Who all reams the bore?

[Bob Palmer]

I have a MT2 tapered reamer for elk and crow calls (thanks Al!!!) Can't believe how beautifully smooth the bores turn out! Thinking about getting a 5/8" reamer to do my duck calls! Until I saw the potential, never even crossed my mind! Now I'm darn near obsessed 

[dogcatcher]

I do, I always have.  Just my opinion but I think the wood to toneboard contact has better resonance that the O rings. 

Marvin

[Caney Creek Calls]

I do too, I wait a couple days to let the wood relieve any built up stress's before I ream it out. I also have a 1/4 inch reamer for the tone channel. I think it's just one more thing to give me more consistency on my tone boards.
Lewis

[stumpjumper]

If I drill it....I ream it

STUMP

[Wes]

I use a reamer on barrels and inserts.....

Wes

[BigB]

Every 5/8" and 3/4" hole that I drill in wood gets a reamer. I do not ream translucent acrylics, as I have found that the reamer leaves little spider webbing cracks similar to crazing.

Brian

[Joe aka COLD @ J. A. Kolter Calls]

Call me the ole school idiot on the playground.  The only time I use a reamer is in pre-drilled holes in stabilized blocks that fit too tight on the mandrel.  Almost all my call models are friction fitted and sanded to create just enough taper for custom insert depth.   I use shop made tapered dowels wrapped with sandpaper and smooth the interior holes down to 400 grit.  Some of you new wave call makers freak me out.   

[jcz]

I do not own reamer. How do they even work? I see some of you drill it one day and ream it another. How do you get the hole previously drilled out back in the drill press or 4 jaw to line up straight. I drill all my blanks on the lathe. If I took a drilled blank out of the 4 jaw and tried putting it back in another day the hole would be wobbly. 




I put a blank in my 4 jaw I drill it out and sand it with 120 to 320 grit. Put it on the collet mandrel and turn to shape.

[Andre's Wood Works aka: TheDecoyDude]

I've only heard of reaming the end of inserts... and the end of the barrel for a friction fit. What are ya'll doing? How would a 5/8 reamer change a 5/8 bore? I'm not sure I understand the reasoning here. ~Andre'

[Joe aka COLD @ J. A. Kolter Calls]

I've only heard of reaming the end of inserts... and the end of the barrel for a friction fit. What are ya'll doing? How would a 5/8 reamer change a 5/8 bore? I'm not sure I understand the reasoning here. ~Andre'

The new wave reams their previously bored holes with a straight reamer.  What this does is clean up any marring left from the drill bit used and also trues the hole to size.  If your going to use one make sure everything is squared up and true.

[BigB]

I do not own reamer. How do they even work?

The one's that I have, there is a square drive on the back end of it. I've got a ratcheting wrench that fits on the square drive, and I ream the hole by hand. Not all of the reamers available have the square drive end, so be careful when ordering.

Brian

[Aaron at Wingerts Woodworks]

For my first few years of building calls I poopoo'd the idea of using a reamer on my barrels.  I was getting by fine without one.  I pin most of my bands, and my pinning jig is based off of a very precise 5/8" hardened steel shaft.  After drilling a lot of barrels, it was pretty unlikely that the true 5/8" shaft would fit through the 5/8" hole cleanly, so I was having to sand a lot to get it to fit.  The reamer fixes that little issue perfectly.  Mine is a chucking reamer and has a round shaft, so I just have it mounted in my bench vise most of the time.  It is very easy to run a drilled blank over it and clean it up.  It is amazing how much wood it removes.  I chose a spiral reamer, which cuts very cleanly and easily.  My reamer is some of the best $50 I ever spent.

I also use a spiral tapered reamer in my duck calls' exhaust after step drilling.  I mount it in the Jacobs chuck on the lathe and run it in there after all my drilling is done. 

[BigB]

Here's my setup. Hold onto the blank with one hand, and crank on the ratcheting wrench with the other hand.



Brian
 

[BigB]

How would a 5/8 reamer change a 5/8 bore? I'm not sure I understand the reasoning here. ~Andre'

When wood gets hot from the drilling process, and at the time of drilling it drills a .625" hole. But a couple of days later when the wood cools and comes to rest, it could get to around .622".  And at that size, it won't slide onto a 5/8" mandrel. So, the options are to sand the bore to get it back to size, or to run a reamer through the bore to get it back to a true .625". The sanding method works, but its an estimate and check method. The reamer is fast and repeatable every time.

Brian

[dogcatcher]

The only reamer I use is the 2MT reamer for crow and elk calls. 

Marvin