cylinder reaming .....can it be done by hand?

[mozeppa]

well? can it?

also i have a mold that has loob grooves. if careful can they be removed by hand with reamers?

[MT Gianni]

Need a lot more information. What is your machinery skill level. Are you ok if it is within a tenth or a thousandth. Do you care or are you able to measure if it is true or angled? Are you reaming from 32 S&W to 32 long or 45 acp to 45 LC? How much are you taking off? What do you have to ensure you don't wobble. I used to drill out gas orifices with young eyes, young hands and a sharp bit. I figured I would drill 1 to 2 sizes larger than the bit just from wobble. The answer right now is it probably can be done but shouldn't be done in a firearm you are not comfortable throwing away if you screw it up. That is throwing away not reselling. The same goes for the mold.

[Outpost75]

You can send your cylinder to DougGuy and have cylinder throats done professionally with quick turn-around for much less than you would spend for the proper tool. I am very happy with the two .45 Blackhawk cylinders which I sent to him. The work is top drawer and VERY reasonable.

If you are rechambering the cylinder to a different caliber or modifying the existing chambers, such as enlarging chamber NECKS AND THROATS in a Ruger Vaquero .44-40, so that you can load bullets of proper diameter to fit a modern .44 barrel of larger groove dimensions, I have had John Taylor do several cylinders for me. This work is more complex and therefore not inexpensive, but is MUCH less expensive than buying a custom cylinder blank from Bowen and having it completed from scratch.

[wv109323]

Good Question!! I am interested also. I have a S&W with some throats of .357. I would like to take them up to .358 with a size "M" drill bit. I thought about using the bit in a drill press and turn the spindle by hand only. The drill press is for alignment only. The other option is use a flap wheel and remove the .001".

[C. Latch]

If you have to ask, I'm guessing the answer is 'no'.

I'll second DougGuy's work. He's done three pistol barrels for me. Great work, quick turnaround.

[Earlwb]

I think that if you were a practiced machinist where you learned the art of using hand files to make precision things, you could ream things out well by hand. I knew guys who could make almost perfect square metal objects using just hand files. If I remember right it was a old machinists test to make a square metal object using only hand files.

But normally you cannot use a drill bit to ream things out with any accuracy. The drill bit tends to make larger holes than its diameter. You really need to make a reamer for it. The reamer is the only way to get any precision out of making a hole slightly larger. Making your own reamer isn't that difficult.

Using a drill press ought to work. I would typically use a lathe for it, but a drill press should work.

[M-Tecs]

Can you do it with a drill bit? Yes - but you will not be happy with the results. Drill bits don't leave the surface finish or hold size like you are looking for. There is a process to modify a drill bit that is called drill reaming but not something I am not going to recommend in this case.

[Valley-Shooter]

Yes you can do it by hand. You just need the right tools.

MANSON PRECISION (http://www.brownells.com/manufacturers/MANSON%20PRECISION/index.htm) - REVOLVER CYLINDER THROATING REAMER

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/barrel-tools/reamers/throating-reamers/revolver-cylinder-throating-reamer-prod7700.aspx

[DougGuy]

I ream cylinder throats by hand but I have the right tools and the right pilots.

Tooling to do one cylinder the *right* way would be at bare minimum a 1.reamer of the proper size 2.at least one pilot of the proper size but a lot of cylinders need two or more and it is not out of the question to need 4 pilots for a snug fit in uneven throats. 3. a brass lap or other means of smoothing out the throats once the reamer is finished.

By now you have invested about 2 1/2 times more $$ than I charge to do one cylinder done the *right* way.


Good Question!! I am interested also. I have a S&W with some throats of .357. I would like to take them up to .358 with a size "M" drill bit. I thought about using the bit in a drill press and turn the spindle by hand only. The drill press is for alignment only. The other option is use a flap wheel and remove the .001".

Horror of horrors will haunt you for ruining a perfectly good cylinder by doing this!

THE single most important part of cylinder throat reaming, is having a SNUG PILOT in EACH throat! If you can wiggle the reamer enough to see it move once the pilot is in the throat, there is already too much slop to hold it centered in the hole. You can forget any other method of enlarging a cylinder throat that ISN'T piloted by a live pilot. Chucking reamer, drill bit, slotted dowel, even a solid nose reamer, all have ZERO CHANCE of maintaining concentricity of the hole you are enlarging.

If the OP is talking about getting a blank cylinder with the default .330" holes to ream to the caliber of his/her choice, yes it can be done by hand but you'd still need the proper roughing and finishing reamers and again, a snug pilot.

[targetshootr]

Yes you can do it with the tools already mentioned. Also cut the bottom out of a piece of brass to use in the chamber to minimize wiggle.

[44man]

I ream cylinder throats by hand but I have the right tools and the right pilots.

Tooling to do one cylinder the *right* way would be at bare minimum a 1.reamer of the proper size 2.at least one pilot of the proper size but a lot of cylinders need two or more and it is not out of the question to need 4 pilots for a snug fit in uneven throats. 3. a brass lap or other means of smoothing out the throats once the reamer is finished.

By now you have invested about 2 1/2 times more $$ than I charge to do one cylinder done the *right* way.



Horror of horrors will haunt you for ruining a perfectly good cylinder by doing this!

THE single most important part of cylinder throat reaming, is having a SNUG PILOT in EACH throat! If you can wiggle the reamer enough to see it move once the pilot is in the throat, there is already too much slop to hold it centered in the hole. You can forget any other method of enlarging a cylinder throat that ISN'T piloted by a live pilot. Chucking reamer, drill bit, slotted dowel, even a solid nose reamer, all have ZERO CHANCE of maintaining concentricity of the hole you are enlarging.

If the OP is talking about getting a blank cylinder with the default .330" holes to ream to the caliber of his/her choice, yes it can be done by hand but you'd still need the proper roughing and finishing reamers and again, a snug pilot.
This is where I go but I have lapped throats to perfection too. Anyone wants things right, send to Doug.
I don't think Doug uses machines and does like I do. His hands will do it.

[str8wal]

cylinder reaming

Do you mean cylinder throats?

[Oklahoma Rebel]

my opinion, I would send it to that guy, I know the guilt and regret of screwing upa gun. and it was just a cheap Cimarron .22 revolver. I wouldn't dare try it on my combat masterpiece.

[white eagle]

let someone with the tools for the job and experience do it
It could be done but why risk having egg shaped throats

[warf73]

I've turned a 44mag into 445 super mag (rifle) made a 22 cheetah using a 22-250 donor (rifle). But IF I need work done to a wheel gun I would send it off to Doug. And whom ever said they want to use a DRILL bit to open up there throats please don't ruin your handgun.

[dubber123]

Not that my agreement is adding much, but yes, send it off or buy all the correct tools. In my experience any 2 flute drill bit makes oval, not round holes. You might need an inside micrometer to tell, but I would bet on egg shaped throats if the drill bit method was utilized.

[Deep Six]

I've done cylinder throats by hand in 5 Rugers and 1 Smith now with $20 chucking reamers using a ring from a spent case as a pilot in the chamber and been pleased with the results in all - each shot tighter groups with less lead fouling than before reaming.

However, DougGuy is correct in that the only way to ensure perfect angle and runout is to use the specialty piloted reamers designed for this specific task. Each caliber runs $150+ with a set if pilots so you're money ahead to just send it to him unless you've got a whole pile to do.

[DougGuy]

It seems like it is graduation week for seniors about now. I am a senior (laff, groan, joints cracking) and I am graduating this week too. About to take a road trip into South Carolina and pick up a Sunnen hone to do cylinders with. And you thought a reamer with a full set of pilots was expensive?? Sheesh!

The problem with reamers is this. The more you use them, the smaller they cut and soon enough you have to work extra hard after you use the reamer, to hone or lap the throat large enough so that the desired pin gage will pass into the throat, which means you have arrived at the desired dimension and that throat is finished.

Well, I have a PILE of Manson reamers here, I bet I have at least FIVE that are for .45 caliber with a flute diameter that USED to be .4525" to .4527" but now I would be lucky to get a .452" pin gage into the hole afterwards. They are basically useless now. I have enough used reamers laying around that have been in service long enough that they serve no purpose anymore. Too worn and too dull to even use them.

I thought to myself well, I could have already bought a Sunnen hone for less than the cost of these reamers. So I bought one. Now to go and get it. Will take me about a week to get the tooling to have it ready to use, but no more short reamer life no more auto-replace after X number of cylinders.

I should be able to offer a much smoother finish, with zero tear out, Ruger blued cylinders are pretty bad about tear out, the grain in the steel they use is some TOUGH STUFF, and it doesn't like any kind of reamer at all. Even with Tap Magic, the finish is always rough from tear out, there is nothing you can do about it, it is in the steel itself. You never know how a cylinder is going to cut until you chuck it up and stick the reamer to it. Some cylinders cut like butter. Most of the .45 Colt cylinders are easy and cut relatively smoothly and they finish smooth also. The .45 ACP cylinders can be a living nightmare sometimes! One customer's cylinder will be a piece of cake, the next one will cut so hard my shoulders and forearms are hurting by the time I get to the end of it, and the reamer is WARM to the touch. No way to predict. Some will leave tool marks and you cannot hone them out without making the throat totally oversized than what you wanted.

This is not an easy business to sustain. Tooling is VERY expensive if you want to do cylinders and barrels all the time. You will not get rich doing it. Some things you think will work won't. I have a coated carbide reamer that I paid several hundred dollars for, custom made to my specs, JUST to do these Ruger .45 ACP cylinders that are so tough and difficult to machine. It has done 5 cylinders, maybe 6. It gave up the ghost already. Dull and unusable any further. I didn't even recover the cost of this one and it's toast.

The Sunnen is a fine machine, it will hone the most arduous of Ruger's steel cylinders and leave it slicker n a baby's a$$. It was time for a change.

[MtGun44]

Drill WILL mess up the cyl. Two flute twist drills drill three lobed holes. The ONLY ways
to get round holes is reaming or lapping.

Bill

[Geezer in NH]

I had a Sunnen hone and used it for years on shotgun barrels. I paid $400 bucks for it at an estate sale.

When I was retiring I sold it to A large Barrel manufacturer in NH. They wanted to ream un rifled bore before rifling with it for match barrels. They also pretty much rebuilt it and made it air compressed chucks and such.

Boy Are they accurate manual or automated. Way to go!!!!!