Help. Axles very bent

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welshdragon
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Help. Axles very bent

Post by welshdragon »

I have 4 very bent axles that I didn't know were bent before polishing. I just checked them after chucking them in my drill and they are VERY bent.

My race is early next week and I don't have time to buy straight axles or the axle press.

Can anyone tell me how I could straighten these without buying a press? I live in Illinois and am willing to drive to someones house and pay them for using their press to straighten my axles.

I can buy replacements at Hobby Lobby from PineCar but I have a feeling that theirs are bent as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Frank
welshdragon@ameritech.net
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stang68
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Re: Help. Axles very bent

Post by stang68 »

First i would check the axles out of the drill. Sometimes the drill chuck does not hold the axles stright due to wear inside the jaws of the drill chuck. Roll the axles on the edge of a flat surface letting the head of the nail hang over. If they appear stright doing this re-chuck them in the drill leaving only about 1/2"of the shaft exposed beyond the chuck.

HOPE THIS HELPS
STANG68
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welshdragon
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Re: Help. Axles very bent

Post by welshdragon »

You can see that they are really bent. They bend about 1/4" out. That's unacceptable in my book.

Any suggestions on how to fix them?
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Stan Pope
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Re: Help. Axles very bent

Post by Stan Pope »

I live in central Illinois, near Peoria. Email me if I can help.

Since I work for free, I choose my jobs! :)
Stan
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Hurly64
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Re: Help. Axles very bent

Post by Hurly64 »

Drill a hole in the closed jaws of your bench vise with a #43 bit. This results in a half-circle shape in each side of the vise. Then put the axle in the hole and tighten it as much as you can. Then rotate it 90 degrees, and do it again. Repeat for two full rotations. Be sure to clean any burrs off of the vise after you've drilled the holes. Its a good way to put scratches in your axles if you are not careful. If you scratch them, you will have to polish them again.
You can also try purchasing just the wheels and axle sets at the scout shop. Get 3 or 4 sets, and sort out the straightest axles. THen try the vise thing. Then return the unused sets when you are done. And make sure each set you return still has 5 wheels and axles.
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pinecarpro
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Re: Help. Axles very bent

Post by pinecarpro »

welshdragon

First they may not be as bent as you think. When they put the spade on the nail it flares the end of the nail so when you chuck in a drill press it wobbles really bad. Just grind the end of the nail to a bullet point then re-chuck. Most of the time this works if not slide the whole nail up in the chuck and tighten down as hard as you can this should straighten.

PS the bullet end also helps sliding into axle hole straight

Pinecar
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welshdragon
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Re: Help. Axles very bent

Post by welshdragon »

Thanks for your help. I'll try chucking it in my drill first. If that doesn't work I'll try the vise!

Thanks again,
Frank
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