When drilling axle holes for an extended wheel base. What measurements should I use? What is the height of the front, rear, and the raised wheels. Measuring off the bottom of the car? Also the length off the front and rear of the body. I have both the block and silver bullet. I am trying to start out with a strong base. I think this should be my first step. Thank for the help.
drilling axle holes
- Thread starter go romo go
- Start date
This is where the "what works best for you and the design of the car" statement come to play. I believe that most are around the 1/8 inch off the bottom of the block of wood. I use to mess with getting the body as low to the track but that introduced a whole new set of issues.
go romo go said:
go romo go said:
I think you're height is dictated by the ground clearance stated in the rules. No?
If you're going for a full (long) wheel base, again the rules dictate. No part of the car can extend beyond the wheels.
I use the "lip" of the Block to shoulder up to for my DFW and the same for the rear once I have the pin in place. For my high wheel, I eyeball a fat 1/16" of the "lip."
For the wheel base, I cut an old wheel in half, put it slightly off the rear of the car and make my measurement point at the hub center. I do the same for the front.
Jewkes video for the Block spells it out pretty clear. Others may have different methods.
JT
I should have explained what I am trying to do in my first post. I am trying to set my fence on my drill press. If I had a measurement that most agreed on I would mount the fence in that one spot. And use spacers on the front.
3/32" front, 5/32" rear got us 1st place at council two years ago.
4/32" front, 4/32" rear got us 2nd place at council last year.
This year, 4/32" front, 5/32" rear got us the fastest scout car to date, but there are a lot of changes in our process and tuning that have changed as well, so it's really hard to say.
More recently we've tried 4/32" front, 6/32" rear . . . The verdict is still out on this configuration.
4/32" front, 4/32" rear got us 2nd place at council last year.
This year, 4/32" front, 5/32" rear got us the fastest scout car to date, but there are a lot of changes in our process and tuning that have changed as well, so it's really hard to say.
More recently we've tried 4/32" front, 6/32" rear . . . The verdict is still out on this configuration.
go romo go said:
Yes, or you can mark your front 1/32" higher and the car will run great. This is the tricky part of the fence because it has to be adjustable. The main thing is to get it set for the rears and drill them first so they are dead on then you can do the fronts. It takes a 3 position fence.
[This is the tricky part of the fence because it has to be adjustable.QUOTE][/QUOTE]
I would like to make the rear stationary. Then use shims for the front. Would I be making a mistake locking the fence in one spot to drill the rears?
I would like to make the rear stationary. Then use shims for the front. Would I be making a mistake locking the fence in one spot to drill the rears?
I do have a laser and I find it more of a problem than a help!! The lasers are to big for the size of hole we drill for these dang things.
txchemist said:I found a way to get the critical 3 wheels all done with the fence in one place and a super easy shim next to the fence.For those of us who do not have a laser target on our drill press,
You might want to chuck up a fine point pen instead of the drill bit and let it mark up your wood as you fool around getting your "shims" correct. So I put the shim next to the fence and set the fence with the block and the cant angle rod in place and adjust to get the pen to come down and dot the back axle drill start to hit 1/8th above the bottom of the car. Now, the goal is to remove the shim and the angle cant rod, snug it all up and get the dot to hit 1/32nd above the back axle dot as suggested by John. Once you have this figured out, it will not be critical to set up future cars. They can be off on the back axle height a bit, but as long as your shim system puts the DFW up 1/32 higher, you will be good to go. You will need to move the fence for the last wheel in the air, but re-setup is fast with a solid shim system. You could add another shim so you don't ever move the fence, but once you get the critical height difference down , it is not a big deal to set up again for the next car. I have had first year Cubs set there own fence with using the pen, and then let them drill and they nail it just fine.
G
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I have similar question about axle placement. When using fenders what is distance from the back of car and front of car to drill so the fenders will fit on the car while still keeping a extend wheel base for speed. It looks like in DD4H dvd the rear axle are futher up the car from the back almost like a normal distance for a SS car.
