Looking for a custom match spec. reamer.
Who is the one to do it?

I was always happy with Pacific.

http://www.pacifictoolandgauge.com

Also had a couple made by Clymer.

http://www.clymertool.com/welcome.html

Hugh Henrikson

Dave Manson

Agree with ramrod, call ptg and ask for Dave Kiff. You will not find a more personable guy in this business. He sets the standard for this industry.

Be careful with Kiff.....

A friend ordered a custom reamer that he wanted and got something a little different....the only thing Kiff had to say when the gun was finished and his brass was not fireforming right was---"You got something better." No apology, no offer to make it right etc.

Just an FYI!

IV

Idaho Vandal,

I'm hoping to move to Moscow within the next few months, from Bonner County, near Sandpoint. My interest is long range shooting and 1000 yard Benchrest. I do my own rifle work.
Please drop me an email if you would like to give me some insight into shooting in the Moscow area.

Thanks,

Jay, Idaho
jmcmunn@imbris.net

Henrikson did a great job on the reamer that he made for me.

David Manson

Dave Kiff

we recently bought and used a reamer from Dave kiff/pacific precision and it was the worst reamer that could have ever been made...be fore warned!!!
regards daniel

You will seldom go wrong with either Clymer or Manson reamers. Dave Manson worked for Clymer for a long time before he opened his own business and all his products are state of the art. On top of that, he’s one of the nicest and most helpful guys you will ever do business with. I’ve often thought that he must be related to the Biesen’s because they both treat and speak to their customers like they were close friends or family. SMART BUSINESSMEN and incredible craftsmen.

Dave Kiff is "da man". I wonder about the guy that got something he didn't want. Maybe he spec-ed it wrong and it possibly was not do-able. I am sure if he had talked to Dave, he could have the problem solved to his advantage. Dave is very easy to work with.

Jim

Jim: My intention certainly is not "slam" Mr. Kiff, I agree that when he does it right, its probably the best in the area---> one just needs to keep him honest.

Without going too much into specifics: my partner designed a custom cartridge based on the .308 Norma. He chose this because of some sentimental attachment he had since he was a kid. He sent the print to Oregon and was told it would be done exactly as he asked. The reamer then went to AZ and the chamber was cut. The rifle came back and my partner was developing loads and the cases were stretching and opening up near the shoulder. He started trying different types of .300 mag brass, 8 mag brass etc. He finally had a cast made and found out he had what was essentially a .300 Weatherby Improved. Not a "bad" cartridge; but not what he wanted and paid for. The barrelmaker, of course, was not responsible he just used what he was sent by Kiff; the reamer was mic'd and not off by a few thousandths here and there it was completely wrong. Of course, this is no big deal we are all human and all make mistakes. What was less then desirable was Mr. Kiffs response to the entire episode, "well, you got something better." In a perfect world I would have expected Kiff to replace the barrel and have it chambered as desired. My partner, who is much more forgiving than I am, merely wanted the correct reamer or credit for another custom reamer in the future. In the end he got nothing.

IV

I have used Hugh Henriksens (Henriksen Tool Co. Wagner Creek Rd, Talent, Or) reamers for 25 years. I have used a few JGS, and a few of Dave Kiffs. I have never had a reamer from Hugh that had to be returned as a result of his talent or efforts. I have had him re-grind or re-make a reamer that gave less than desirable results due to my design. He made them to my specs which have been known to be flawed. At times getting one from Hugh took allot of time. I am the last person in the world to bitch about long delivery time, asked anybody that has ever ordered a rifle from me. Lately Hugh has been getting them out very quickly. He is about to finish up a 505 Gibbs reamer for me and I order it 30 days ago. At my rate of production that is Light Speed.I think they all make very good tooling.

vadal, You must have mixed me up with someone else. I never had a call about the reamer you are talkig about. All my reamers have 100% guarantee. If its not the reamer you need send it back and Ill make you a new one. thanks Dave Kiff

My experience with Dave Kiff was top notch, had a wild idea while travelling on business, talked to the woman who answered the phone who faxed me a print of the reamer....

Called back later with a couple of questions and Dave was on the phone in seconds.

Compared to previous problems with Clymer, not sending what I ordered, and being considerably OFF print specifications, I'm a customer of Dave's for life.

Why hello Mr. Kiff......no I do not have you mixed up with someone else.

.308 Norma Magnum Improved ring any bells?......

Its no biggie as the rifle is a .300 Ultramag now. As I said in my post it was my partner who had the problem, I'll let him know your interested in making it right....

IV

I cannot remember whether it was JGS or PTG or some other 3 letter named company, but I recall at the SHOT Show a few years back looking at the company's wares and the reamers looked like they were sharpened with a Dremel tool.

Can anyone think of what brand this would have been?

-Spencer

Dave Kiff,
Welcome to the AR forums! As you can see, nobody here is afraid to disagree or offer their opinion! Glad you're aboard.

Having been in the reamer rental business for several years I've bought several hundred reamers with the vast majority coming from PTG and Manson Precision. Having dealt with all of the reamer companies I can tell you that Dave Kiff and Dave Manson will work with you on any problem you may have and I'm sure the others will also. There will be problems from time to time with anybody's stuff but it's the customer service that makes the difference and I've been well pleased with the service from PTG and Manson, neither have failed to help me with a problem regardless of what it was. As far as who is the best...all of them make good reamers, they wouldn't still be in business if they didn't.

I must add my comments about Dave Kiff. A friend of mine has gotten many reamers from Dave for me and many other customers. Each reamer is a custom job done via CNC and Dave doesn't tack on an extra charge for "wildcats".
He also can give you a sound, logical reality check on any wild ideas you have for a chamber
design. Thanks to Dave my friend was producing
300 RUM's on Winchester actions before Remington had theirs fully in the retail pipeline. He made the reamer for my 6mmBR and the brass comes out of the rifle looking unfired. A good reamer cut right to specifications. I am sure that Manson and Clymer can do fine work also. I just wanted to comment on Dave.

We use PTG reamers exclusively because of the quality we've experienced and the consistant delivery schedules.

Dave Manson makes great reamers & is a true gentleman.

I wonder how Triebel reamers are regarded abroad?

Carcano

I have to say thanks to you all .I work 6 and 7 days a week on the factory reamers and the wild cats for my varmint and benchrest customers . This makes it all worth the extra hours my family and I put in. If you need a reamer I will be here for you. I must tell you we only grind the factory reamers on CNC all others are ground on old crystall lake grinders. Some of the old machines we have here are the old belt driven grinders from the old Elliott shop. I still hand stone every reamer the way Kieth Francis taught me. I am only 48 so I have alot of reamer making in my future so If I screw up let me Know because I never want to let you folks down . Thanks Dave Kiff

I appreciate your reply and you have never let me down. Butch

Customers can really be a PITA at times!

Nothing made by man is ever going to be perfect, let alone 100% of the time. As long as a company is willing to make good on a purchase what else could you ask for?

I’ve never used Mr. Kiff...but Geez-Louise the guy came on here and flat out said that if anyone ordered anything from him that they weren’t satisfied with it they could send it back and he would fix it to their satisfaction. That’s far more than 90% of the businesses out there will do.

Three of the best reamer-makers are here in Oregon...Hugh Henriksen, Dave Kiff, and the folks at JGS.

I have used reamers and other tools from all three of them, and would be very well satisfied with a reamer from any of them. Any time I have had a problem with any of their products, it has been a communication failure (probably mine), certainly not a lack of skill or lack of good intent by the makers.

All have made absolutely 100% good on what I wanted. Mr. Kiff recently made a reamer for a couple of my friends (a .30-PPC reamer), and it was not what the one paying for it "thought" he had asked for. Dave re-ground it twice, for free, and then finally made a whole new reamer, also for free. I think he surely went farther than I would have!! I know my friend, and although he is a very bright guy, and a hell of a shot, sometimes his communications skills require a bit of mind-reading on the listener's part.

Dave went the extra mile. I have bought reamers, pilots, gauges, and "range-rods" from Dave for benchrest gun work, and they are as perfect as anyone has the right to expect for even three times the money I was charged.

I would put him, Hugh Henrickson, and Forgreen's (in Texas), right up in the same company as the late "Red" Elliot...as good as they get.

I'm sure the Clymer & Manson interchangeable-pilot reamers are also bargains at their prices. I just live amongst so many good reamer-makers I've not had the need to order from very far outside my own geographical area.

BTW, if you can ever talk him into doing it, by reputation it seems Chris Dichter (owner of "PacNor" barrels) is no slouch of a reamer maker, either...he used to be with JGS...

Alberta Canuck-

Is Forgreen's in Texas still in business and if so what is their contact information?

Thanks in advance.

There are 6 of us eagerly awaiting a ".20 BR Quick" from Dave Kiff. There are some very knowledgeable bench rest folks in this town and they all recommend Dave. I trust his reputation and experience I have heard from his customers far more than any second hand stories I hear.

quote:

Originally posted by 30 Caliber Mag Fan:
Alberta Canuck-

Is Forgreen's in Texas still in business and if so what is their contact information?

Thanks in advance.

I don't know if this is still current. If it is, ask for Dan: Part B. Dan Green, Forgreen's Tel: 915-453-2800.

Only reamer I have ever bought was a JGS in .450/400. Chick Donnelly used it to chamber one of his barrels and build me a .450/400 on a Ruger No. 1 Tropical. When I sent RCBS the spec sheet from JGS before ordering my dies, the guy down there said they were the weirdest specs he had seen for a .450/400, and that I was lucky I had sent them.
I still don't know what to make of all that -- whether RCBS was off, or JGS. But the reamer was well made.
That said, I had the pleasure a couple of years ago of driving out to Dave Kiff's shop and chatting with him about a very odd project: a reamer for the .40-90 Peabody What Cheer. I never proceeded with the project, but Dave was most helpful and friendly, and based on the reception I got and the reputation of his tools, I hope to do business with him some day.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Only reamer I have ever bought was a JGS in .450/400. Chick Donnelly used it to chamber one of his barrels and build me a .450/400 on a Ruger No. 1 Tropical. When I sent RCBS the spec sheet from JGS before ordering my dies, the guy down there said they were the weirdest specs he had seen for a .450/400, and that I was lucky I had sent them./QUOTE]
-------------------------------------------

Yes...the one weakness I perceive in the JGS operation lies in the fact that when ordering reamers from them by phone, you have to sometimes talk with and describe what you want to a lady who has apparently never seen a gun or read a reamer print in her life. That is surely not true, and probably very unkind, but honestly, sometimes it seems that way.

HOWEVER, JGS does send each customer a very detailed spec drawing of what they have ordered, BEFORE they begin making his/her reamer.

It is the customer's job to check and confirm the correctness of every single angle and dimension, and to sign that they have done so, and return the approved spec sheet to JGS BEFORE they will even begin to make the customer's reamer.

If the reamer the customer then receives varies from what they approved on the drawing, JGS certainly will do everything possible to make the customer happy, including re-grinding or replacing the reamer, IF the mistake was theirs.

Having said all that, one of the reasons I have been doing more and more of my (meagre) business with Dave Kiff is that when you call his shop, although a nice young lady answers the phone, if you want to talk to Dave about the specifics of your reamer, very shortly that is who you will be speaking with....the very guy who owns the joint and is responsible for your reamer coming out correct. Dave can spot errors in your description and/or give you tips about what alternative dimensions/angles might better achieve your cartridge and chambering goals, while you are talking with him.

Would just like to add a bit about Hugh Henricksen. Though Dave Kiff & JGS have already gotten a lot of space in my above posts, don't let that suggest that they are better than Hugh. NOT!! As I said, I rate all three up there with "Red" Elliot...Hugh maybe even better than that!

Apparently a lot of top, older, experienced, 'smiths think so too. Hugh often has a l-o-o-o-n-n-g back order list. Dave is probably the fastest to deal with if you want a really good reamer really pronto. JGS takes about twice as long as Dave, partly because their primary business is aerospace parts & tooling, not gun chambering reamers. Hugh is likely the slowest...his back-orders would scare a saint, and he sure isn't a young kid. But his reamers are "Tiffany" level work.

My _opinion_,of course.

Alberta: Good point about JGS. I wouldn't have known what to like or dislike about the spec sheet on the .450/400, as I was simply going off of reading John Taylor and Cartridges of the World.
As for Mr. Henricksen, I live just off Wagner Creek road and could probably walk to his shop. Hope to do so one of these days.

David Kiff - excellent person to deal with.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Alberta: Good point about JGS. I wouldn't have known what to like or dislike about the spec sheet on the .450/400, as I was simply going off of reading John Taylor and Cartridges of the World.
As for Mr. Henricksen, I live just off Wagner Creek road and could probably walk to his shop. Hope to do so one of these days.

-------------------------------------

Yeh, of course that whole process doesn't apply if you just call up and order one of their standard, off-the-shelf reamers, like a 30-'06, a .308, etc.

Few people, myself included in the big unknowing group, always know exactly what they want in the way of shoulder angles, neck length, etc., etc., etc., when ordering a "custom" reamer (anythng not SAAMI standardized, or already on the JGS shelf awaiting sale as a result of someone else's design being in regular demand.)

With Dave Kiff, you can discuss which measurements are really important to you...such as neck diameter, neck length, shoulder angle, etc., and Dave can caluculate the others or at least advise you how they might be incompatible. He will also understand exactly what you are trying to achieve, which will greatly increase the likelihood of your getting exactly what you had in mind. Having the guy actually grinding the reamer know all that is sometimes worth more than any detailed drawing.

Just as a tip, "RCBS Load" ballistics software has a "Design a Cartridge" feature that I use before ordering a custom reamer. In that part of that very inexpensive software, you can call up any cartridge out of the RCBS data base provided, then modify it in any dimension(s) you want.

The NICE thing is, if you decide to modify the shoulder angle for instance, the software will automatically calculate and display the new neck length, body length, case capacity, etc., caused as a result of the shoulder angle you input. That is true for ANY dimensional change you input, not just angle changes.

Then you can "print out" the drawing with the corrected/changed dimensions on your own computer printer, and have your own drawing to compare with a JGS drawing, or to send to whichever reamer maker you choose to use.


You really oughta go visit Hugh while you can. Very likely that neither of you will live forever.

I realy enjoy dave kiff's sence of humor and great products.

just an update on my post earlier about the horrible reamer we got from pacific precision ...we sent it back and got a new one in return ...must give credit where it is due
regards daniel