cheapo tool for bridge pin reaming

[Barry Daniels]

I don't see much controversy here.

[Bob Hammond]

Sometimes, there are tempests in teapots. But I agree that it's really not such a big deal.

It's all about thinking about what needs to be done, and making use of what's available to do the job. Sometimes the proper/perfect tool is at hand, and sometimes it's beyond one's reach -- don't have it or can't afford it.

[Dan Smith]

Thanks Bob,
As a beginner, I made many tools.
It gave me a better understanding of what tools I wanted to buy and what to look for in a specific tool.
Some beginners will go out and buy a bunch of tools only to find some are never used or the purpose of a tool is not clear.
Dan

[Joel Nowland]

No controversy. Just different ideas and experiences.

This is what forums are for to share info, ideas and experience. Nothing wrong with disagreeing as long as you do it respectfully.

[Bryan Bear]

I don't think there is any controversy here (as others have said). I actually think these are the best types of threads. I like seeing solutions for beginners and hobbyists for specialized tasks. Seeing people "debate" the merits of various tools/techniques/solutions from different perspectives helps the individual work out on his or her own which tools and techniques to try first and identifies potential pitfalls. I read a lot of discussions like this one and early on really guided me over the hump from no experience to actually completing the first instrument. They are just as valuable now in helping me refine techniques and better understand specialty tools and their shortcomings.

[Bryan Bear]

BTW, I wanted to ask earlier in this thread but forgot. Bob pointed to the "repairman's reamer" in an earlier post. I got a couple of those years ago. I cut the end off of one to make a reamer for a banjo 5th peg (worked just fine since I was only doing one) and I wanted to try the other (full length) for bridge pin holes. I could never get a clean cut in by practice cuts with the narrow diameter holes. I'm sure it is a matter of bad technique on my part but the holes kept coming out hexagonal or star shaped. What was I doing wrong? I even chucked it up in my drill press and ran it fast with a slow feed rate and the hole still had facets.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but it seemed related enough and not really worthy of a new thread either.

[Barry Daniels]

Bryan, that is pretty standard for those type of reamers. It is why many modern styles have only one or two flutes, which totally prevents the problem. The facets are caused by the reamer moving up and down slightly during use which is unavoidable when using by hand and not easy even in the drill press, as you discovered. The facets seem to be fairly common when reaming wood. I have never seen them happen in metal, for some reason.

[Alan Carruth]

It's the grain in the wood that messes things up: it cuts harder across and against the grain than with it, so the reamer dives in several times per turn. Even the countersinks I have, with five or seven flutes, will do this, and even on metal from time to time. I recently found that on metal the key is to run the tapered reamer or countersink slowly: just the opposite of what you'd think would work, but I digress. The solutions for wood are either an abrasive reamer or one that's half fluted.

I know I've posted about 'D' section reamers here before. Basically, you taper a rod by whatever means and then file or grind a bit less than half of it away, making a large 'flute'. It's actually an old method: they used to make the reamers for tapering the bores on wind instruments this way, using a wooden shaft with a cutter attached. I've used aluminum ones for small jobs, and a mild steel one would get you through several guitars, at least. Some sort of drill and a file is all you need to make one in that case.

As others have said: I don't see any 'controversy', and that was certainly not my intention in posting my own experience. I've used the sandpaper trick many times, although not to ream bridge pin holes. It's a good method. Everybody has their own way of doing things, though, depending on their skills and the tooling they have available. This list id a great place to get all the different methods out there, and your post was the catalyst.

[Bryan Bear]

Ahhhhh! I gotta' let this sink in! For once, I can blame the tool and not my technique <G>

Alan, I remember reading something from you about D shaped taper reamers years ago. I always had it in the back of my mind as something I wanted to try. I just need to befriend someone with a metal lathe.

[Bob Shanklin]

As a matter of fact, I was just admiring the Grizzly item last night. I've forgotten which brands use 3 degree pins vs 5 degree pins.

There are also repairman's reamers from wttool.com at about $6. I think that they have a 5 degree taper, but since there's a location not too far away from me then I'll go and have a look when I'm in the neighborhood. They probably have a taper gauge on hand for checking the reamer, if I ask nicely.

http://www.wttool.com/index/page/catego ... amer+(WT)/

Bob, here is a great tool for finding the degree of taper http://www.magafor.com/841/uk.htm# .
The standard length on these reamers is 3 1/2" so the 1/8x1/2 is 6.13 degrees, and the 1/8x5/8 is 8.17 degrees, not good for our purpose.
I like your sandpaper idea, and am going to try it.

Bob

[Todd Stock]

For someone that just needs to fit a set of pins, I like the OP's approach...fully adequate if it's an occasional use tool. For a repairman or pro/semi-pro builder (e.g., accepting other people's money), the right tool - a pin reamer - is a minimum requirement. About the only use I have for the usual repair reamer is (as mentioned) for banjo 5th peg reamers.

[Alan Carruth]

Bryan wrote:
"I just need to befriend someone with a metal lathe."

I made my last one using a hand drill and my grinder, iirc. You chuck a piece of drill rod in the hand drill and shape it to the proper taper on the grinder while it's rotating. The take it out and grind it to a 'D' section.

[Matthew Lau]

I've got to give kudos to Bob.

When I was finishing one guitar (haven't built more steel strings), I plunked down a lot of money for the LMI reamer.
It worked a little too well, as I quickly overcut the hole.
I found out about the sandpaper trick 5 minutes afterwards and found I liked it better.

I've got to thank Bob for yet another great idea for those of us without a ton of money (like I was, when starting out.)

[Michael Lewis]

Matthew, the matching tool for the reamer is the "peg shaper" or "shaver". The reamer cuts the hole and the shaper cuts the peg to fit the hole. This is a seriously important pair of tools to have in a tool kit.

When the hole is too big you cut a peg to fit the hole and glue it in, then when the glue is dry you cut the excess off the peg and re-drill the hole, and re-ream the hole to proper size. It's important the reamer and shaper are set at the same angle so the peg fits the hole accurately.

[Bob Hammond]

I'll get to work.

[Mark Fogleman]

I'll get to work.

I have some too skinny pegs that may work for this.
What are you using to make the bevel on top of the hole?