Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: Brace better than drill press for taper reamer?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Finger Lakes, NY
    Posts
    57

    Brace better than drill press for taper reamer?

    I'm having some trouble boring tapered mortises in some 1 5/8" hard maple with my drill press. I'm using the large LV Standard Taper Reamer. I can get about 75% of the way through, and then if I put enough pressure to cut, the drill press stalls, and if I lighten up the pressure, the bit just spins, gets hot and glazes the inside of the hole. Any idea whether a brace would work better? (I don't own one and probably should buy one anyway, but it would be good to know whether it might help in this case…)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Milton, GA
    Posts
    3,213
    Blog Entries
    1
    I have the LV large Taper Reamer and a collection of braces. I am a little confused though. My reamer is around 1 1/4" diameter at the top and about 5" long. I drilled a tapered hole through an almost 2 3/4" poplar board with it, without needing the full width of the reamer. I think the widest end of the hole is 3/4-1" to fit a tenon made with the matching Veritas 5/8" tenon cutter. Why would you need to run the entire reamer through a board?

    I used my reamer in a class with Chris Schwarz, making a set of sawbenches using tapered legs. The legs for my Windsor and Welsh stick chairs use similar or smaller tapered mortises & tenons. I found that on both the Reamer and the tenon cutter, sharpening was required to get them to cut properly. I ended up using a couple Chirs had sharpened rather than taking the time during the class to get both my tools very sharp. The difference between Chris's and mine was like night and day. Like many tools that come "sharp" you may need to improve the edge to get the performance you are looking for. I understood from Drew Langsner during a class I took at Country Workshops that older model Veritas Reamers required even more work to get sharp enough to serve.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Upland, CA
    Posts
    1,344
    This might be a really dumb question but I just have to ask if you are trying to drill a hole with the reamer........

    You did drill a hole first to something close to the small diameter, right?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Milton, GA
    Posts
    3,213
    Blog Entries
    1
    Another good question Greg. Some people rig up a tilting board braced at the right angle so the pilot holes can be drilled accurately with a drill press, making the reaming job easier. Peter Galbert likes using mirrors, a sliding bevel and resultant angle. It is fairly easy to do with a resultant angle and sliding bevel for chair or table/bench legs.
    Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 07-17-2015 at 11:29 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Finger Lakes, NY
    Posts
    57
    Thanks for the replies, guys. And yes, I did drill a 1/2" hole first, and am trying to ream the mortise enough to get the smaller diameter to be about 9/16 or 5/8. (When I said I can get to 75%, I meant 75% of the hole, not 75% of the reamer.)

    I did notice that the reamer didn't feel too sharp. On my first set of chairs in mahogany it seemed to work OK, but maybe those 8 mortises + not coming from the factory all that sharp would explain things. Any tips on sharpening it?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    'over here' - Ireland
    Posts
    2,532
    The material in some of those sorts of tools isn't necessarily the most durable ever (the solid steel ones), so re-sharpening could well be required. I have some that look identical from a UK supplier, but haven't used them enough yet to have much of a feel for their durability.

    It's important if sharpening (a fine diamond steel card or a slip might be a good option) not to touch the outer/conical surface - only the radial faces of the cutting edges. Even a very light touch to the conical surface behind the edge has the potential to create a situation where it doesn't properly contact the work - because it's been honed back to place it below the level of the surface of the cone. That would likely show up as a reluctance to cut under moderate feed pressure.

    Take a careful look at your cutters - if it's spun enough in the hole to heat up it's possible similar harm to sharpening the outer surface could have been done that way too. The heating strongly suggests that it's not cutting, that the edge is not contacting the work....
    Last edited by ian maybury; 07-18-2015 at 11:34 AM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Milton, GA
    Posts
    3,213
    Blog Entries
    1
    Like Ian says, the instructions with my LV reamer warn against using any abrasive on the round surface. The instructions say to sharpen the flat surface only. This may also be part of the issue in keeping these tools sharp as at least a little work on the opposite surface may be required to keep a cutting edge sharp. This is probably why guys like Elia Bizzarri and Tim Manney make hard wood reamers with inserted adjustable steel blades to cut the holes. The wood reamer can stay the required size and the blade can be sharpened and caused to protrude just the correct amount. I have one of Tim's reamers and as Peter Galbert explains in his Blog Peter and Tim took a design of a reamer made by Richard Starr and made it an even better tool. The ones Tim and Elia make come with their own handle that drives the tool through the wood precisely. There is, of course, a cost for those custom made tools.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Hutchinson, MN
    Posts
    600
    take a look at Curt Buchanan's videos, particularly this one. He provides an unprecedented, incredible service in these videos, and any chairmaker should start with them even before taking a class. He goes through the boring and reaming process, using the reamer made by Peter Galbert.

    BTW, that reamer isn't too hard to make. There are instructions for doing so on several sites.
    Last edited by Bruce Haugen; 07-18-2015 at 9:20 AM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    'over here' - Ireland
    Posts
    2,532
    Lee Valley offer a taper reamer for use in a brace with an adjustable/separate cutting edge too, but i've no idea how good it is...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    7,254
    Blog Entries
    7
    I own it, and use it. I think it's good, I sharpened up the edge upon arrival and it makes fairly clean holes. Finish the cut with a light touch.

    Just a heads up, the 'Professional' one has a square taper shank.
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 07-18-2015 at 11:17 AM.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Belden, Mississippi
    Posts
    2,742
    What speed were ya setting on the drill press?
    Bill
    On the other hand, I still have five fingers.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Finger Lakes, NY
    Posts
    57
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill White View Post
    What speed were ya setting on the drill press?
    Bill
    As slow as my DP would go.

    I have tried to sharpen the reamer, but that has yielded only a marginal improvement. Still not enough bite to enlarge the diameter the 1/8" inch I need. Could well be my lack of sharpening skills, though. And I did get a little bluing before I realized how hot it was getting, which may be limiting the edge right where it matters.

  13. #13
    This thread is 4 years old, but it's valuable if you trying to use these reamers, which I am. I own the LV standard reamers and the "pro" version. The more I use all of these, the more I am amazed that they even made one for a power drill.

    IMHO, tapered reamers are required to be used very slowly - at hand-crank speed. At first, I liked the power reamers. However, it's just too easy to over drive them. It's possible to lock them into place if you work them too hard and fast. This can cause them to come out of the chuck.

    Also, if your pressure is not perfectly centered, it is way too easy to adjust the hole in an undesired direction with an overpress of the trigger. The torque of the drill makes keeping it concentric difficult. Now, these mortises are ultimately wedged so, some of this is acceptable. But if you're after a well seated leg in a mortise, the manual ones provide the needed control, IMHO.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •