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Reaming

• Quickly obtain accurately sized hole and produce

good surface finish
• May be performed after hole drilled and bored

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 Tool used
A reamer is a type of rotary cutting tool used
in metalworking.

Reamers are designed to enlarge the size of a

previously formed hole by a small amount but with a
high degree of accuracy to leave smooth sides.

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 Tool material
Like other cutting tools, there are two categories of materials
used to build reamers: heat treated and hard.

Heat treated materials are composed by different steels, most

notably plain carbon (unalloyed, considered obsolete today) and
high-speed steels.

The most common hard material is tungsten carbide (solid or

tipped), but reamers with edges of cubic boron nitride (CBN) or
diamond also exist.

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 Types of reamer
Adjustable hand reamer
• Straight reamer
• Hand reamer
• Machine reamer
• Rose reamer
• Shell reamer
• Tapered reamer
• Morse taper reamer
•Combination reamer
•Tapered reamer (non-
precision)
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VARIOUS REAMERS

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 Reaming Work on a Lathe

1. Mount work in chuck; face, spot, and drill hole to size

• Holes under .500 in – drill .015 in. undersize
• Holes over .500 in. – drill .030 in. undersize
• Holes true – bored .010 in. undersize

1. Mount reamer in drill chuck or drill holder

• Holes .625 in and larger, fasten lathe dog near reamer shank
and support tail

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 Reaming Work on a Lathe

3. Set lathe to approximately half drilling speed

4. Bring reamer close to hole and lock tailstock in
position
5. Start lathe, apply cutting fluid to reamer and slowly
geed it into drilled or bored hole with tailstock
handwheel

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 Reaming Work on a Lathe

6. Occasionally remove reamer from hole to clear chips

from flutes and apply cutting fluid
7. Once hole reamed, stop lathe and remove reamer
from hole

• Caution: Never turn lathe spindle or reamer

backward for any reason. This will damage
reamer!

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