Is this a 3 axis BP

[l u k e]

It's a 1979. The guy is asking $3500 and has never hooked it up. He does not know if it's 3 axis machine, which it looks like to me, but I dont know these old machines, is it a 3 axis?

Any idea what it may be worth? (I would probably just strip the control and go with a Mach.)

[polaraligned]

BOSS 4.
X, Y, and Z axis. The controller on it is garbage. I would replace everything including the stepper motors.
Yes, with a new controller like Mach 3 you could do 3 axis work.
It's honest value is well under $1000.

[l u k e]

Thanks, that's pretty much what I thought too.
What are the chances of the iron being in good condition?

[polaraligned]

Pretty good. A lot depends on what materials they cut.
These machines had automatic oilers and were broken half the time.

[l u k e]

Any advice for inspection, what should I look for? The mill is not under power and has sat for years.

[keebler303]

You want to look at the ways and see what they look like. Take pictures and post them up. You can move all the axes by taking the belt covers off and turning the motors by hand. Move all the axes through their entire movement and look at the ways to make sure they are not heavily worn or scratched. Also want to check out the spindle and make sure it doesn't have excessive runout and turns free.

Even with a thorough checkover, you are really taking a risk without seeing it run. It may be hard to detect problems with the spindle bearings without being able to run it.

The price should be $2000 or less. There were recently several BOSS 6 machines on ebay very sinilar to this for around $1400.

Matt

[polaraligned]

Look for the obvious. Like Matt said, remove the covers and move the belts to check for free movement of the axis. Also, you can access how much backlash you have. A lot of the head parts, including all the vari-drive stuff is available.
I think well under $1000 is the right price, but it just depends upon how bad you want it.

[machintek]

Remember that Boss 4 and 5 move in .001 inch steps. The Boss 6 moves in .0005 inch steps. Thus look at what you need and what BOSS level fits those needs.
Unless you have power to the machine, you will not know if the control is good and that can get costly.

George

[polaraligned]

BOSS 4 was a 1:1 pulley ratio and had a .001 resolution. BOSS 5 changed to a 2:1 ratio and had a resolution of .0005. There may have been some very early BOSS 5 machines that still had a 1:1 ratio, but everyone I have talked to with a 5 says the ratio is 2:1.

Anyway, the ratio is a moot point as the controller is a piece of crap. Even if it works, it is a piece of crap. JMHO. You need to go into this looking just to purchase the iron.

[jacampb2]

About 2 years ago I bought a Series 2 Boss 6 machine made in 1982 for $500. The machine was in about the same shape as what you are looking at there. The S2 is quite a bit more rigid than the S1. I wouldn't swear to it from the little bit of a picture you give us, but that machine looks like a S1, there is no way I'd pay the kind of money he's asking. You'll have another ~1-2K into new control and drives depending on how good you are at DIY.

As mentioned above, the good thing about these machines is that their factory controls sucked, and even when they were in their prime they did not run reliably and so sometimes saw very little use. My Machine was in tip top shape except for the quill bore, the oiler quite working somewhere along the line and the quill bound up. I got it freed and cleaned up the bore and now it works very well. I think it is one of the best investments I have put into my shop!

Later,
Jason

[polaraligned]

Jason,
I got a Series 2 for $500 in super condition just a few years ago. It is the best knee iron that BP ever made. I have a series 1 also and it is no match for the S2.

[TarHeelTom]

Originally Posted by polaraligned BOSS 4. I would replace everything including the stepper motors.

Polar,

I'm currently converting a Series 1 BOSS 5 to EMC2.

What would you use to replace these stepper motors?

Tom