Absolutely necessary for 1911's
A must have for the 1911 builder who installs plunger tubes
They Worked Sort Of
While these are not true reamers and just long drill bits, they did do what was needed. Same problem as previous comments the handles were loose and came right off. I end up putting the shanks in a large pin vise to do the job. Eventually I will glue the reamers back into the handles.
Count the handles out
These reemers work so good they bite and just spin in the handle. They are press fit to plastic without any true anchor. I ended up just pulling the handles off and putting them in my cordless drill. This worked awesome on a low speed.
Could be better II.
The reamers are very sharp. The issue was the shaft attached in the handle broke free easily. I used the handle to hold the shaft straight, I applied slight pressure, and turned the shaft with vise grips attached to the drill shaft. I corrected the problem using a 3 square file to cut channels lengthwise inside the handle. Then I cut grooves around the shaft. I drilled small holes in handle then cleaned everything with lacquer thinner. I pushed epoxy into the center hole until it flowed out the small drilled holes. Then I pushed the shaft back in and clamped it. Works well.
Only if you can't find other bits
They're long drill bits sized for the 1911 plunger. Because that's all they are, they come loose in the handles easily. Whereas the shank of a screw driver is flared to give the handle purchase, these are held in place by friction and a prayer. Mine came loose doing their first plunger tube ream and became stuck in the tube. Luckily, I had a spare key chuck to substitute for the handle. The bit itself worked fine. Slow, light pressure, and hand driving took a couple of minutes to put my new tube back to right.
1911 Plunger Tube reamer
Same as all the other reviews broke free from the handle with minimal force and just spins. Small bit broke inside the tube had a hell of a time getting it out.
Not a Reamer
1st off, they are not reamers! They are DRILL BITS. Care & a light touch must be used to keep them from biting into the steel. Drills are made for high speed. As soon as I tried to use them, both came loose from the handles. I had to super glue them into the handles to get them to work. However if used lightly and take your time, they will work. Brownells needs to fix the handle problem and change the heading from "Reamers" to "Hand drills". Kind of pricey for 2 drill bits with plastic handles, but they do work. As 35 yrs. as a Engineer/Tool & Die Maker, I know what I'm talking about.
