Silver Bullet vs Goat Boy Drill Fixture ?

Jan 31, 2014
22
0
1
Little Elm TX
Being new to PWD and sorting thru all the info I realize I need to get a drill block for axle holes. What are the pro & cons of the Silver Bullet vs Goat Boy drill fixtures? Like the Goat Boy, esp since I do not have a drill press but need to understand if it only drill at .089" (#43) hole. Or can you drill a .089", then follow up with a .092 not using a pin vise without the Goat Boy drill fixture.
Appreciate any feedback on the differences.

Thanks & make it a great wknd,
Matt
 
What you could do is drill the body with the #43 drill and then follow up with a .0915" reamer to bring the axle holes up to size.
 
CC, If you measure a 92x axle I think you'll find that the part that rides in the wheel is .092, the end you insert into the body is smaller. I use a #43 bit and then an old axle to relieve the hole. If you drill it .092 it's going to be too big I think. I'm at work now, I can measure a 92x when I get home later if you want.
 
Choo Choo said:
Being new to PWD and sorting thru all the info I realize I need to get a drill block for axle holes. What are the pro & cons of the Silver Bullet vs Goat Boy drill fixtures? Like the Goat Boy, esp since I do not have a drill press but need to understand if it only drill at .089" (#43) hole. Or can you drill a .089", then follow up with a .092 not using a pin vise without the Goat Boy drill fixture.
Appreciate any feedback on the differences.

Thanks & make it a great wknd,
Matt

Hi Matt,
A good question. I have wondered this same thing.
 
Goat Boy's tool will let you drill holes without a press. I believe another selling point is the straight holes will help you drill a straight hole all the way through the block. Goat Boy's tool is great if you do not have a drill press or space for one. It is not a replacement for the Silver Bullet as much as a substitute for the drill press.

The Silver Bullet has many uses. It is a nice solid flat surface plate to check if things are square and flat. I used it recently to hold a block while shaping it on the Rigid Oscillating belt sander. It holds the body square to the belt and holds it secure and makes shaping very easy. In the DD4hire video he mentions using it also for a sanding block. If you are creative the Silver Bullet is good for a lot of things in addition to using to drill holes. And when people see it and find out what it is for they are either fairly impressed or think you are a nut. Which you probably are a pinewood nut.

I bet others can add additional uses for the Silver Bullet.

If you have the funding get the Silver Bullet and either a drill press or the Goat Boy tool. And if you going to drill get the carbide bit and be gentle with it.

This is just my opinion as a novice with less than a year of experience and exposure to the forum.
 
Hey K Pendle,

Thanks. I can give a bunch of other uses for using the Silver Bullet in place of a machinist block, however I am wondering:

Is there any advantage to using the Silver Bullet and press over just using a Goatboy jig and pin vise?

It would seem to me that there must be some advantages just because rarely in life are things that easy without some small draw back.
 
Both are extremely good tools. Like you I don't have a drill press, however in my case I opt to get my blocks from John instead.

I think it would be fair to say that the gold standard would be the block/silver bullet... no matter how precisely square the wood is (or perhaps unprecisely is the better term), the block will allow you to drill your rear axel holes in perfect relation to one another irrespective of the wood....

I used Ian's tool like it was going out of business for my pack race....there were kids and parents in line for me to drill a hole into the precut slots and it made everyones life much much easier!!!! (MUCH THANKS IAN FOR THE TOOL!) However I did notice a few issues....for it to drill both rear axels nice and straight in relation to one another, it has to fit nice and snug on the block and your at least partially relying on the block itself to be decently cut and square....and if the kids already started sanding the block or shaping it then it can be difficult to either get it fit snug or fit so the holes are exactly perpendicular to the body. Even when it fit well, I had to clamp it down hard to prevent it or the block from moving around when I was drilling.

But I think these are all very minor issues that I knew going in and fact is, even with that its still 10x better than using the slots by themselves or handrilling without it or whatever people were doing before....A bunch of people were asking where I bought it (particularly since it has both straight drill holes and canted drill holes!)

Maybe Ian could comment on some suggestions for those cars that don't quite fit snug or ideas on some of the stuff I mentioned....I was putting tape on the sides or a papertowel to make it snug at times....clamps are fine but some people wanted me to drill the holes and the car was already painted....and im like damn I don't want to dent the paint and body with a clamp!

But my solution is next year, im going to make it a point to say that if people want their block and slots drilled out then I need to do it before they start shaping the car!!! (I know, kinda common sense) I think that should take care of most of the concerns I saw this year.

But if you want Ian's one better order fast LOL...I haven't checked recently but there was only a small supply left!

WK
 
if you cut the block just a hair to wide the put it on a flat suface sand it down til it fits nice and snug clamp it you should get perfect holes everytime
 
yep that is what I plan to do next year....this year I wasn't expecting the number of people that ended up drilling....and it truly ranged from the block right out of the box, to cars that were already sanded and shaped, to cars already painted and ready to install wheels and axels....it was those last two that were the problems....but that's a function or problem with timing and order of the building process and NOT a problem with the tool itself!

WK
 
If talking solely about the axle holes in the body, which is the end result of both tools. Both tools do an excellent job.

But as with any tool it is solely dependent upon the skill set of the user, more so with the Silver Bullet than the GB Drill Fixture. The GB Drill Fixture removes some of the error that could be encountered using the Silver Bullet.

With the GB Drill Fixture you are very mobile, Silver Bullet you'll need to lug a drill press around with you.

With the GB Drill Fixture you have 2 fixed drill angles 0° and 3°, with the Silver Bullet, provided you have the correct pin, you could drill just about any angle you desire.

The Silver Bullet allows you to know for sure the block of wood you're using is not warped, the GB Drill Fixture cannot do this. At least I haven't figured a way to do this.

The GB Drill Fixture minimizes your tool expenditure, i.e. no need for a drill press.

The GB Drill Fixture has limited production runs, stay on your toes, they go quick when available. The GB Drill Fixture can also be customized with your team name if so desired.

Bottom line. BOTH tools are awesome! It's whatever you are comfortable with and what tools you have available to you. If you just starting out the GB Drill Fixture may just be the ticket, but with limited production runs, the Silver Bullet is the way to go.

This is all that I can think of at the moment.
 
I like to mess with stuff. So for me the silver billet allows me to play with different cant angles, just gives me more options. I do imagine that the drill fixture is super easy to use though.
 
What I see is the major difference is. The silver-bullet allows you to use your imagination and drill a unlimited amount of different axle and wheel setups, axle heights, axle sizes, many different cant angles. The machinist block Goat Boy is making is great for what it does but is limited with what you can do. That is if you what to try new things and find that next "Silver Bullet" so to speak
idea
But as far as Scout racing I would say it is the perfect tool. Because your limited what you can do in scout racing anyways. And very economical for the guys that will not continue in league racing after scouts days are over. And that Goat fixture looks first class and will last for a long , long time compared to the DW crap
blah
I"am sure they will try to copy it somehow and call it their "own". Also a great thing as Goat Boy says it allows you to drill all the way thru for the one piece axle in the bearing class. For the guy with limited tools and know how, its a great tool to have.....SPIRIT......
 
The Goat boy drill fixture is 1.750" wide where the body is inserted.

I have found that with some wood blocks being less than 1.750" wide, they can still be accurately drilled by simply using strips of masking tape on each side of the drill fixture.

Most masking tapes are .004" thick. I think it is important to put a piece of tape on each side of the drill fixture and not just one side.

For example if your wood block/body measures 1.742" wide, than use two strips of tape, one on each side. If your your block measures 1.734" wide, than use 4 strips of tape, 2 on each side, with a double layer of tape on each side. The wood block will than fit snugly with no worry of drilling one side of the body not in line with the other side.

I have no experience using the Silver Bullet. I know it is good because DD4H John drilled my Street Stock body with it and the car runs great.
 
One more thing on the Goat Boy drill fixture,

I have been using a 1/4" thick piece of balsa wood on top of the body so the c-clamp that holds the body into the fixture clamps onto the balsa instead of the body. You do not need to crank the clamp down very tight to hold the body in the fixture. If you split the balsa then your clamp is too tight.
 
bracketracer said:
CC, If you measure a 92x axle I think you'll find that the part that rides in the wheel is .092, the end you insert into the body is smaller. I use a #43 bit and then an old axle to relieve the hole. If you drill it .092 it's going to be too big I think. I'm at work now, I can measure a 92x when I get home later if you want.

Where the wheel rides it measured .092", where it inserts into the car it's .091".
 
Isn't a #43 drill bit too big for the stock axles? Or did you have a lot of scouts with aftermarket axles?

W&K Creations said:
Both are extremely good tools. Like you I don't have a drill press, however in my case I opt to get my blocks from John instead.

I think it would be fair to say that the gold standard would be the block/silver bullet... no matter how precisely square the wood is (or perhaps unprecisely is the better term), the block will allow you to drill your rear axel holes in perfect relation to one another irrespective of the wood....

I used Ian's tool like it was going out of business for my pack race....there were kids and parents in line for me to drill a hole into the precut slots and it made everyones life much much easier!!!! (MUCH THANKS IAN FOR THE TOOL!) However I did notice a few issues....for it to drill both rear axels nice and straight in relation to one another, it has to fit nice and snug on the block and your at least partially relying on the block itself to be decently cut and square....and if the kids already started sanding the block or shaping it then it can be difficult to either get it fit snug or fit so the holes are exactly perpendicular to the body. Even when it fit well, I had to clamp it down hard to prevent it or the block from moving around when I was drilling.

But I think these are all very minor issues that I knew going in and fact is, even with that its still 10x better than using the slots by themselves or handrilling without it or whatever people were doing before....A bunch of people were asking where I bought it (particularly since it has both straight drill holes and canted drill holes!)

Maybe Ian could comment on some suggestions for those cars that don't quite fit snug or ideas on some of the stuff I mentioned....I was putting tape on the sides or a papertowel to make it snug at times....clamps are fine but some people wanted me to drill the holes and the car was already painted....and im like damn I don't want to dent the paint and body with a clamp!

But my solution is next year, im going to make it a point to say that if people want their block and slots drilled out then I need to do it before they start shaping the car!!! (I know, kinda common sense) I think that should take care of most of the concerns I saw this year.

But if you want Ian's one better order fast LOL...I haven't checked recently but there was only a small supply left!

WK
 
While I much prefer the Bullet over any other tool for drilling axle holes, I do want to point out a nice feaure that was not mentioned about the GB tool. When we built our first car, we bought and used a DW axle tool. It did fairly well, but after repeated uses, the axle guides loosened. The GB tool has drill bushings if I'm not mistaken, making it a far better tool than that of DW - much more durable and precise. If you do not have a press and/or buy the bullet, do not try to save money on another tool that looks similar to the GB product. I have two DW axle tools and now use them for paint stands. The GB tool is a nice addition, even if you have the Bullet.