Trying to put a .28 shaft through a .25 hole will be a pain so the reamer is one of the easiest and best ways to make it easy.

My Fox reamer http://www3.omnimodels.com/cgi-bin/w...I=FOXQ1520&P=7 seems to be sharper than the GP version my brother bought.

A lot of engines have 1/4" shafts so it's very possible that you didn't need to ream your props 30 years ago.