A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

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Stan Pope
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A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

Post by Stan Pope »

Since we are allowed to remove the step in the outer hub face, we did that during a pre-district race rebuild. Then we found that (as I feared) the "ears" on the nail head did not extend far enough to be grabbed by Axle Pliers for either pulling or for rotating when the body-axle gap was as narrow as I desired. (Oh, boy! Here goes more hair! Gosh... I might even lose both of them!)

What to do?

I found a nice thin piece of spring steel about 1/4" wide in my "junk box". (The spring from an discarded windshield wiper might be a source if your "junk box" is weak. I cut it to length (about 2 inches long), squared off an end and proceeded to make it into a "wrench". I used a Dremel grinding wheel chucked in the lathe and clamped the would-be wrench in the tool post extending about 5/16" beyond one of my standard thickness cutters (so that the would-be wrench can feed radially into the grinding wheel.) A bit of careful cutting produced a 0.065" wide notch in the end of the wrench.

Next I clamped an axle nail into a ProAxle tool and used the edge of a small file to create "flats" on each side of the nail just inboard of a no-step wheel. After a few strokes of the file I started alternating between two strokes with the file and testing size with the wrench. (I put a layer of masking tape on the wide face of the file to allow me to index the file on the ProAxle tool and not file a bunch of steel off of it.)

The wrench is thinner than the planned wheel-body gap, so I can use the wrench to set the axle depth by engaging it in the newly created flat on the axle as the axle is inserted into the car.
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
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stang68
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Re: A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

Post by stang68 »

Thanks Stan,
I will be in the shop in the morning working on this.At this point our rules would not allow the flats to be cut on the axles. I have a committee meeting this week and we can make a change in rules.I will let you know how it turns out.
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Stan Pope
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Re: A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

Post by Stan Pope »

stang68 wrote:Thanks Stan,
I will be in the shop in the morning working on this.At this point our rules would not allow the flats to be cut on the axles.
The flats are not functional so far as the wheel rotation is concerned... they are at most in the oversize portion of the bore at the inner end of the hub.

Consequently, there is no great need for special polishing around those flats either ... just enough to assure no "flakes" or "hooks" are present.

I think that I may make another "wrench" ... a little longer ... maybe 3 or 4 inches long. The reason is that it will be harder to lose and allow adjustments in a more controlled manner (although the first "beta test" showed few problems).
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
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stang68
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Re: A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

Post by stang68 »

That is the way i see it also. I did a tech class today before a Pack race,and i had a tough time trying to get the pliers to grip the nail heads on wheels with the step removed. I even re-worked some of the pliers to get them to work. This will be a huge help.
sirslotalot1
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Re: A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

Post by sirslotalot1 »

Stan,

Any chance you could provide us with a photo or two?
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3 Cub Dad
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Re: A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

Post by 3 Cub Dad »

I would still say that using a Dremel to cut a groove on the outside of nail head so that you can adjust it with a small screwdriver is much simpler to perform and functional!

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Stan Pope
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Re: A New(?) Toe Adjustment Tool

Post by Stan Pope »

sirslotalot1 wrote:Stan,

Any chance you could provide us with a photo or two?
When it comes back home! Right now, it is with the car's owner and his Dad.

I think you will find it uninterestingly plain, though.
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
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