Brief Description: nose gear modification taper pin
I talked with David Liu today and explained my problem about not being able to drill through the nose gear strut. He said that I have probably ruined my drill bit by turning it too fast with too little oil. He suggested I get a new one and try again. I picked up a new drill bit at Ace hardware on the way home from work.
The new drill bit, driven at the slowest speed on my drill press did the job. I finished it up with the hand drill.
Next, I put the strut in the engine mount and began to ream it with the taper reamer. I did not get far initially. I could not get the reamer to cut. I tried hand pressure, then tried the 1/2 drill motor. The drill motor stopped working and started smoking!
I emailed Jim Ellis and asked his advice. He advised to clean both the reamer and the hole with mineral spirits and try again. I did that. I began to make progress. I suspect that oil I used in the hole and on the reamer prevented the reamer from taking a bit. The progress is slow, but it is progress. At the end of the night, I had progressed with the reamer only about 1/4 inch, perhaps a bit less. It will take awhile doing it by hand and I trashed my drill already.
