If anyone is wondering about DYN metal :

https://www.dynmetal.co.uk/about-us

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 23/02/2021 09:15:06

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

Just spoke to Tenga this morning following their advert in back of ME regarding stock clearance. I would have liked a 3/8"threaded collet but the last one went a few weeks ago and they are not having any more Imperial ones made. They could offer me a Metric 6 or 10mm threaded. How does £195 each plus VAT and postage sound. I politely declined the offer.

Colin

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Colin Heseltine on 24/02/2021 13:13:50:

Just spoke to Tenga this morning following their advert in back of ME regarding stock clearance. I would have liked a 3/8"threaded collet but the last one went a few weeks ago and they are not having any more Imperial ones made. They could offer me a Metric 6 or 10mm threaded. How does £195 each plus VAT and postage sound. I politely declined the offer.

Colin

.

When I bought the 3/8” version [about 35 years ago] it cost me £33 … which is the price quoted in the list that Jake shared … I couldn't afford to also buy the 10mm

So, basically: unsurprising.

MichaelG.

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Its now getting to the point where it is nearly worth buying a complete machine if it has a decent set of collets with it, and keeping most of the collets and selling the machine on with just a few.

If no more of the internally threaded ones are being made it puts the resale value of those up quite a bit.

I wonder if there are any enterprising folks on here that could set up to produce batches of BCA collets for us.

Phil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I should just mention, Phil

The original collets were superbly made, by Crawford

If I recall correctly, the 'model' is No. 55, and was originally used on a Lorch machine.

< feel free, anybody, to correct me on this … I can't access my notes at present >

MichaelG.

[Ian FrancisParticipant @ianfrancis42585]

Posted by William S on 18/02/2021 00:44:07:

The threaded collet issue is important aswell Internal threaded collets were only avaliable in 6mm, 1/4", 3/8" and 10mm if you have them you are well set up! I made up a 6mm and 1/4" fc3/weldon/side lock shank arbors that go directly in the spindle which I use all the time. I intend to make other sizes when time allows.

I hope the OP doesn't mind that I am hijaking this thread a little but I couldn't help it! William do you have any more details you could share on making your own collets for a BCA? My skills probably are not there yet to take this on but I am willing to try! I'd love to make up a couple of metric threaded collets if I could. I am lucky enough to have a 1/4 and 3/8 version.

Thanks you

Ian

[William SParticipant @williams]

Hello Ian

I can expand a bit more however I'm going to disappoint as it wasn't a collet I made, it was a sidelock cutter holder:

Those are what I made, They have 1/4" and a 6mm dia hole to suit the fc3 range of cutters, they could also be used to hold any other cutter if one was to grind a little flat to allow the grubscrew to retain them.

I will make more with a smaller range of holes- 3mm /4mm /5mm /1/8"/ 3/16" etc as they work well especially with carbide end mills

They are not to difficult to produce just turn the o.ds between centres, this enables a batch to be done(angle/screw thread etc) with minimum of fuss, Then clock them up in the 4 jaw chuck to bore the end. This has been documented over on modelenginemaker I belive.

Collets are largely the same I belive, however a front portion is left on until the very end, I have read the process on another forum I think.

I hope this helps

William

[Ian FrancisParticipant @ianfrancis42585]

Hi William

Thank you very much for replying to my question – I really appreciate the help! I really like what you have made here and am keen to give this a try. I will also try and see if I can find further references on another forum to see if I gan garner any more tips.

Again – many thanks.

Ian

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

This is about making ER … but the general methodology should read-across

**LINK**

https://www.fingers-welt.de/info/Drehen/16erSpannzangen%20C8.pdf

MichaelG.

[Ian FrancisParticipant @ianfrancis42585]

That is very helpful, thank you Michael.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Just googling Tenga is not likely to help with jig borers, I suggest Tenga engineering or machines will be more helpful.

Mike

[colinbParticipant @colinb]

@jakemiddleton-metcalfe Do you still have a copy of the Service Manual? I just acquired a MK3 (no collets) for a decent price, but it needs quite a bit of TLC to bring it back to good working order – having the service manual would be a boon to that work!

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Colin

If you get stuck I have copies of the BCA literature.

Phil

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Based on what the machine is for, Jake being a Concertina maker, I suggest a general purpose  Mill is more suitable because they, and tooling, will do the job and more without breaking the bank or getting into the complexities of buying a second-hand machine that might need remedial work.

Jig borer performance isn’t needed, and I’d be very surprised to find Concertinas are made more accurately than a Far Eastern hobby mill can do, and hobby accessories are widely available and inexpensive.

A BCA Jig Borer is an object of desire, but don’t let that cloud your judgement if money is short, and you don’t need one.   A jig borer is an expensive precision tool, designed to deliver high-accuracy within a narrow operating space.  In some ways they excel, in others restricted.   Great if what arrives does what’s needed in your workshop, but otherwise potentially painful! My guess is a BCA is big enough to do concertinas, but I wouldn’t buy one without double checking.

Jig boring accuracy was achieved by the maker fitting the best of everything, which makes spares and collets etc eye-wateringly expensive, even if they can be found.   Don’t assume that because second-hand high-end manual machines tools are affordable, that so will be the spares!  Au contraire, they are likely to be full-price, or even more due to premium rarity value.

I suggest the negative comments made by a couple of posters about their BCA experiences are well worth reading carefully.  Do they ring any bells with Jake?  Though jig borers have been widely used by hobbyists as milling machines, and are much loved, they weren’t designed for general purpose milling.  In contrast, hobby mills have greater versatility, admittedly with inferior accuracy.   But it would be a funny old world if a hobby mill out-performed an expensive industrial jig-borer!

My dream-car is a bright red Ferrari SP1.   But as I only visit mother, Tescos and the tip,   it made much more sense to buy a basic eco-hatchback!

Dave

 

 

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