Silver Bullet 1 Degree Rears VS Silver Bullet PRO Zero Degree Rears

CivilWarTalk

Council Champion
Pro Racer
Mar 22, 2015
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West Virginia
So I'm trying to decide how to handle the new rules for my son's upcoming scout race...

All wheels must be flat on the track.
I must use the pre-cut slots in the block.
I can't use any washers

So I'm trying to decide between two options, I may end up testing both...

Option 1 - Use my trusty Silver Bullet to drill 1 degree canted rears, the wheels should still be flat on the track, but my drill press is not the best, so the drill may not be the most precise....

Option 2 - Use my brand new Silver Bullet PRO to drill the rears at zero degrees and we'll use my standard Teflon Tuff Nail Polish next to the wheels to mitigate friction from the rubbing wheel. At least this way we'll be sure to have a dead straight axle to race on.

I've never totally been satisfied with my drill jobs on the Silver Bullet, they are much better than just banging the nails into the slot, but not always perfect.

So which method would you try? Perfect Alignment with no canting? Or 1 degree canting with good migration, but slightly imperfect alignment?
 
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What would it take to net you a 1 degree cant with the SB Pro jig? A shim or two of papers under one side of the body while mounted in the jig then repeat the same process on the other side. This will cock the body slightly in the jig. You probably won't need much of a shim to raise the body for this. Test on scrap pieces first. Just a thought.
 
What would it take to net you a 1 degree cant with the SB Pro jig? A shim or two of papers under one side of the body while mounted in the jig then repeat the same process on the other side. This will cock the body slightly in the jig. You probably won't need much of a shim to raise the body for this. Test on scrap pieces first. Just a thought.

CWT, if you do it like Paul said, clamp another block of wood to the body tight to the drill fixture so you have a means to locate the body when you go to move the shims over. That way you can be fairly certain that you have the holes directly across from one another without any fancy measuring.

The local scouts that had to run with the wheels flat to the track could usually get away with 1.5 degrees.