May be going to work back for a CAT dealer, they have two Climax line boring bars and I want to learn them. My boring/machining experience is in engine blocks, boring/sleeving and cylinder head work. Whats the learning curve how much does it differ from engine cylinder boring? Seems line like boring has a very broad range of applications and I am interested, thanks. Boring Boring Boring
I would say its very different but not difficult. Most line boring on earthmoving gear involves welding so you need those skills. You need knowledge on how pivots work and interact with other pivots on the machine and to know how to set up your bars level and parallel to other pivots. You also need a idea on press and clearance fits and how to measure a bearing or pin and tell from that what size the bore needs to be. All basic stuff but can take a bit of practice to get your head around all of it. The good thing about boring on that sort of gear is that if you ballz up the size you can weld it up and have another go. I still do that on occasion. Makes me more alert for the next 12 months
Thank you. How good of a welder do I need to be? I have welded on the job and have welding training but I would not call myself a welder, nor do I enjoy, what do you think. I notice on alot of the setups there alot of tac welding fixtures to the piece to be bored, elaborate if you can.
I found the best way to become a good bore welder is to machine your own welds All your worn bores are usually welded and then machined to bring them back to the correct sizing. There are two ways of doing that. The old way is to hand weld them with stick electrodes,MIG or with an ID welder. If you are doing them by hand there is quite an art to doing them neatly and properly to ensure you get a cleanup with no porosity or imperfections. If using an ID welder there is still a fair bit of practice and knowledge needed before you work out things like adequate penetration on the down run,cold lap,how much weld to put in. Welder settings etc. You don't need to be a good welder to tack on a few mounting plates. You just have to learn the correct amount of tacking to make sure the rig doesn't fall off half way through the job and the other extreme where you spend half your time trying to get your brackets off and then grinding it all up neat again.