Hey all. We're getting the itch again as we'll get our kits in late November. I've been working with a Superior axle jig to see if it can work for drilling those canted rear axles. It was $19.00 and has the guide holes in it to keep the bit from walking. I seem to have gotten it setup right but it's finicky because the drill drilling table has to have an absolutely flat/smooth surface to rest the tool on.
My boy decided to make a military Jeep this year for his derby car. We'll see how fast we can make it. He wants faux leaf springs, drive axles and shafts underneath and seats, shifters and steering wheel on top.
Have you guys discovered anything over the summer that is new or a tweak that looks interesting?
Just about time to build again
Re: Just about time to build again
Please report back on how well the Superior Axle Jig works for you. Your son's car did pretty well last year, IIRC? How were you doing your axles then?
davet wrote:Hey all. We're getting the itch again as we'll get our kits in late November. I've been working with a Superior axle jig to see if it can work for drilling those canted rear axles. It was $19.00 and has the guide holes in it to keep the bit from walking. I seem to have gotten it setup right but it's finicky because the drill drilling table has to have an absolutely flat/smooth surface to rest the tool on.
Re: Just about time to build again
We bent the rears to 1.5 degrees. I know everyone said not to do it but we didn't want to spend the $ on the block and I didn't think I had the time to figure it out. Also we had already drilled straight rear holes. I took everyones advice to heart and bent them only slightly because I knew (from everyone else's experience on here) that it would be a bear to align. It was not difficult but took a lot of time. I found 1.5 was enough to get the wheels to go to the heads right away and thought maybe it meant less friction on head of the axle than if we went with a steeper bend.
We're running stock BSA axles so even if the holes are exactly perfect I assume I'll still have some tuning to do because as we know the axles aren't perfect. I see this as an advantage actually. The canted holes will mean not having to intentionally bend the axles and the slight amount of bend that even the straightest stock axle may have will mean easier adjustment.
Also, stock BSA axles are oblong. They are round near the end then they get egg shaped as you move closer to the head. They are just about standard at .082" at head and .091" closer to where the taper of the point begins. We run the rear axles so that egg shape is horizontal. I mean with the axle in the car without a wheel the widest measurement would be horizontal front to back. The narrow measurement would be taken vertically. This means the wheel will have less play front to back on the axle which means the wheel will steer straighter. Remember to put the axle in the press correctly with this in mind if you're bending them.
I'm not sure about canting the DFW yet although it sounds like a good idea to make steering adjustment easier. Some have said it's a bad idea on the DFW though.
We're running stock BSA axles so even if the holes are exactly perfect I assume I'll still have some tuning to do because as we know the axles aren't perfect. I see this as an advantage actually. The canted holes will mean not having to intentionally bend the axles and the slight amount of bend that even the straightest stock axle may have will mean easier adjustment.
Also, stock BSA axles are oblong. They are round near the end then they get egg shaped as you move closer to the head. They are just about standard at .082" at head and .091" closer to where the taper of the point begins. We run the rear axles so that egg shape is horizontal. I mean with the axle in the car without a wheel the widest measurement would be horizontal front to back. The narrow measurement would be taken vertically. This means the wheel will have less play front to back on the axle which means the wheel will steer straighter. Remember to put the axle in the press correctly with this in mind if you're bending them.
I'm not sure about canting the DFW yet although it sounds like a good idea to make steering adjustment easier. Some have said it's a bad idea on the DFW though.
Re: Just about time to build again
The guys that drill a canted hole for the DFW are using the bigger axles. You can't bend them too far before they won't fit through the wheel bore. With stock axles you can get as steep an angle as you would ever need by just bending.
Re: Just about time to build again
Never considered the larger diameter axles as a factor in whether to drill canted DFW hole. Good point. My reason for drilling canted was so it wasn't so touchy adjusting steer. It seemed last year we would twist it so very lightly that I wondered if I had even moved it and steer changed 2". Do you think it's worth it?ngyoung wrote:The guys that drill a canted hole for the DFW are using the bigger axles. You can't bend them too far before they won't fit through the wheel bore. With stock axles you can get as steep an angle as you would ever need by just bending.
I never had a problem getting the steer I wanted but it sometimes would take 20 adjustments or so. I found that I really have to be exactly the same each time I set the car for adjusting steer. I set it down and hold all wheels against the body and the DFW rear wheel offset 1/16" so it's directly behind the front wheel. Let it roll and see what happens. Is that correct?
