TECH: How I drilled my dropped axle

Ha!

 

old thread yes, good information as usual from Scooter

 

Perfect timing to come back up to the top. I was just searching this today as we are about to drill ours!

 

I used this thread and techniques twice already when I drilled axles for my 26 RPU.

First was a Magnum 46" cast axle which turned out nice, next was the So-Cal forged axle I bought to replace the cast Magnum axle.

I used a Mag based drill ,the first one I borrowed from work, then my own bought off e-bay.

I also used an annular cutter, they are a kind of high tech hole saw and make a really nice hole that requires very little clean up.
You can see one of the slugs sitting on the table in one shot.

Lots of milky white water soluable oil was used in a squirt bottle to cool and lube the cutter. You can see I drilled the one hole in the cast magnum axle dry. Big mistake, no lube and coolant will destroy an expensive cutter quickly. I got away with one hole, grabbed the coolant-lube and carried on.

You can see the bottle of coolant sitting on the table in one shot.

Clamped the axles down to my steel fab table, the mag base drill is really a great tool as it holds itself in place.

I drilled the Magnum axle with 13-1 1/16" diameter holes on 2 1/2" centers with one hole dead center.

I drilled the beefier forged steel So-Cal axle the same way and number of holes, same spacing, only the size is different, 1 3/8" dia.

Thanks for the tech, here's some pics of mine. In order, first the Magnum axle, then the So-Cal.

Larry.

 

Your thread is great, I had no idea how it was done. I have a local machine shop that has been doing mine and charging me 100.00 for 1 1/8 inch holes in the CE axles I sell.

 

Wow! Great to see it was useful!! Thanks guys!!

Here's how it looks after painting... Labor day weekend it will be reinstalled on the car. I'll post pictures when it happens.

 

I just drilled mine the same way using a mag drill and an annular cutter. I removed 2 pounds from my 35 Ford axle.

 

Lots of good information in this thread. Thanks for posting. Your avatar is killing me bro. Eddie rocks. Every time I see your avatar I can hear him saying "Shitter's full".

 

Haha! Awesome!

I never posted a picture of it installed. Here goes...

 

If you want better life on your bits consider using thread cutting oil, made by Ridgid, you can pick it up at a good hardware store or plumbing supply, has sulphers in it makes the bit last a lot longer, I use it on my thread cutting machines for steel piping. You can resharpen hole saw bits, take a die grinder cutting disc and trace out the teeth, put an edge back on them, watch the heat. You can even put the set back in them to toss the chips and clear the cut.

 

Your thread inspired me to try drilling one for myself. I started with a stock axle I scored at the Pomona swapmeet and made it look a little bit cooler.

 

That's GREAT! Glad this is working for other people as well!

 

Time to resurrect this thread for newbies. I'm glad I read this BEFORE my machinist buddy told me I couldn't drill my axle with a Home Depot hole saw on a Harbor Freight drill press.

My axle is less than straight, so using the wood wasn't an option. Clamping to the drill press table worked fine.

Nineteen 7/8" holes in my '48 Ford axle saved 1 pound (the web is 1/4" thick). Not much weight savings for a lot of work but hey - it looks badass!

Thanks, scootermcrad, for the advice and inspiration.

 

Awesome! Yeah! Great to see the thread helped!

I love when people say "you can't do that" and then you do!

 

great post anyone have one on drilling bones

 

Found this thread a while ago after I marked my first axle out. I went about this a different way in the drilling process- I have a Bridgeport in my shop so its a fair chunk easier. I used a rotabroach to cu the holes, more expensive than hole saw but gives such a nice cut. I just posted this on another forum so I thought I would add it here too, hopefully others can learn from this little snippet of info too. Great way to dress up a cheap axle for a smaller budget car/special

Drilling in 60 seconds- CLICK TO PLAY
Untitled by the pinstriper, on Flickr

Little video snippet of real time drilling, I cut the entire axle dry so I didn't lose any marks I made. The cutter didn't blunt at all, you can see how controlled the process is opposed to a hole saw. I found no tough spots- maybe I was lucky, or maybe its because of the cutter itself.

CLICK TO PLAY
Real time drilling 220 RPM by the pinstriper, on Flickr


1 by the pinstriper, on Flickr

I tried to drill these first time round, no shock the drill walked a bit. Opened up after with a slot drill, again you could use a rotabroach in a pillar drill for this. I would advise roughing this out with a drill first due to how thick these sections are

sunday funday by the pinstriper, on Flickr

 

Layout Die, Scribe, Center Punch, Pilot Drill...

3 or 4ea. Cheap Chinese Hole Saws from E-Bay...
My drill only goes down to 300rpm...needs to be slower!!
Lotso Lube!

Look at the thickness of the center rib on the chassis-engineering axle compared to stock!.

BONES?
FYI. These Holes Saw' Suck at 300RPM!!..like to wobble a bit!

Sleeves


Added Reinforcement - Kinda thin by the Tie-rod holes.


& It just needed that last hole at the end.

 

Was it a Kenworth axle Lol
Andrew

 

Awesome job. Gonna have to try that
Andrew

 

Drilled my narrowed F100 axle with my 10 year old Chinese drill press and a Milwaukee hole saw. Nothing fancy nothing expensive. Drilled 9 1 1/8" holes. Drilled out real easy.