Anyone ever cut down a reamer shaft? I've got a 1" reamer that I need to be
able to hold in a half inch chuck to ream polyethlylene. Tailstock is M2 and
the reamer was not availiable in anything less than M3. By the time I added a
M3 to M2 to a M3 reamer, it would be too long. Shaft is not real hard, file
will cut the surface. Ideas?

"GMasterman" wrote in message
...
Anyone ever cut down a reamer shaft? I've got a 1" reamer that I need to
be
able to hold in a half inch chuck to ream polyethlylene. Tailstock is M2
and
the reamer was not availiable in anything less than M3. By the time I
added a
M3 to M2 to a M3 reamer, it would be too long. Shaft is not real hard,
file
will cut the surface. Ideas?

Suggest use an abrasive cutoff wheel to shorten it, dont let it get very
hot.....I have actually turned them before using carbide tooling.....your
mileage may vary.

--

SVL

This should be done, or at least finished, on a cylindrical grinder IMO.

Grant

GMasterman wrote:

Anyone ever cut down a reamer shaft? I've got a 1" reamer that I need to be
able to hold in a half inch chuck to ream polyethlylene. Tailstock is M2 and
the reamer was not availiable in anything less than M3. By the time I added a
M3 to M2 to a M3 reamer, it would be too long. Shaft is not real hard, file
will cut the surface. Ideas?

Just a question here.....why not bore instead of ream? I've done both
in poly and have found that boring is worth the trouble. Reaming tends
to be inaccurate due to polyethylene flexing under the cutting teeth.
Also poly tends to make long stringy reaming chips which can pile up
and be be re-cut/roll under the teeth which bunges up the quality of the
hole in these sizes. I find that when reaming thick material at 1" dia
I can get about 3/4 of an inch in while the chips exit the reamer well
then I either have to back out because they start piling up or do some
other monkeying to keep things going.

Oh yea...you have to take a pretty good bite with polyethylene or the
reamer will expand the hole and skate instead of cut (or have things
razor sharp)

Koz

Grant Erwin wrote:

This should be done, or at least finished, on a cylindrical grinder IMO.

Grant

GMasterman wrote:

Anyone ever cut down a reamer shaft? I've got a 1" reamer that I need
to be
able to hold in a half inch chuck to ream polyethlylene. Tailstock is
M2 and
the reamer was not availiable in anything less than M3. By the time
I added a
M3 to M2 to a M3 reamer, it would be too long. Shaft is not real
hard, file
will cut the surface. Ideas?

Boreing has not produced the finish that I am looking for. Looks like the poly
is soft enough tat it springs back after the boring bar passes, leaving a rough
surface. I have made many smaller bushings, bored or drilled, then reamed to
end up with a slick finish that I could not produce any other way. I drill with
a 3/4" drill bit, then ream to 0.750 and it comes out perfict every time. Need
to reproduce the same results in 1". BTW, a fortsner bit yealds a better
surface that my indexable boring bar, but still not good enough to please me.
Thanks!

Hmmm..interesting. Every thing I do is UHMW and at least 2" thick so it
may change things a bit. I can get a fairly good finish reaming but the
size is always out a few thou and any chips roller under the cutter the
finish is shot. With the right feed and speed I can get what feels like
a glass smooth finish boring that is dead on..using a not-too-sharp
carbide indexable bit on the boring bar. The last boring pass needs to
be greater than 1/16 so there is something to bite.

Fortunately, most of the tolerance I need to hold are +.005 and the
finish can be "good enough". I'll try reaming with your method of
taking nothing off but the fuzz just to see what happens.

Koz

GMasterman wrote:

Boreing has not produced the finish that I am looking for. Looks like the poly
is soft enough tat it springs back after the boring bar passes, leaving a rough
surface. I have made many smaller bushings, bored or drilled, then reamed to
end up with a slick finish that I could not produce any other way. I drill with
a 3/4" drill bit, then ream to 0.750 and it comes out perfict every time. Need
to reproduce the same results in 1". BTW, a fortsner bit yealds a better
surface that my indexable boring bar, but still not good enough to please me.
Thanks!

turning the shank is no big deal if you use a carbide cutter.
I'd recommend you add three flats for the chuck jaws. The 1/2" chuck will be
a bit beyond its clamping capacity, the flats will drive live a beast.

your next concern is spinning the #2 adapter in its bore...


"GMasterman" wrote in message
...
Boreing has not produced the finish that I am looking for. Looks like the
poly
is soft enough tat it springs back after the boring bar passes, leaving a
rough
surface. I have made many smaller bushings, bored or drilled, then reamed
to
end up with a slick finish that I could not produce any other way. I drill
with
a 3/4" drill bit, then ream to 0.750 and it comes out perfict every time.
Need
to reproduce the same results in 1". BTW, a fortsner bit yealds a better
surface that my indexable boring bar, but still not good enough to please
me.
Thanks!

your next concern is spinning the #2 adapter in its bore...


Yep, right now it's loctited in place. I did get a MT2 reamer today to clean up
the tailshaft bore. Oh the problems of trying to get by with a 60+ year old
Sheldon! Damn, now that I think about it, bet there's not many 60 year old
power tools around still earning their keep but old mills and lathes. Guess
that alone says something for US quality!

(GMasterman)

By the time I added a
M3 to M2 to a M3 reamer, it would be too long. Shaft is not real hard, file
will cut the surface. Ideas?

Can you "float" the reamer into the work? For example, if the reamer's tang
end has a center hole (old ones would), use a dead center in the TS in it.
Hold the reamer in place with a wrench that is long enough to bind on the lathe
bed (wrench jaws gripping the reamer tang), and use the TS handwheel to push
the reamer into the work (under power--a jolt at a time), same as you would do
to tap a thread.
Frank Morrison

Using that method I'd be afraid of missalighnment in starting. It won't take
much to ruin a poly bushing if the reamed get out of line and bites in

(GMasterman) wrote in message ...
Anyone ever cut down a reamer shaft? I've got a 1" reamer that I need to be
able to hold in a half inch chuck to ream polyethlylene. Tailstock is M2 and
the reamer was not availiable in anything less than M3. By the time I added a
M3 to M2 to a M3 reamer, it would be too long. Shaft is not real hard, file
will cut the surface. Ideas?

I've done it, angle the compound with the reamer between centers, take
light cuts, don't even need carbide for it. Just be careful that
nothing happens to the center on the tang, if you ever want to sharpen
the reamer and have it come out right. When you get close to size,
bluing and a new or very little used sleeve will show you where the
angle is wrong. Grinding would be the ideal way, but may not be
available to you. Not sure I'd want to grind from a #3 to a #2,
probably turn to within .010" or so then grind. The taper shanks
aren't hard, but are still tool steel, keep the speeds down and you
should be ok.

In the same line, I take broken TS drills and use the shanks to mount
smaller drill chucks salvaged from burned up hand drills. cheap way
to get around the 1/16 minimum on the half inch chucks I have. Just
cut them off with a hacksaw, not an abrasive wheel. Reason should be
obvious.

I cut an mt3 down to mt2 between centers, drive plate, slit brass
sleeve to clamp to, using the topslide set to conform to an existing
mt2 reamer taper, only any good if your reamer will accept a center at
each end though.
Not ideal I know but I only needed it for a short run and it did the
job!
Regards,
Nick