12-31-04
T-reamer
The handiest simple tool in the world (that most people don't own) - a sheet-metal worker's T-reamer.
This utterly simple no-working-parts hand tool will easily, smoothly, safely, and precisely enlarge round holes (and keep them perfectly round) in any rigid, non-brittle material (i.e. not rubber or leather, not glass, but almost anything else). I discovered this tool by accident when I was twelve years old and have owned one, more or less, ever since. When I lose one, I have to buy another. Costs a few bucks, and, with regular household use, never wears out. Try it. You'll like it. Don't get marooned on a desert island without one.
-- William Gibson
T-Handle Taper Reamer
$4
Amazon
Favorite (15)
Andy M-S
I bought one of these right after I got my ham license (at 13) for enlarging drilled holes in aluminum panels from 1/4" (the largest drill bit in my dad's set) to a size appropriate for a toggle switch or SO239. That same reamer has been in my toolbox for almost 40 years, and yesterday I used it to make a Christmas present for my kids (a switchbox so that they can have the Xbox and PC hooked up to the same set of speakers). Indeed, this is a tool you should never, EVER, be without.