"Dale Scroggins" wrote in
:


"Fortunat1" wrote in message
...
Another stupid question!

Been reaming holes in a few 4130 plates. The reamer worked fine for
about 20 holes and then the holes started getting a bit smaller to
the point the bolts got a bit snug.
In my ignorance I thought this one hand reamer would pretty much last
me the whole project, but it's obvious I'm going to need a half a
dozen of them at least just to do the wing hardware.
I did a bit of searching on the net and found some info on reamers.
All hand reamers seem to be HSS which would put me back in the same
boat I'm already in so I was tempted by the carbide reamers I saw for
sale. So, my question is; can you use a carbide tipped reamer
designed for use in
a lath in a simple drill press effectively? Or, for that matter, can
you use a reamer designed for use in a lathe as a hand reamer?
Or am I just barking up the wrong tree altogether?

By the way, just for info, the holes I've beenreaming are 5/16 and
1/4. The
material is .090 4130 and the holes were all laser cut about 1/64
undersize. I would ream the first hole in each plate and then clamp
together the plates in pairs to ensure accurate alignment of the
holes in each pair of plates.
Just in case it's not the reamer's fault at all!

Hand reamers will develop burrs on the leading edges of the cutters as
you use them. I have used a small carborundum hand stone to remove
the burrs on larger reamers, used to ream engine valve guides. Yours
are smaller, so it might be harder to find a stone small enough or
with the correct geometry to deburr them. But if you can find a
stone, use it along the radial flats on the leading edges of the
cutting edges, and the reamer will be good as new for a while.


Well, it's stil cutting but now the bolts don't fit into the holes, so
I'd say it's past it's sell by date now. i do have some good wet stones
for sharpening gouges that would probably do the job, so I might try
them on this ruined one to see if it puts he sparkle back on it's cut,
though.