Axles & Composite Gear...

[Mark Davis]

I'm finishing up a rebuild and decided to put composite gear on the airplane... I choose a set of gear from www.rcsupergear.com basically because they're the only people making (or made) composite gear for my airplane... The fit is fine and they look like they're going to do the job, but when I went to bolt on a set of axles, the shank that goes through the gear is too short... Not enough (or any) thread showing to start a lock-nut... I started searching for a suitable set of axles and the only thing I came up with are a set of 1/4" axles from www.pspmfg.com... Way over kill for my application...

Anybody know where I can pickup a set of axles with a longer shank for use with composite gear???

Thanks in advance...

[joel greer]

2i have the same problem, i tightened the nut real good , then used ca. on the nut and axle and plan to watch it very closely. because i havn,t flown it yet.

[sensei]

How thick is the gear in the area that the axles go through?

Bob

[Rolling Thunder]

I used the comparf axel method. One long shank bolt for the wheel to rid on. the bolt head to retain the wheel.

[torquen]

How about the Du-Bro 1/4" axels? That is what I have been using for the past 8-9 years.
Garrett Morrison

[Mark Davis]

The gear is 1/2" thick where the axles mount... The same size as the shank on the Dubro 3/16" axles... When the axle is inserted through the gear, zero threads are showing... I looked at the Dubro 1/4" axles at my LHS today and they have the same length shank... I've never used RCSuperGear before so this is a first for me... Graphtecs are much thinner in this area...

I guess I could have used the Comp-Arf mounting technique... That is until I drilled 3/8" holes in the gear for the axles I had...

[Simpleton]

If you know somebody with a lathe, you could get them to turn down some 3/8" bolts. Stick the bolt thru the gear and put a nut on each side to mount it up solid to see how much threads you need to save, then turn everything left sticking out down to 3/16" or 1/4". Wouldn't take much, you could whip out a couple sets in the time it takes to drink 2 beers I reckon.

Or maybe use a short section of the 3/8" bolt as a bushing. Mount it into the hole in the gear and drill out the center of the bolt to 3/16" or 1/4", then stick a piece of music wire that size thru it and secure with wheel collars (and maybe som green Loctite in the hole in the 3/8" bushing).