expanding a hole 14mm to 15mm

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

im going to have the swing arm bolt holes expanded. the first quote i got was £200. the second was £80.

a 15mm reamer is £20.

so my question is, if i were to use a reamer in a hand drill and dill it out. would i expect a good enough job? i know were only talking about a minor imperfection if it goes off centre but theres a chance of this happening anyway unless i can get it on a machine that will line hone the hole instead of rigging it up for one hole at a time as the machines arent generally big enough. but the catch is the bigger the machinery the bigger the business, the bigger the cost to drill out two holes.

i could do this with a hand reamer and take more time over it. someone mentioned that the reamer centres itself. if this is the case doing by hand would work fine right?

just after some advise because ive only ever used a reamer on a lathe where it had no choice to go where i aimed it. but doing by hand obviously will have consequences if i go wrong.

so all advise welcome. in the meantime ill see what other quotes i get. i dont think id pay more than £50 for it but at the same time if the person i speak to doesnt sound to confident id rather do it myself.

then at least i can carry on with the project

cheers

Nexus Icon · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 Aug 2010 Karma :

Many people can hand ream with no issues whatsoever but it's very easy to get it wrong and if you're not perfectly perpendicular to the hole you will not end up with the result you desire.

There are ways to make the job easier, a reaming block would help, but ultimately there's a pretty good chance of bollocksing it up unfortunately.

Unless you can put it up in a pillar drill and do it youself I'd seriously consider getting it done somewhere. £200 is ferking ridiculous though and even £80 is stretching it a bit. It shouldn't take an hour to do it.
____________________
Greetings from Shitsville!

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

could you explain the reaming block? had a quick google but didnt see anything obvious?

im guessing ream a block sqaure to the surface you want and that will guide it in straighter??

the only issue with doing it on a pillar dill is the fact im reaming the holes in the frame, to get the frame level and square and then support it and fixed and still centred. I think it would be near impossible making me think that by hand may have more chance of guiding itself to the centre but i suppose just as much chance of going in at an angle.

to be honest a frame might cost £20-30 to replace so its not the end of the world but then would it be worth it? i think £80 for expanding 2 holes its too much.

SoND · World Chat Champion Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Karma :

I can't see a hand drill and a reamer going too nicely, either do it by hand or in a well clamped pillar drill. Not saying it can't be done but I've not tried it myself. Reamers have very sharp edges and edges like to catch on holes, especially big holes and 15mm is fairly big for a hand drill.
____________________
Go back to bed - You have no rights - "Streetfighters ~ Mainstream motorcycling's crackwhore sister."

Nexus Icon · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 Aug 2010 Karma :

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

What you do depends on what you're doing.

Is the hole just for a bolt or is it for a bearing?

Bolt? - drill it

Bearing? - machine/ream it.

Putting a 20mm drill bit through a 19mm hole by hand isn't the easiest thing in the world but it's not impossible, you might have to blunt the drill slightly by putting two TINY (as in 0.1mm) flats on the cutting lip, to stop it pulling in. One thing you won't do is run off-line though, not on that job so don't be scared to drill it.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy

Lone-Wolf · World Chat Champion Joined: 13 Jul 2004 Karma :

Wotcha.

I wouldn't try to take 1mm ( 40 thou for us old gits ) off with a reamer.
You would have to drill it much closer to the final size and finish off with a reamer.
____________________
Cheers.
^..^
L.W. - www.moonshiners.org.uk

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

Ariel Badger · Super Spammer Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Karma :

use an expanding reamer, take it up a thou at a time by hand.
____________________
Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

Chalky. · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Jun 2010 Karma :

What is a reamer please and what does it do?

stutterin' sam · Nova Slayer Joined: 19 Jun 2009 Karma :

Bezzer · World Chat Champion Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Karma :

Haven't you done this bit of a job yet Very Happy

Acemastr · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Oct 2008 Karma :

Epic thread. Thumbs Up

____________________
2017 KTM 350 XC-F - 2014 Yamaha R6 - 2005 Yamaha YZ125
2016 Toyota Tacoma Limited

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

Jeez I must have been tired last night - I thought it was a 19mm hole to 20mm.

14 to 15 is even easier. Buy a drill and stick it in your DeWalt Smile

____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

most people dont seem too bothered about the accuracy of this. Ive decided to do it myself, partly because of the hassle of getting the frame to a shop to get an (expensive) quote and partly because I always prefer to do it myself.

so i found this

https://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/REAMERS_INDIVIDUAL_SIZES.html

£11.95.

obviously ill do some test holes first and make a guide as suggested above.

some of these reamers are selling for £25 plus on ebay (so im not expecting this to be a brilliant reamer hence the test holes).

should all be fine Thumbs Up

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

You can't take off 1mm with a reamer. They are designed for a tenth or two.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

I'll worry about that later

SoND · World Chat Champion Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Karma :

Have you got a 14mm drill bit?
____________________
Go back to bed - You have no rights - "Streetfighters ~ Mainstream motorcycling's crackwhore sister."

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

I already have plans for Squaring up the swing arm. Right now I just want the bolt to go through the frame

steven_191 · Nearly there... Joined: 31 May 2009 Karma :

im set now. Ive ordered an expansion reamer 17/32 - 19/32 (~13.? to 15.?) so this will do the initial cutting until i can finish it with the 15mm reamer i have. that way i know ill get a 15mm hole at least and not over do it.

I will do this on the side that the bolt is goin through first and then leave the other side at 14mm. the thread on the bolt is just below 14mm (at least it fits through the hole), so i will leave that as is and machine the appropriate amount of bolt down to centre into this hole.

This will leave me with less room for error as im only messing around on one side and in total has cost me less than £20 as opposed to the £80 and £200 quotes that i got.

sweet