Your Thoughts on Reamers For Resto Work

[captainsousie]

As you might have guessed, I really like restoring pipes...almost as much as I like complaining about restoring certain pipes. I've got most everything down (I think) but one thing still isn't right. The reamer. I have 2 different reamers, a Butner and a Senior. Both have their strengths but neither quite do the trick. If you have thick, hard cake the Butner screams and runs away. If the bowl size is larger than group 1, the Senior leaves most of the cake in the pipe. I find myself breaking down the cake with the senior and finishing with a knife which, frankly, is not something I like doing. Reaming with a knife is not the best way to do an even ream.
So, any thoughts? Castleford? Does the Castleford have bits big enough to get a group 6 bowl de-caked? A reamer I haven't heard of? Do I just need to make a reamer myself? I've tried the boiling water trick on 2 pipes and all it did was make the pipe wet.
Thanks

 

[ssjones]

I use the Castleford set 95% of the time. Sometimes, for really large bowl pipes or ones with an odd bowl size, I use the Senor. Steve Laug runs thru all the reamer choices here, you might find these interesting.

http://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/my-choices-in-pipe-reamers-a-review-6/
And

http://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/i-guess-i-collect-pipe-reamers/

 

[captainsousie]

Thanks Al, that was a good read. May have to add a Pipnet. Just looked up the specs and it gives me 2 more mm in diameter over the fully extended Senior.

 

[durham270]

I use the Kleen Reem Pipe Tool. It's rigid and holds up very well.

 

[ssjones]

Mine is set is like the picture Roth posted, so I must have the Pipnet set.

Every once in a while, I get a pipe that doesn't fit any of the four pipenet bits, so that is when I pull out the Senor.