Wheel Gap Question

[Prozach2]

Hey guys,

A couple of things... If you use poplar to make your car bodies, it will cause the axles to feel very tight when inserting or extracting them. varieties of pine will make it much easier to install or remove the axles.

Also, ensure you are using a #43 drill bit when drilling your cars. This will allow your stock axle to easily go in as well. There are places in the forum that say #44 for scout, but I feel that is too tight, and you will end up doing more damage than good.

You should be able to push your axles in with your fingers.

I used blocks that I bought from DD4H. See link below. I’m pretty sure I bought the drill bit from DD4H when I bought the silver bullet. The drill bit fits the silver bullet perfectly, so I'm pretty sure it's a #43.

I definitely can’t push the axles in with my fingers. Even with everything I did to loosen the holes, it was extremely hard to get them in. I’m pushing so hard, I have little to no control over the wheel gap. Once I got the wheel gap in the ball park, I just stopped b/c I didn’t want to break the car or accidentally push it in too far.

https://derbydad4hire.com/Premium-Sugar-Pine-Wood-Block-SSG1-2.htm

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[Prozach2]

Well, here’s the final product. Going to add some graphite in the morning, clean’m up, and turn’m in.

 

[TRE]

Whatever the car likes i dont use gap guage

 

[Jupiter 2.9]

Thanks! The race is Saturday, so I was starting to get nervous.

The cars looked nice. So what happened ??

 

[Prozach2]

The cars looked nice. So what happened ??

The cars did great! My oldest son won 1st. He was so excited. It was his last race as a Cub, so we worked really hard. His younger brother was just competing for fun (too young to be a Cub), but his car was 2nd.

 

[Chris Stevenson]

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My body broke when I tried to push in the axle. It also cracked on the back axle. I’m going to cut another body today and leave more meat on the car. Are there any other tips/thoughts for pushing the axles in or drilling the holes? I’m using the silver bullet extreme and a hand drill to drill the holes. DD4H has a video. I’m basically doing it just like that. I was wondering if I should maybe go back and forth with the drill or something. It feels like I’m having to push the axles way to hard to get them to go in.

Thank you to everyone for your help!

I haven't broken a body yet, but I've had this same experience of having to exert A LOT of force to get the axles in the holes and I was definitely worried about breaking the body. I have bent and ruined axles inserting them. That was even after relaxing the holes with the drill bit and/or spare axles. The axle pliers cannot push the axles in far enough to get a tight gap because of the thickness of the head of the pliers that is between the axle head and the wheel hub. Also, as someone else said, the design could allow for damage to the underside of the axle head. It sounds like some people are just loosening the holes a lot more than I have, but I worry about the axles slipping. That would be a big problem if the DFW axle slipped and threw the steer way off. There's one other tool I've seen: https://www.amazon.com/Pinewood-Der...t=&hvlocphy=9027602&hvtargid=pla-622500652927 This tool does have a concave head you could use to push in the axle head.

 

[Mojo Racing]

Okay... So the type of wood plays a big part on how right the axle holes are.

Bass wood and sugar pine don't have a lot of grain like a regular yellow pine block has. Poplar, even though it is a soft wood, is very tough on axle holes.

Now... You don't see many people using that axle puller that you had listed... If you look for derby worx axle pliers, you will be a lot happier with how they insert and extract axles.

Also, slotting your axle head, you can use a 1/8" screwdriver, twisting the axle as your insert. If you use a little pressure on the wheel, and trust the axle with the screwdriver, it will come right out too.

 

[Chris Stevenson]

Okay... So the type of wood plays a big part on how right the axle holes are.

Bass wood and sugar pine don't have a lot of grain like a regular yellow pine block has. Poplar, even though it is a soft wood, is very tough on axle holes.

Now... You don't see many people using that axle puller that you had listed... If you look for derby worx axle pliers, you will be a lot happier with how they insert and extract axles.

Also, slotting your axle head, you can use a 1/8" screwdriver, twisting the axle as your insert. If you use a little pressure on the wheel, and trust the axle with the screwdriver, it will come right out too.

I have those pliers. What I have found is that the thickness of the very end of the pliers, the part that fits up under the head of the nail, it much thicker than the wheel gap you would want. The tip of the pliers comes in contact with the wheel and that's as far as you can push with the pliers. You have to find a way to push them in a little further. I think relaxing the hole is probably a big part of the answer. Having to use so much force dictates what kind of tool will work best. The screwdriver would work better and be safer is you don't have to use much force in the first place.

 

[Mojo Racing]

That's why I use the screwdriver to set my gaps, and to start the removal of the wheel (but use the pliers after I get the axle out a little bit).