Reamer

[marcros]

I need to make a reamer for reaming out a wooden hole because I don't have a drill bit of quite the right size. It will only remove .2 of a mm at most.

I am going to use the same silver steel that will eventually go in it. I know that I need to heat treat it but does it need tempering afterwards?

The material removal will be minimal, and I expect to only use it a couple of times for this task.

 

[Jelly]

Tempering will reduce the chances of it having a brittle fracture, and if it's quite a slim diameter, is a good idea.

For a bigger diameter hole, you'll probably get away without it.

 

[marcros]

it is 10mm. I dont think it is too big a job to temper it so will do so.

 

[AES]

Personally marcros, I don't think I'd bother - 10 mm OD, only 0.2 mm to take off, and only a once-use only tool? Nah.

I Doubt you'll have any problem without tempering under all the above circumstances, but as you say, you can if you like, then at least then you'll have a tool that you COULD happily use again (but will probably never happen).

So when someone gets the job of clearing out "all Grandad's old junk down the shed" in about 100 years time they'll say "I wonder what the silly old so-and-so made THAT thing for?").

 

[marcros]

I shall write a little note with it to explain!

 

[AES]

I shall write a little note with it to explain!

Good idea mate.

 

[Sideways]

0.2mm of wood is very little to remove.
For a one off, could you not do something with e.g. an undersized wooden dowel wrapped in abrasive and spun carefully in the hole ?

 

[Sideways]

Or even abrasive wrapped around an undersize drill bit.

 

[Sideways]

Or if there's a silver steel pin going in, make it an inch overlength , chamfer one end, put two file cuts in that end to create cutting edges and slowly drill it in.
Tap out, machine off the cutting and back ends then tap back in.

 

[marcros]

Or if there's a silver steel pin going in, make it an inch overlength , chamfer one end, put two file cuts in that end to create cutting edges and slowly drill it in.
Tap out, machine off the cutting and back ends then tap back in.

That is exactly what I was going to do, but I hadn't considered doing it as a single tool. good idea! If I ever make a second tool, I can do the same and not risk lumbering future generations with trying to work out why I made this tool!

I say 0.2mm because I can get to that with a drill and I thought that a reamer was supposed to remove very little. I have to admit, the YouTube I saw was click spring who was using it to ream a hole in brass. The hole is currently 9.5mm I think. I am drilling/reaming on a wood lathe so in theory it should be fairly true.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

0.2mm? Can't you just wrap a bit of abrasive around a dowel?

 

[marcros]

0.2mm? Can't you just wrap a bit of abrasive around a dowel?

yes, it is an option and may be the easiest one (that I hadn't considered before this thread). the pin that is going through it needs hardening though, so in part it is a practice run of the process for that.

 

[jameskidd]

You could grind your drill to cut a larger drill hole by making the drill point a little off centre which works well.

 

[TheTiddles]

yes, it is an option and may be the easiest one (that I hadn't considered before this thread). the pin that is going through it needs hardening though, so in part it is a practice run of the process for that.

What are you making that needs a hardened pin into a soft material like wood? The pin will just push the wood out the way

Aidan