Working Axles Made Easier

General topics of interest to racers and race coordinators alike.
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gpraceman
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Working Axles Made Easier

Post by gpraceman »

For quite some time, we have been having the kids at our workshops chuck up their axles in the drill press to work on them. Well, it is not so easy for them to use a chuck key. It even got scary once when a dad managed to leave the chuck key in the chuck before turning on the drill press. The key flew across the room. That was surprising, considering that the chuck key had a spring loaded part that should have prevented that issue. Fortunately, no one got hurt.

Well, I started looking for a keyless chuck for my drill press. They certainly were not cheap. However, I stumbled across a far less expensive option. It is a keyless chuck that can itself be chucked in a drill or drill press. The kids were able to operate it easy enough, when showed how to twist it to chuck/unchuck the axle. Best of all, no risk of a flying chuck key, as I put the key away after chucking the device into the press.

I found it on Amazon for about $16, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TC ... ge_o04_s00

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whodathunkit
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Re: Working Axles Made Easier

Post by whodathunkit »

I like the 1/4'' shank on this keyless chuck.
If you had a short 1/4'' handle for it you would also have a way for making good pen vise as well.
http://omegatec.com/sh104m-zephyr-magne ... -bits.aspx

If you don't like all the wrist twisting you could go with a gear wrench handle.
http://www.gearwrench.com/gearwrench-89 ... drive.html
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Vitamin K
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Re: Working Axles Made Easier

Post by Vitamin K »

Clever idea. Probably adds some runout to the shaft, but for polishing axles, it's not a big deal.

Me, personally, I prefer to use my hand drill for axles (it's got a keyless chuck). Clamp the drill upside down in my table vise, use the locking button to keep it on and let my kids go to town.
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Re: Working Axles Made Easier

Post by Speedster »

There are a number of racers that believe the nail should not be spun while removing the casting marks. I like this approach because the youngest scout can do it safely. You would not need a drill press or hand held drill to hold the nail. A very small, inexpensive vice, or even a pair of pliers would hold the nail while the young scout does the filing. Even if he removes only one mark on one nail he would still be directly involved. I remember a discussion about scout rules and power tools. gpraceman brought up a good example of the hazards of power tools.
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