Ever heard of a reamer?

jimistone

jimistone

long standing member
I'm off work tomorrow and I want to put some wilkinson tuners on an allparts neck I have but I need to enlarge the holes a little for them to fit. No big deal ...I'll just run to the hardware store and buy a t-handle tapered reamer.
Wrong
The don't even know what I'm talking about. They don't have one at any rate.
No big deal, I'll just run over to the building supply...no reamer there.
Sears...nope
Blew my whole lunch hour with no luck.
Got in my office and called several hardware and auto parts stores. Most people didn't even know what I was talking about.
I can get them all day long in eBay ...but I want one tomorrow.
U could drive the 120 mile round trip to Jackson and get one at the home depot, but I can't see burning $20 worth of gas and 3 hours of time to get a $10 tool.
I ended up getting a step drill bit. I think if I take it nice and slow I might not rip a chunk of maple out of the headstock.
 
a reamer, as I understand it, is when you take a hole and you ream it to the exact size, for a tight fit (when I worked on airplanes, that is what it was called), you would probably find one at place that sells machine shop tools. Harbor Freight would have them probably. But you drill a hole, then ream it to the exact size for a tight, or pressed fit.

I hope I helped.
 
You said reamer. Huh huh.


Okay, a reamer is a little like a drill bit, but they can be used by hand, usually have straighter flutes on the shank, and they enlarge holes to closer tolerances than a drill bit and leave the edges smooth. They're much more precise and don't leave bad edges. I used them all the time in machine shops for cleanup or finishing holes. It works like a drill bit, but you can work it by hand like a tap.
 
You can't use a round file? Or why not buy the right size drill bit and just drill it out? Masking tape the hole so you don't splinter the edges.
 
Chili said:
You can't use a round file? Or why not buy the right size drill bit and just drill it out? Masking tape the hole so you don't splinter the edges.
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Drill bits don't usually get anywhere near as clean and precise as a reamer, but for tuners, a drill bit would probably be just fine.
 
Yep, reamers are used to enlarge a bore to an exact size and they cut on the taper. I have a bunch but they dont come cheap. They are used mostly to get the taper right for pegs on violins, cellos etc... I use them for tuning peg holes as you get a very clean and precise cut with them.

Google luthier peg reamer. Reamers are not exclusively a luthier tool they are used a lot in precision engineering to get a precise tapered bore. Most reamers are listed as a ratio, ie 1:14, that would cut a a hole 14 times longer than it is wide.

If it wasn't so cold and wet here I'd head to the workshop and snap a pic but I'm settled in for the night and just back from a scoot round Europe...:)
 
Greg_L said:
Drill bits don't usually get anywhere near as clean and precise as a reamer, but for tuners, a drill bit would probably be just fine.
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I didn't know that. I was thinking reamers would come in the same gauge as drill bits.

Tuners have flanges to cover any small imperfections around the hole. That's why I was thinking it would be okay to use a drill bit. That's what I did for my 2nd project. Had to widen the hole just a smidge. Someday I'll post pics.
 
Chili said:
I didn't know that. I was thinking reamers would come in the same gauge as drill bits.

Tuners have flanges to cover any small imperfections around the hole. That's why I was thinking it would be okay to use a drill bit. That's what I did for my 2nd project. Had to widen the hole just a smidge. Someday I'll post pics.
Click to expand...

Yeah dude, I don't know jack shit about tuner holes. Lol. I'd imagine a drill bit could handle it. I used reamers for lifter bores on 2000+ hp turbo/nitrous big blocks. We had to machine those things to .0001" - a tenth of a hair. Very very precise. No room for error or kaboom. I was just saying, a reamer is a Ferrari. A drill bit is a 78 Ford Pickup. :D
 
Chili said:
I didn't know that. I was thinking reamers would come in the same gauge as drill bits.

Tuners have flanges to cover any small imperfections around the hole. That's why I was thinking it would be okay to use a drill bit. That's what I did for my 2nd project. Had to widen the hole just a smidge. Someday I'll post pics.
Click to expand...

Reamers cut a tapered bore. The cutting edge is usually spiral fluted to they cut cleaner as they cut rather than shear. No respecting luthier type would ever have breakout around the edge of his tuner holes whether they are covered or not...;)
 
Damn, now you made me do it... On my way to the fridge to geta another beer I nipped out back to the workshop.

Here are a couple of luthiers reamers. One is tapered to cut violin pegs and I use it to cut tuners in. The smaller one is used to cut the bridge pin taper on acoustics. I didn't turn the lights on in the shop so you'll have to make out the detail yourselves...

reamer1.jpg

reamer2.jpg
 
Reamer, you're nothing but a reamer.
Can you put your tool in the hole? Oh, no!
Far out, what a tapered hole I'm making now
Far in, don't you know I need to get it just right,
So the peg will fit nice'n'tight.

And then there's the other reamer that puns the very same characteristics rather more salaciously.
 
The holes are only a hair to small...I think I'm just going to roll up a piece of sandpaper and work on it that way. I tried the step bit on a blank piece of wood and the next size up is too large. I don't want the tuner bushings to be loose.
 
I used a single size step drill a few years back, it worked pretty well. Especially if you can use it in a drill press so you can set a stop for depth.
 
Greg_L said:
Yeah you are pretty boring. Hey oh!
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The reason I say reamers suck is I have to use them all the time trying to hold plus or minus .0005. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. You have to "practice" on a piece before using it for real because you never know what size you are going to get and when you have tolerances of .0001 to .0005 inches you cant take a chance and just go for it. Then when they get dull they start cutting oversize. When I bore holes I get them where I want them, and if the insert or cutting edge starts to get dull, they cut undersize and you adjust. They have adjustable reamers but they are shit also. For the application needed here a reamer will do just fine. Some tricks, want them to cut smaller, run them backwards and stone them, then use it. Want them to cut a bit bigger, take a carbide insert and drag it down the cutting edge of one flute.
 
dragonworks said:
The reason I say reamers suck is I have to use them all the time trying to hold plus or minus .0005. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. You have to "practice" on a piece before using it for real because you never know what size you are going to get and when you have tolerances of .0001 to .0005 inches you cant take a chance and just go for it. Then when they get dull they start cutting oversize. When I bore holes I get them where I want them, and if the insert or cutting edge starts to get dull, they cut undersize and you adjust. They have adjustable reamers but they are shit also. For the application needed here a reamer will do just fine. Some tricks, want them to cut smaller, run them backwards and stone them, then use it. Want them to cut a bit bigger, take a carbide insert and drag it down the cutting edge of one flute.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't advise offsetting the flute on a wood cutting reamer by stoning just one flute.. It will make the reamer wander and also give you breakout and tear. Most wood cutting reamers are spiral flute of half fluted to avoid that. It may work for machining metals but not advisable on timber.
 
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