I am going to make another chamber reamer (made a couple in the past that did "ok" but could have been better), my question is on the number of flutes used. On the other two I used four flutes because it was simpler that way but I have been told that an odd number works better, supposedly cutting smoother with less chance of chatter since the cutting edges won't be at 180 deg. directly opposite each other, is this in fact an important consideration? I have the equipment to do this with and some proper size O-1 bar and a print of the reamer I want but I need to make a decision on the number of flutes to cut, the print has the outside dimensions only with no mention of flutes.
Any other tips/suggestions for making reamers would be very much appreciated!