I have a 17-3, 17-4 and an 18-4 that all have one or more chambers in which I can barely insert a cartridge home without what I consider too much force. I'm sure I'd have to hammer the extractor harder than what's good for it after firing, never mind the inconvenience. I've caught 22 fever this spring, and I'm just aching to go shoot these things, one of which I've owned since new and never fired, and the other two are recent buys, so you know the feeling.
Situation:
I have a Manson finisher cylinder reamer on order with an estimated delivery of 1 Jul.
I can buy a Clymer reamer from Brownell's right now.

Having read some complaints about Clymer quality here and there, and seen the raves about Manson's reamers, should I chance the Clymer and cancel the Manson if it works (and what is satisfactory "works?")
Or should I sweat out another 5 weeks and be assured of happiness?
What say you all?

I have used a lot of chamber reamers over the years. In times past, Clymer was often the only easy one to find. Most times, they were difficult to cut with, due to not enough back clearance behind the cutting edge. You had to really work at it to get one to cut because it was mostly just rubbing rather than cutting. This also leads to galling, giving a rough surface finish. I have not used a Clymer in many years so I don't know if they are any better now, or not.

Then Manson came along and had reamers with proper cutting geometry. They cut freely and easily and leave a nice finish when used correctly (not allowing chips to pack the flutes). After a couple of Mansons, I was done with Clymer forever.

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protocalldesign.com

I'd wait for the Manson, they work for sure!

I can hardly believe Clymer can't get back clearance right. Cutting tool geometry has been in handbooks for decades.

OK, PD, Baby, you're echoing what I've read. Thanks very much. Now I'm more comfortable in toughing it out til July.

As I heard the story secondhand, Dave Manson used to work for Clymer and got fed up with them and started his own company. I don't know if that is actually true or not.

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protocalldesign.com

He's backordered when I checked

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PTLAPTA!

Yes he is. I ordered in March and they gave me an ETA of 1 July.

Got a pleasant surprise this Monday - my Manson 22LR revolver chamber finisher reamer arrived way before its July 1 promise date. Yay!
I set to work, cleaning then taping up my 18-4 cylinder so I wouldn't scratch it, and put the reamer to work, using lots of the Viper's Venom cutting fluid Manson sent with the reamer.
Before I started, none of the chambers would allow a new cartridge to fully seat without a finger push, three of them requiring a firm finger push.
It took me about an hour to do all six chambers, all by hand, and I was surprised how much and how fast the cutting swarf built up. I found a trash can with a plastic bag liner and a spray can of CRC brake cleaner made cleaning the reamer flutes quick and easy. The reamer turned smooth and easy and gave tactile feedback when it was time to ease off pressure or clean the flutes. I found it wanted to pull itself into the chamber very nicely if I kept the flutes cleaned often.
Note - one picture shows the extractor not flush with the cylinder with the reamer in the chamber - I did not ream with the extractor raised. I rested the cylinder assembly with the extractor push rod resting on the bench to steady it for the picture and didn't notice the displacement til later. I did clean the cylinder/extractor meeting faces very thoroughly before starting work.
After cleaning the cylinder post reaming, all six chambers "plonk" some 1970's Remington, current Winchester and CCI ammo.
I don't expect any extraction problems. I'll do my 17-3 and 17-4 next.
Then I'll go to the range and scratch my 22LR itch.
Thanks to you guys who recommended waiting out the Manson rather than the immediately available Clymer reamer. The Manson ran effortlessly.

Attached Images

	swarf on reamer about halfway in.jpg (67.0 KB, 54 views)
	reamer in chamber showing recess shoulder.jpg (63.1 KB, 51 views)
	finished cylinder showing where reamer recess shoulder kissed extractor high spots.jpg (64.1 KB, 53 views)
	finished cylinder after recess touch up blue.jpg (63.3 KB, 52 views)

Did you cold blue the chambers or leave them alone after reaming?

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

I left them alone. Honestly, I didn't give it a thought, and don't know if it makes any difference. My older guns that I've shot a bunch are without blued chambers IIRC; whether that's original or from years of shooting and scrubbing I don't know.
Any opinions out there?

Very nice!
I like the mirror finish blue!

Manson finisher?
Solid pilot?

Manson solid pilot cylinder finisher reamer, 22LR.
The gun is a plinker, not something like a Hammerli or a precision target revolver, so I could not justify the extra cost of a set of bushings.

Nice job! I'm waiting on a reamer. What brand of cold blue did you use? Thanks

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PTLAPTA!

Personally, I like to just clean up the seat for the rim all the way around. That way, you don't have the extractor holding the rim of the cartridge off of the cylinder where the firing pin strikes.

If it does that, it cushions the blow of the firing pin, and causes misfires or requires a heavier hammer fall to set it off. In the 3rd picture, you can tell that the extractor counterbores are a little higher than the cylinder counterbores.

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protocalldesign.com

Thank you and good point. I saw that, but I was a little concerned about getting the cartridge rim farther away from the firing pin.
I'll readdress the issue after I shoot it and look at the firing pin strikes.

Oxpho-Blue from Brownell's. I think I've gotten a little better results with Oxpho than I did with Birchwood Casey, and unlike Birchwood, it does not have acid as an ingredient.
I always obsessed about Birchwood getting into crevices or screw threads unneutralized and starting rust.