MakingandUsingReamers
part1
BillHaneman
Dbits
ifendisformedproperly,theyareselfcentering requirefrequentchipclearing userelativelyslowly relativelyeasytokeepsharp
simpleboringtools
[Link],Lowtechbits,Pipesand PipemakingCDROM
parrotnosebit Dbit
anglednose,reliefincuttingedge
gundrills
fast,selfcenteringandcoolrunning
still,betterfinishandcenteringifnot pushed ideallywant90110psi 3m3/hrifusinglargerbits,largereservoir helpful notallthesame;get'modifiedhighland' profile
chipclearingisautomatic
differentcouplingsavailable
usinggundrillstostepbore
borefromlargetosmall
smalltolargecausesdrift,aslargerholetendsto runtangenttoprevioushole therearereportsofspeciallyprofiledgundrillsthat selfpilotlargetosmall(pilotonnose) eventhoughsurfacefinishforstepboringprobably isnotimportant
pilotingbitsareimportant
remember,speedisoverrated
stepdrilling(cont.)
allowforanynonconcentricity
myapproachistostepdrillwith0.5mmclearance onsides
fixedsteady
socketreamers
Iusecommerciallefthandspiralflutedstraightreamersforfinalreamingof dronesocketsandinafewotherplaces
holeispreboredtoatmost1mmundersize onlythefirstmmorsoactuallycuts reamershouldspinslowly,withfrequentchipclearing whenboringdronesockets,Iguidetheslidewiththetailpiece,ontothe reamer(aidsparallelismandconcentricity)
Makingconicalreamers
firstdecidewhatyourreamerprofile(s)should looklike multiplereamersgiveflexibility,alsosolve problemofdifferenttooledgespeeds
onnarrowerpartsofbore,reamermovesmore slowly alsoeasiertocorrectforamistake,lessworkto discardifyouscrewup
Asamplereamerplan
planforreamer stepsof510mm length
'fit'thistoyour targetbore(s) checklengthto allow adjustment, perhapsallow forreuseona longerchanter?
turnsuitabletoolsteelrodin'steps'
chucksecurelywithminimumoverhang
colletchucksareideal,anindependent,handcentered3 jawisfinebutslow,selfcentering3jawprobablyOK
firststepmaybeacylindrical'nose'
mustbeundersizetoavoidhigherpartsofbore helpswhenclampingpieceformilling
borepilotholefortailstock nosemayneedtobeturnedwithouttailstocksupport
onestepatatime
turneachsteptothe'maximum'sizeforthesegment,or~0.001/0.03mm oversize carbideisOKbutdecenttoolsteelseemsevenbetter,forcuttingnonheat treatedrod checkwithmicrometerasyougo
stopthelatheofcourse
takeoffthe'steps'
engineer'sbluingisgood carefulnottogoundersize
canbecorrected,painfully,bymovingyourtargetdiameterslaterally
goslowwhenonlylinesremainabrasivesarebestatthispoint accuracywillimprovewithpractice,butislimitedmostlybyyourpatience
remeasureandfinetune
remeasurewithmicrometeronewitharatchetisagoodidea
bestisonewithflatanvils,butcanmakedowithroundonesifyouare careful markthedistancesfromthetipwithathinindeliblemarker
checkagainstyourtargetbores,lookingforbestinsertiondepth youcanputbackonlatheandadjustwithfiles/abrasivesifyoudon'tlikethe results
thisisthelastchancetofixthis,asyoucan'treallydoitoncethereamer hasbeenmilleddowntoaDprofile
(calibrated)verniermicrometer,0.001mm incrementwithratchet
from'cone'toreamer
millingoperationonlyneedstobe approximatelymidline
butnotovermidline! justover50%thicknessallowsforsharpening
initialclampingistricky,butshimsofsoftmetal shoulddoit
thereshouldn'tbemuchlateralforceontheblank anyway,sincecuttingspeedsanddepthsshouldbe modest
amicromillisenough
oryoucanusehacksaw(ugh!) smallthroatreamerscanbe groundonawetgrinder
thistendstobehardon wetgrindingwheels
thentheresultcanbefiled moreflat,ifuneven theninsidecanbehollow groundonwetgrinderand dressedwithfinestone/hone
withluck,youcanreusereamers foranotherdesign...
thereareotherformsofreamers
forinstanceflatreamers 'bayonet'reamers 'squaresection'reamers flutedreamers
spiralflutedreamersthataren'tstraightarevery hardtosharpen
'spoon'reamers
JohnHughesreamer4straightflutes
asdescribedin'AMethodofMakingReamers',SeanReidSocietyJournal v.2,Mar.2002
MichaelCarneytools
flatreamers
usedtogoodeffectbysomemakers resharpeningchangestheirdimensions maybepronetochatterorcreate'lobes' dimensioningtheminthefirstplacecanbe difficult
theycutonthediagonal,whichchangeswith thickness/widthratio
initialreamingablank
Iliketoholdthereamerinthelatheatslow speed(125RPMorless) allowscontroloverblank goslow
avoidoverheating ditto Ilikelinseedoil,haveusedpastewax
clearchipsoften
usenonwaterbearinglubricant
finishreaming
checkborewithgaugestojudgefinalreaming depth
reamerinsertiondepthcanbemisleading,dueto woodmovementandelasticity
somethermalmovement,remember mostbilletswillshrinkabit
givesometimetosettlemonthsideally youmaywishtoreducelubricationatthisstep,to avoidbuildup
handreamuntilspotchecksmatchup
cautions
carefulwithbilletsthatmayhavewarped
reamtoogently,andyourboremaynotmatch reamerprofile useenoughpressure,ifpractical,thatthereamer flexeswhennecessary toomuchpressureorspeedcancause overheating,orevenwithhandreamingcancause unevenresultsduetotimberelasticity
ovalborescanresult
