What kind of reamer do I need?

A

Ang_Panday

Joined
Jan 10, 2006
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I need to buy a 3/16 reamer. It's primary purpose is to ream out several 1/2 thick 303 stainless steel. What kind of reamer would be best for this kind of
task? Should I look for straight flute, spiral flute, ....? Cobalt, carbide,....?
 
303 is pretty easy to machine/ drill. i would ise a straight flute cobalt reamer. what size are you reaming to?
 
Are you reaming a thru hole or a blind hole? Are you using something like a drill press or a mill, or are you doing it by hand?

If it is a thru hole and you're using a drill press or mill and you have the means to measure and correct runout, I get best results with a short right hand cut, left hand spiral, flood coolant or oil, about 500 RPM (for 3/16) and a steady (not slow) feed in and out. I frequently use HSS with stainless, but you will probably get the best finishing reaming 303 with carbide.
 
Thanks Balibalistic and Nathan for the replies. It's a thru hole which is .005 to .010 under size. I'm looking at the catalog of ICS and I just want to make sure that I'm buying the correct reamer :confused:

http://www.icscuttingtools.com/Reamers.htm

I use a milling machine, but I do not mind reaming it by hand since it won't be a lot :-)
 
If you have a mill, it will give the best results. If you have a way to measure and correct run out, a short solid carbide will work best, otherwise a standard length in HSS will work best.

Most likely, your best bet that is most cost effective and a "correct" tool from that site will be the fractional sized high speed steel straight flute chucking reamer.
 
A high speed steel straight flute chucking reamer will work fine. Do you want a slip fit or press fit hole? You can buy reamers to accommodate. Also you can bore the hole under size for location or use an under size end mill then ream.
 
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