Drilling out da rivets....
Well I've ruined 3 cars trying drill out rivets. I either use too small a bit and it doesn't work or I go too big and ruin the whole rivet post. Any ideas?
Discussion
Found this on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZlTcOsmu84
The video is pretty long but in the first few minutes he shows how to drill out the rivits and tap them for screws. I prefer to use 3/48 button head screws. I had a how-to on this forum and now that Webshots decided to close all of my pick are gone.
13/16" ! wow...drill through the whole car! I do about what Smitty said, but with a 3/16" bit or so. I use a cheapy electric drill I got at Harbor Freight. Spin at very slow speed with a little pressure and those suckers drill right through. I've slipped and reuined a few though. Good luck.
I use a small bit (1/16) to drill a guide hole, then a wider bit (3/16) to grind it out. Works pretty well, just gotta go slow.
http://www.redlinederby.com/blog/2009/0 ... eels-cars/
A thread on 'riviting' the axles was started here:
http://www.redlinederby.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1492
so I thought this would be a good time to 'bump' this thread.
if you pry the axle anchors [prongs] back to remove the axles on metal or plastic bases, and if you want to re-swedge the prongs for new axles you might make a tool just for that... I heated the tips on a small pair of needlenose plyers with my torches, then with regular plyers I bent the tips 90*..,. I offset them because the underside of the base can have lumps and bumps, this let's me find a good spot under the base that will let me crush the prongs over the axle...
with metal bases you may need to pre-heat the tool's tip with a candle and hold it against the prong you want to crush for a minute, this keeps the heat away from the wheels, the heated tip will soften the metal and keep it from snapping off.
if any interest in a pair, send them to me with your coast to coast car, i'll modd them and send them home...
Made my first drill out today! (Some PTSD from the 1st time I drilled a hole into a real Vette!)
This was my chosen test vehicle - Ice Cream Truck. I was off a little bit and don't think I drilled the pilot hole far enough into the post - so will have to deepen. I will be anchoring the axles next and adding weight using fishing weights and clay. It already rolls better with the front of the body up a little bit - so the front wheels dont rub. Weighs 60 grams already!
On the front (and back) the interior has tabs that anchor the axles down, but they are pretty far inboard and still allow the axel to flex. Would it be better to leave them in place and press the interior down on to the chassis or trim them and build a deeper level of JB weld instead?
Also found some wet transfer decals from model cars I built in the '60 and '70s and a few dry transfer sets from my N scale model train days! The project list keeps growing!!!
On the front (and back) the interior has tabs that anchor the axles down, but they are pretty far inboard and still allow the axel to flex. Would it be better to leave them in place and press the interior down on to the chassis or trim them and build a deeper level of JB weld instead?
There are two rules of thumb here. While a lot of builders prefer to JB Weld their axles in place, there are also quite a few (myself included) that rather leave the axles 'floating' (held down by the interior). It also depends on the car and if you are using screws to attach the chassis to the body.
There are two rules of thumb here. While a lot of builders prefer to JB Weld their axles in place, there are also quite a few (myself included) that rather leave the axles 'floating' (held down by the interior). It also depends on the car and if you are using screws to attach the chassis to the body.
On this car since the tabs are so far in board - at the front - is leading me to try the JB weld technique. I plan to go ahead and do the rears, since they are there! (and for the practice).
I do plan to use the button head screws that I have left over from my model train wheel sets.
Just had a thought! Adding more "tabs" to the bottom of the interior might be an option as well! Has anyone tried that route?
Been side tracked by other projects, but got back to the Ice Cream - technique testing - truck today!
Finally was able to find a tap and small screws 3-56 size. My post drill had walked a little bit so it is off to the side, but holds!
I decided to try the dab of super glue to initially hold the axle in place and the add the JB weld. The super glue travels fast. I had the fore thought to put some clay at the edges of the chassis - hoping it didnt get through the clay and all four wheels still spin!
i'm useing a 3/16" drill bit... use a sharp one as a dull one will walk off to the edge and then you're drilling the trunk floor...
drill in spurts once you get to where you see the whole rivit is cut [shiny] go slow, keep checking, you will see the size get smaller as you go, when you are close to deep enough you can see if your bit is walking... tilt the drill away from the uncut side, push toward the uncut, slowly untilt the bit to vertical, it should cut into the rest of the rivit