hand or machine reamers

[T Bredehoft]

A hand reamer, with it's long lead, will not cut to the bottom of a hole. A chucking or machine reamer will come a lot closer to the bottom. If your hole is open on both ends, it really doesn't matter which style of reamer you use.

 

[benmychree]

More likely, I would tend to use hand reamers, both adjustable and solid, rotated by the lathe chuck than any other way and the work held by hand; in old fashioned automobile work, a reamer drive was the go to tool; it had two chucks, one a self centering four jaw turned by a worm gear drive and the other a self tightening drill chuck rotated by the worm shaft; I think the worm shaft was speed adjustable by vee belt cone pulleys. I think K.O. Lee made them.

 

[4GSR]

Back when I was growing up, the only reamers dad had was a hand full of Army surplus hand reamers and a couple of chucking reamers, that was it. Reamed a many of holes using a hand reamer in the lathe and mill, too. Now I have too many reamers! And still have some of the hand reamers I had in my younger years,too.

 

[benmychree]

Back when I was growing up, the only reamers dad had was a hand full of Army surplus hand reamers and a couple of chucking reamers, that was it. Reamed a many of holes using a hand reamer in the lathe and mill, too. Now I have too many reamers! And still have some of the hand reamers I had in my younger years,too.

How can one possibly have too many reamers? My favorite hand reamer is the adjustable spiral fluted type with the expansion screw in the entering end; they have an adjustment range from possibly a little under nominal to several thousandths oversize, depending on the size ( more on larger sizes). The most common of these that I have seen bear the Millersburg brand.