[NBF823]

I need to enlarge some holes for larger studs in an axle. Can I just drill them with a hand drill, or do I need to put them in a machine?

[dataway]

Will the studs be pressed in? If so .... it probably has to be at the shop anyway, so might as well have them drill it out.

If you are only going like 1/16th - 1/8th larger I'd say fine by hand if you step 1/64 at a time. But then you'll need several high quality, probably 1/2" and larger bits, and the appropriate HD drills with a 5/8" chuck. Might find a shop is a cheaper option.

Even in my fairly well equipped metal shop it might be a pain .... the bench top drill press won't fit an axle of course .. and would be a real pain to try to fixture it in the BP mill for accurate drilling. Would be doable with a good size floor drill press with a center hole in the table large enough to take the axle shaft.

Done carefully and properly by hand .... I'd think it would be ok. But ... wheel studs always kind of sketchy to do any questionable work.

[NBF823]

Yea, they're spline press in, and the hole is going from 7/16 to 15/32.

The hubs are shorty IRS units which have no axle portion, so they'll fit on a milling table, but centering them will be a real pain - I think a rotary table would be the best bet to get one hole on the zero of an axis, along with the center of the hub. I'm hoping to avoid all that though.

Is a reamer a better option? Are there hand ones for that, or power? Pilot reamers like that?

[Jack Gifford]

Yes, you could carefully hand-drill them. But it's worth some effort to get them square to the axle flange, by using a guide clamped to the flange. A scrap of aluminum at least 1 1/2" thick can be used by drilling a quide hole in it on a drillpress. Just move the block around and clamp it at each hole in turn.

You might get lucky and source a core-drill, 15/32" with a 7/16" pilot diameter. If not, drilling 29/32" then 15/32" could be done carefully.

You also might be able to buy an expanding reamer with a range that includes 7/16" to 15/32" (try McMaster-Carr or MSC).

I've used my vertical mill to drill a different bolt pattern in axle flanges, by hanging the axles down from the edge of the table (on a heavy steel plate) and swiveling the mill head over to it. Rather than rotate the axle, I calculated the X/Y coordinates and dialed the table to each stud position.

[NBF823]

I started looking for reamers, but i think im gonna go with the drill guide idea - sounds like a good plan.

When i get off work ill see if i can find a suitable chunk of steel or aluminum for that.

I really didnt want to try and zero the hub with the dro as that seems like a real pain right now.

Thanks guys.

[dataway]

When I've had to center something like that in the mill ... often you can get close enough by finding (or turning) a rod that fits nicely in the hole, then put a collet in the mill that fits the bolt/rod while the part is still free to move. Clamp the part in place wherever the collet puts it.

[NBF823]

I'll check to see if i have a 7/16 collet today. Ill probably have to turn something for the hole anyway as i doubt a 7/16 bolt will be that tight. But centering holes that way seems easy enough - i just do one at a time.

It was really zeroing the hub and the hole that i didnt want to try.

Thanks

[Super Duty D]

IF you have the 7/16" collet, McMaster has 7/16 +.0000 -.0005" precision ground rod 1 foot long for $4.08 each or 3 foot for $9.47 Item # 5227T192
Cheaper than an edge finder!
HTH

SDD