I ordered a barrel for the first time the other day. Is there anywhere in Canada that stocks reamers? Where else is a go to for a reamer? I'm either rebarreling a cz 527 in 6x45 or rebarreling a Ross M10 in 6mm Musgrave. I have the equipment to make a reamer, just not the experience. I'd appreciate the input. The end goal is the experience, not anything else.
Where to buy reamers? Should I make one?
- Thread starter sask3500
- Start date
made several over the years, you need good toolsteel, turn it to the profile you want plus a pilot on the end to guide it, now mill the chamber area to the center of the material or if you have a mill with divinding head mill a scallop every 120 degrees, harden it in oil 9unless your steel is air hardened) and temper it backso only the cutting area is hard.
if you need some steel let me know
if you need some steel let me know
Making one is a bit of a chore. IMO, buy the reamer, use it, sell it afterwards and get your money mostly back.
Not gonna say don't, just that you gotta decide if you want the re-barrel to get done, or if you want to use your time making the reamer!
Not gonna say don't, just that you gotta decide if you want the re-barrel to get done, or if you want to use your time making the reamer!
I'm quite tempted to just make the reamer from scratch just to do it. Of the folks that have made one is there a particular drill rod steel that is more forgiving to work with? Air vs oil vs water hardening? Is the flute cut with a face perpendicular to the centerline of the reamer or is a rake needed?
I ran across an article from saubier on making multiflute reamers but the flute details were glossed over a bit.
I ran across an article from saubier on making multiflute reamers but the flute details were glossed over a bit.
Im assuming TOH is toolsteel oil hardening, also known as drill rod
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
well I was just working on the lathe making more pilots for my case trimmer
and I need a few reamers for my projects, and was thinking about making some....
I will be watching this thread.
and I need a few reamers for my projects, and was thinking about making some....
I will be watching this thread.
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
its tougher then you would think, I've messes around with cutting the profile using a manual machine and hitting the exact dimensions to the .0001" is not that hard, getting the dimensions and the exact taper is where I had the most problems.
the next part cutting the cutters was where I wished I had a milling machine, I got the angles wrong when I tried doing it in the lathe, perhaps with a milling attachment for the lathe might have made things easier to set up and be able to to repetitive cuts.
then heat treating... well now I'm out of my depth here and I really need to do more research, I assume that I would be looking at using O2 tool steel and oil hardening it, red hot and just oil quenching.
and finally does it need a final sharpening or not?
bottle necked cartridges are obviously much harder then a straight wall case.
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Another option is to buy a straight cutting edge reamer with the proper base dia. Like a 12mm reamer for 303 British then heat it red hot and let it cool slowly. Lots of reamers have a center hole in the and you can then cut it with carbide inserts and after it's done heat it back up and quench it then stone sharpen the cutting edges
I will echo those who suggest making a D bit. I have made quite a few out of drill rod and I have always water hardened with no problems. It is important, I think, to quench the D bit spinning to avoid warping. Also after quenching, I polish the work and reheat, again spinning, to dark brown and finally grind the bit down to about .010" over 50% diameter (ie leave the reamer thicker than 50%) I also use an integral pilot rather than one that screws in. It is also important to bevel the end of the neck portion and the shoulder so that only a portion of the shoulder is actually doing the cutting . I do that with a Dremel tool. I would target about .004" over diameter in the neck area relative to a factory cartridge. That also brings up another point; work from a factory loaded shell; the various loading manuals can have errors in some of their dimensions. A final thought --- drill out the bulk of the metal for the chamber, with twist drills rather than try to do all of the cutting with the reamer
cheers mooncoon
Forgive my ignorance, which is massive as I am not a machinist -- although I might have come across as one on a certain (Mexican) firearms forum back when I was announcing the .380 Cal and Super Cal concepts -- but when we were making up the .380 Cal idea to convert 9mm pistols into 9mm +P or even .38 Super equivilent pistols based on the .380 ACP casing and using after-market 9mm barrels purchased with short chambers (despite regulations designed to prevent this) that were then reamed out to have .380 chambers with longer 9mm bullet-nose lead-ins, we sent our specs up to Pacific Tool and Gauge in Oregon. If I recall correctly, our reamer design was assigned a style-number, and that can be easily re-ordered and duplicated and the number was then shared amongst participating gunsmiths in Mexico City and Guadalajara (we were based out of Queretero).
I do not know if Pacific Tool and Gauge will do what you need, or whether or not you even want a U.S. Company to deal with but at the time they certainly worked out well for us. Mexico is flooded with 9mm pistols (Browning Hi-Powers, 1911's, Glocks, CZ's, Sigs, and many others) that were never manufactured with .380 Chambers but are registered and working perfectly thanks to these reamers.
Maybe they can help? And apologies if they are not the 'droids you're looking for.
I do not know if Pacific Tool and Gauge will do what you need, or whether or not you even want a U.S. Company to deal with but at the time they certainly worked out well for us. Mexico is flooded with 9mm pistols (Browning Hi-Powers, 1911's, Glocks, CZ's, Sigs, and many others) that were never manufactured with .380 Chambers but are registered and working perfectly thanks to these reamers.
Maybe they can help? And apologies if they are not the 'droids you're looking for.
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
yes that is one route but the one reamer I was looking at was almost $200 USD and I would only need to use it once, and selling it after to re-coupe my cost might be difficult as 357Herrett is not very popular
