Dear All,

A question from a layman, so bear with me, please...

The reamers I have bought until now, I have shared with my smiths, who took over the reamers after my chambers were cut. This time, I'll buy a reamer for myself (.222 Rem).

How many chambers can I expect a reamer to cut?? What influences the lifetime of a reamer (e.g. tool speed - or what)?? Will chambers deteriorate when the reamer gets older?? I have heard a reamer can be sharpened, does that influence the quality of the chambering job??

Anything else I have not thought of??

Thanks for your time in advance.

- mike

The things that kill reamers before their time is concrete, speed, rust and running them in reverse. Sharpening a reamer certainly affects how it cuts. I almost always have to take a stone to a brand new reamer before I use it. Sometimes the lead angle on the shoulder is wrong and it needs correcting to reduce the likelihood of chatter. Keep them clean, run them slow and with plenty of lube, avoid concrete and keep it sharp and oiled when stored and it should last you many years.

We expect our carbide reamers to last from 1000 - 2500 chambers
Roughers run at 350rpm runtime pr chamber 50 seconds
Leves 1/100 in depth for finisher

Finisher run at 250rpm runtime pr chamber 20 seconds

All finishers floating

Always vegitabil Oil pumped tru from muzzle

Hss reamers all data -50% (except runtime + 50%)

i've got one thats lasted me almost 30 years. but of course its been in the drawer that long

Other than the things listed above, I'd suggest that "storage" damages as many reamers as does use.

By that, of course, I mean careless storage. First, I think it is a good practice to store each reamer in an individual plastic tube so that their edges cannot bang against anything which might dent or nick them (like hitting each other). Second, they should be stored in an environment which is not conducive to rust. It does not hurt them a bit to cover them with a good anti-rust grease such as RIG if they are to be put away long-term. It also helps to put some dessicant in the drawers or boxes in which they are kept. (I do not recommend putting the dessicant in direct contact with the reamer...dessicants attract and absorb moisture from the air...as the object is to keep the air dry which contacts the reamer, I wouldn't think one would want to store that moisture-holding dessicant in contact with a reamer.

Another thought is to make sure your "feed" and "speed" are appropriate for the metal being cut and the material from which the reamer is made. Trying to "hog out" too much metal with too much feed too quickly can not only dull reamers, it can break them. Likewise, the correct rotational speed of the barrel being cut is important. If the barrel is turned too fast, it can cause some of the same problems as too much feed.

There is a contrary side to both of those. Too slow speeds and feeds can cause the reamer to burnish and harden the metal being cut rather than cut it cleanly, which in turn much more rapidly "turns" the cutting edges of the reamer and makes it require resharpening more often. When in doubt as to correct speeds and feeds, contact the reamer maker, then KEEP NOTES (and refer to them as needed) until you have all the required info burned into your mind forever.

I cut so few chambers that I never buy a rougher. I cut the entire chamber with the finisher. I run it 150 Max RPM and use a quality cutting oil on it and to date I have one reamer that has cut more than twenty chambers and it looks like it's still new. I really suspect in the use a reamer might make 50 chambers or more.

I suspect chambering 416 Stainless you can chamber so many barrels you will get tired of counting them.

Thanks a lot guys, much appreciated.

I currently have about 6 or 7 chambers planned for this reamer, so it sounds I should be OK for that number. I'll likely only get a finishing reamer, and most likely all my barrels will be in SS.

One thing I did not quite understand (although it may have been a joke, and I just did not catch it??) was Westpac's reference to avoiding "concrete"?? Huh? Concrete??

- mike

MHO

I bought reamers from a retired smith that are 75+ years old. They still cut just find. I have made many of the solid pilots into bushed pilot models and use PT&G bushings. I have had several reamers reground if they were out of spec or wanted to chatter.

I use a high preasure flush system and I expect my reamers to last past my life time.

I have a PT&G 95 Palma Reamer that I have had for 3 years. It is TiN coated. I would guess it has cut over 200 chambers. It cuts to spec but it is handled very carefully.

Reamers are like Craftsman tools they should last a lifetime.

LONGSHOT

quote:

Originally posted by mho:


One thing I did not quite understand (although it may have been a joke, and I just did not catch it??) was Westpac's reference to avoiding "concrete"?? Huh? Concrete??

- mike

Yup, don't let your prized reamer roll off your work bench and land on a concrete floor.

Ah! That makes sense!

- mike

This is probably pretty basic...but here goes. If a reamer tends to chatter, wrap the reamer with note book paper and stuff it into the barrel like it wasn't there...use common sense on feed and lots of lube

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
This is probably pretty basic...but here goes. If a reamer tends to chatter, wrap the reamer with note book paper and stuff it into the barrel like it wasn't there...use common sense on feed and lots of lube

Why not just address the problem so you don't have to go through a ream of paper.