Reamer length

[Davyboy]

Why were my reamers 25% longer than the drills? I only have 2" travel on my HF drill press, this can be an issue. The Bosnian made reamers I bought work real well, but the stem was hardened all the way back, unlike drill bits. I tore up a new Nicholson hack saw just cutting two reamers to length :x should have used the abrasive wheel.

 

[Lew Hartswick]

I don't understand why you cut the shanks of the reamers off. It certainly
didn't increase the travel of the drillpress spindle. ?????
To begin with it isn't good to hold a hardened shank in a chuck, it's hard
on the jaws. If it was a chucking reamer it should have an un-hardened
shank. Hand reamers should be driven by a wrench (like a tap wrench).
...lew...

 

[mklotz]

Maybe he didn't want to move the table and lose the registration to the just-drilled hole.

I've had to shorten reamers for exactly that reason on my milldrill. (Well, in that case it's the head that moves but amounts to the same thing.)

 

[Cedge]

I didn't own a collet set when I first began using my milldrill, so using the supplied drill chuck was pretty much Hobson's choice. I cussed quite a bit as the end mill would screw itself into the metal, messing up hours of intense effort. In those days I had no idea just how badly my cuts were wandering due to end mill flex, introduced by the drill chuck. I finally broke down and purchased a 3MT collet set. The difference was like night and day. Accuracy greatly improved since the collets prevented much of the end mill flex that I didn't know was occurring and the end mills stopped digging wells in the metal. I simply couldn't operate without the collets today.

Well worth the cost if you are going to use the mini-mill for much more than drilling holes... trust me.

Steve

 

[Davyboy]

Yes, as Marv said, didn't want to lose position on the just-drilled hole. I'm still wondering why a chucking reamer is longer than the drill to match. I know I cut off the "center" that was used to make it, and maybe for sharpening it, but these are, to me, disposable tools for the cost.

 

[Mcgyver]

a reamer isn;t located to its cut by the drill chuck, its self locating. if you look in machinery's handbook these lengths are prescribed - they're to make the shaft enough flex to correctly align itself to the hole.

on a mill where you can move the z axis its fine to ream, but if its a round column, you'd be better off not cutting up the reamers and interfering with there design - ream the holes in the drill press afterward, or ream in the mill but with the work floating on the table or in the vice on the table but not clamped down.

but these are, to me, disposable tools for the cost.

this is just an opinion, and you know what they say about them; but it is a false economy buying cheap reamers. the quality ones will last forever in a home shop. you'll spend more on the junk and have to endure its frustrations, broken tools, inaccurate holes etc. It's not like you have to buy Dormer and such, there is good mid prices stuff out of eastern Europe etc. I don't know what you are using, but it seems to me that there is a level of quality available today that has gone way past just being reasonable stuff at an accessible price; some of this it simply unusable and ultimately will chase newcomers away in frustration which is a bad thing.[/code]