Adjuster Screw in Galbert / Manney Reamer

[Paul Carson]

Hello,

I hoping to begin making a tapered reamer along the design of Richard Starr / John Alexander - further refined by Galbert / Manney. The one area I'm unsure of, at this point, is the adjuster screw. Can anyone enlighten me as to what type of screw it is? What exactly it does? (Does it's point simply press against the top of the saw blade and when turned push it lower down?) And how , what angle, pilot hole, etc. the hole is cut for the screw?

Any and all advice & information much appreciated. Thanks. Paul

[Kevin Adams]

Hi Paul,

I will just offer that I own one of Tim’s reamers and it is absolutely first rate quality and a life time tool.

Kevin

[Mike Holbrook]

I have one of Tim's too. Elia Bizzarri use to make a less costly version. Lee Valley makes a less expensive metal version which is popular too. Mine is currently about 50 miles north of where I am or I would check it.

[Mike King]

I have Elia's. The screw is a set screw and it simply hits the end of the saw blade to advance/retract the blade relative to the kerf. Screw it in, and the cut is more aggressive. Retract it and the cut is finer. The set screw is threaded into the hole drilled in the reamer and is accessed with an Allen key.

Mike

[Paul Carson]

Thanks for the replies. Both Tim's and Elias look very nicely made but would like to both save some money and decide upon my own taper. Mike (King), when you say advance the blade 'relative to saw kerf' does this simply mean the blade is lowered such that more of the blades metal extends beyond the reamers' wood surface?

And as far as retracting the blade, is the blade in anyway attached to the set screw or is retraction attained by retracting the screw and then pushing the blade back up into the reamer by hand to meet it? (The blade being loose as in older models I've seen online)

Finally is the set screw threaded into the wood of the reamer or is a metal threaded insert fitted to receive it?

Thanks again, Paul

[Mike King]

Paul, I can't speak to the Galbert version as I've only seen it from a few feet away, but Elia's is simply a wooden thread accepting the set screw. As you advance the set screw, it pushes the saw blade out of the kerf causing it to cut more aggressively. As you back it off, it allows the saw blade to retract into the kerf, moderating its cut. Here's a couple of pictures that might help.

371913371914

Hopefully this helps.

Mike

[Paul Carson]

That's a great help Mike. Thanks a lot.

[Mike Holbrook]

I believe Tim’s version works about the same. I will check it when I get back where it is. Galbert typically colludes with other guys or companies, vs making tools for sale.