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Thread: Reamers

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Reamers

    What’s the effective difference between straight flute and spiral reamers?

    Hand use vs machine?
    …..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands

  2. #2
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Default

    Manual and machine use reamers come in both straight and spiral fluted versions although it is more common for machine reamers to have spiral flutes.
    The only machine reamers I have seen usually had MT shanks, whereas manual reamers have a square or hand tap handle shank.

    My limited experience is that spirals are more forgiving and will give a truer hole than straight flutes.
    eg If a hole has a defect spirals will correct the defect easier

    Adjustable reamers are another kettle of fish.
    Straight fluted adjustable reamers have a much wider range of adjustment than spiral adjustable reamers.
    The straight flute adjustment range depends on the size with a 12mm reamer having about 1.5mm of adjustment
    The only adjustable spiral reamers I have seen (cost an arm and a leg) and have about an adjustment of a 0.25mm so are made to suit specific size holes.
    This means you have to drill to within 0.25mm of the final hole size. Unless you are turning (where you might not even need to use a reamer) then you need drill sizes that are within 0.25mm of the final hole size.

    I have a set of manual adjustable straight flute reamers than cover 6 to 32mm that I bought from CTC - I use them a lot and the work really well.
    I also have a half dozen straight flute machine reamers but I rarely use these.

  3. #3
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    One will chatter, be temperamental, and just generally make your life miserable in anything even remotely difficult to machine. The other will produce a round and clean hole. I'll leave you to guess which is which

  4. #4
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    Straight flute only work where the cut is uninterrupted, pretty much any normal hole.
    Spiral flute will work where the cut is interrupted, eg a hole with a key way.

    I find as long as it is supported properly and lubed with good cutting oil either will work well. Although spiral are probably more forgiving in steel I actually find straight flutes work better in brass, bronze and CI.
    I've seen spirals with different directions of helix, not really sure what the difference is there although I presume each has a particular purpose, direction of chip evacuation perhaps?
    Cheers,
    Greg.

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