reaming revolver cylinder by hand

[student1946]

I have an after market cylinder for my 1895 Nagant revolver which is chambered for .32 A.C.P.If I rent a reamer,can I accurately ream the cylinders to 32H&R Mag by hand or do I need to have the work done on a lathe?There are not many gunsmiths in my immediate vicinity.Any suggestions where I can send it if it is not advisable for me to do it myself?I don"t want to ruin it, but I don't want to spend too much on a fun gun.Any advice would be appreciated.

[John Traveler]

Re-chambering a revolver cylinder is normally done using a milling machine, a lathe, or even an accurate drill press.  The milling machine is preferred for it's slow speed and controlled downfeed and stops.

You need a properly piloted chambering reamer to do the job right. 

I would advise against trying to hand ream the chambers.  It's very easy to very easy to bind and ruin the cylinder and reamer with just a few improper turns.

[coyotejoe]

I have an after market cylinder for my 1895 Nagant revolver which is chambered for .32 A.C.P.If I rent a reamer,can I accurately ream the cylinders to 32H&R Mag by hand or do I need to have the work done on a lathe?There are not many gunsmiths in my immediate vicinity.Any suggestions where I can send it if it is not advisable for me to do it myself?I don"t want to ruin it, but I don't want to spend too much on a fun gun.Any advice would be appreciated.

I've had three to those revolvers over the years, two had the .32ACP cylinder rechambered to .32 H&R. I do agree that it is not worth spending money in an attempt to make a silk purse from a sow's ear, in fact it's not worth even the $69.95 they are now selling for, much less the price of a .32 ACP cylinder. I've never gotten 25 yard groups much under 4" with any of those guns, cylinders, or ammo. You can rechamber by hand it you go very slowly and carefully with lots of cutting oil. Better is a drill press, still turning the reamer by hand, just using the press to maintain alignment, but don't expect a .32 H&R to be any more accurate than the .32 ACP.
  I keep one around just to show friends the most ridiculous military handgun ever adopted by any major power. I have the greatest sympathy for the Russian cavalryman who had to turn in his .44 Smith & Wesson for that silly little toy.

[gunnut69]

On a recent episode of 'Cowboys' the television series they were at the shop of a famous hand gun smith. He was re-chambering a revolver cylinder using a drill press and a piloted reamer. I assume the drill press was a good one and checked out. They used a jig to hold it in place and the motor to turn the reamer. It was done at very low speed and stopped and cleaned/lubed often.