Brief Description: Photos 2-Tools Used to Drill Hole in Axle
I found a good step-by-step set of instructions for drilling the axle in order to insert the locking cotter pin thru the axle nut on Matt Burch's website. I started out by trying to determine the proper tightness of the axle nut for the wheel rotation. If the nut was tightened with the axle wrench, the wheel would not rotate. I ended up tightening the axle nut by hand and positioned it by allowing the wheel to have slight resistance. I used a 12'' #30 drill bit to mark the location of a hole thru the axle nut. The axle nut was removed and I used a grinding attachment on the Dremel to smooth out the threads for drilling the hole thru the axle. I attempted to drill a hole in the axle using a standard 1/8" drill bit. After spending over a half-hour and using three new bits with no success, I reread the instructions and found that I should have been using an aircraft #30 bit. The angle is slightly different, allowing the bit to grab the steel better. I switched to a new #30 bit and the hole was drilled immediately! It helps to use the proper tools! I took the tire off and reinstalled the axle nut. I then drilled the corresponding hole on the opposite side with the #30 bit. One axle is done!
All of the tools used to drill a #30 hole thru the axle for the cotter pin
