Axel holes at 2.5° or bend axels at 2.5° or a combo?
- Thread starter DR650SE
- Start date
There is always some confusion for the newer people (including myself) when we first hear about the "jigs". It is my understanding that originally there was a Silver Bullet fixture that was used to drill axle holes. It needed a drill press in order to be accurate. I saw several videos online that used this version for drilling and testing of the drill job.
Sometime later the Silver Bullet Pro along with a couple others were introduced. These included a couple versions of the Silver Bullet Pro, one or two versions of the Goat Boy tool and a "clear jig". All of these do NOT need a drill press to be accurate. There is a new version (3rd generation?) of the Silver Bullet Pro being built as we type. I believe it is called the Silver Bullet Extreme? Again, no need for a drill press to drill the axle holes with this latest version.
I am not a pro and have only been around for a couple of years, so someone may jump in here with more accurate information about the timeline of the various drill tools. The long and short ...all of the new tools do NOT need a drill press to drill your axles at 3*.
Any one have experience with this jig? Really curious but man are these quality jigs expensive.
Starcars Clear 5 bushing jig.
https://starcarsderby.com/products?olsPage=products/the-clear-drill-jig-for-perfect-axle-alignment-9aba05b4-e063-4a94-8112-acb0efe16dbe
Starcars Clear 5 bushing jig.
https://starcarsderby.com/products?olsPage=products/the-clear-drill-jig-for-perfect-axle-alignment-9aba05b4-e063-4a94-8112-acb0efe16dbe
TBR you are right and brain fart on my part... the block style jig such as the original Silver Bullet and Jewkes Engineering has one too... yes those need the drill press. To be honest I keep forgetting about those. I actually would like to get my hands on one as I won’t be able to afford the newer style jigs any time soon.
I'm in the same boat, the jigs are expensive. With any of the jigs, I plan to use a pin vise because I don't want my hand drill to bore out the jigs holes. I am in a townhouse and don't have room for a drill press.
The hardened steel is what draws me to the higher priced blocks to prevent boring out the holes for longevity
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Jewkes still sells the Block. I bought one from them a few months ago. After the drill press was leveled and set it worked great. Took a lot of fiddling, drilling, testing, and fiddling some more to get it there... I plan on buying a jig sometime soon, but I'll still use the block to test the drill.
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When you drill axle holes, how do you add graphite? Do you shave channels near the axle as show here?
https://www.derbydust.com/how-to-glue-axles-in-place-after-tuning-you-pinewood-derby-car/
And do you drill access holes in order to glue the axles in place?
Is there a reputable jig that also has holes for axle Access holes to drill?
Sorry for all the questions the "jig" and what I'd like in one is much more involved the more research I do. I suppose drilling the access holes isn't as necessary to have perfect aligned holes as the axles and can be done free hand. Just thought I'd ask.
https://www.derbydust.com/how-to-glue-axles-in-place-after-tuning-you-pinewood-derby-car/
And do you drill access holes in order to glue the axles in place?
Is there a reputable jig that also has holes for axle Access holes to drill?
Sorry for all the questions the "jig" and what I'd like in one is much more involved the more research I do. I suppose drilling the access holes isn't as necessary to have perfect aligned holes as the axles and can be done free hand. Just thought I'd ask.
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DR 650SE,
Let me start by saying that I tried the axle glueing holes ....once. I also read a lot at the site you linked. While there is some decent information there, I would suggest approaching a lot of it with skepticism. The more I learned , the more I found out that the information there was just Ok. There are much better sources of information. In my humble opinion, DD4H has better parts!
I also thought that the graphite slots looked interesting. I have found that there is no need for them or for drilling access holes. It takes some time and a few builds, but you will eventually get a "feel" for how tight the axles need to be. You can also tighten them back up with a drop or two of water overnight. Just let the water sit inside the axle hole overnight and then reinstall the axle in the morning. It is amazing how well this actually works!
To answer your last question, I do not know of and have not seen any jig that includes "access holes" as part of it. If you must have them, it would be easy to add them to most of the jigs.
Just a little tidbit about graphite... back when I was doing graphite I just inserted the axle into the wheel, let the wheel drop in place over the head holding it all with my finger then just pour the graphite down into the inner bore. Spin it, add more of necessary. Do all this before you install the axle with the wheel on it. Your fingers keep the part of the axle that inserts into the body clean. An axle hole sized appropriately to the axle should hold the axle fine without glue.
Hope that helps some.
Our Churches Awana GP has no lube restrictions so I only do oil both there and racing in the leagues so I am also out of touch with the graphite thang so take this with a grain of salt.
Jimmy
Edit... I forgot ... also burnish the graphite into the bore real good too before adding the axle and more graphite. The right sized Qtip stalk on a drill works well.
Hope that helps some.
Our Churches Awana GP has no lube restrictions so I only do oil both there and racing in the leagues so I am also out of touch with the graphite thang so take this with a grain of salt.
Jimmy
Edit... I forgot ... also burnish the graphite into the bore real good too before adding the axle and more graphite. The right sized Qtip stalk on a drill works well.
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Save your money for one of the bushing style jigs. Maybe buy a used one. That's what I did although it really wasn't a whole lot cheaper that one of those clear jigs. Not saying the other type (original bullet) doesn't work. It can and it does, but it is a lot more difficult to get it right (it could actually cost more by the time you do and buy other things to make your drill press setup accurate and repeatable) although it does have an advantage of giving a person endless combos they could do. I'm speaking from my own experience... I have an original style silver bullet and a bushing style.
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Is the accuracy and consistency of the bushing style jig as good or better than a properly set up original silver bullet?
That's debatable. But for most people I would say yes simply because of the difficulty of getting the perfect setup. Don't take me wrong though... I know of a few very good racers who use the original setup and do it well.
Appreciate the feedback. I'll probably still get the jig just for the simplicity of set up. That and it'll give me my drill press back. I hate to even think about using it for anything else now that I've got it set up to drill axles. Just because of the amount of work it took to get it set up right.
I used my harbor freight special drill press to do our Awana cars last year. An unsquare table... shimmed block of wood to try and make sure no toe... all without a jig and holding it by hand and praying I didn’t move it. Lol never again.
Scott, I definitely plan on at least buying the clear jig when the funds permit. I am curious about their 5 bushing set up. Though I probably wouldn’t ever use the 5th for the steer. Would rather set steer with tuning and not be set to specific degrees from the drill. Though might be tempted to use it on the Awana cars. Just not my league cars.
Jimmy
Scott, I definitely plan on at least buying the clear jig when the funds permit. I am curious about their 5 bushing set up. Though I probably wouldn’t ever use the 5th for the steer. Would rather set steer with tuning and not be set to specific degrees from the drill. Though might be tempted to use it on the Awana cars. Just not my league cars.
Jimmy
I agree I'm leaning towards the 5 hole setup, but probably won't use it (5th hole) . Nice to have for simplicity though for my son if he'd like to use it.
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Jimmy, where are you? I'm an Awana guy as well. I have a few methods to get the job done. I would be willing to share if you're close.
Hey... I'm in SE MI. Shoot me a PM and we can swap methods. I'd like that! I been reading the boards here the last 2 years here and have found some success. Actually, with all the help from here our Awana cars are undefeated atm the last 2 years. My kids have only lost to each other and mine hasn't lost yet. I hope to put on a clinic this year because you can tell like only one dad is researching that came as close as 2 car lengths but thats it. No one else was close so I am going to try and share with them all what I can and get them all as fast as I can. I have learned so much here and Reecedad has really helped me a ton and helped push me over the edge to make the jump to league racing over at APR too which is a blast. So much help from great folks here! No way I would be doing so well at Awana on my own!!! Shoot me a pm when you are able.
Jimmy
PM sent. I enjoy the races I'm involved in (I put them on for churches, regionals and now state, with our equipment) so I have no desire or time to get into the league stuff. My grandkids are in club now so helping them means I make several cars every year. My wife thinks I'm crazy about "little cars" now, don't want to give her any more reasons to doubt my sanity.
