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tonyjohnson

Well Known Member
The main gear mounts for the 8A require that you open an existing hole to 5/16 for the bolt that holds passes through the mount and the gear leg to hold the gear leg in the mount.

The hole on the other side of the mount is already the correct size. During a conversation I had with Vans it was mentioned that you REAM the undersize hole to 5/16. To do that I will have to find a 5/16 reamer, probably have to order it etc. I could just drill the hole out with a hand drill and 5/16 bit.

I am wondering what others have done in this situation. For those that drilled, have you experienced any problems?
 
Tony,
Buy the reamer. A drill doesn't make a perfectly round hole in thinner materials and it can be worse when drilling a curved surface. You really want a nice fit on that particular hole.

Orlando is sure to have an industrial supply house with reamers in stock. Consider spending a few extra bucks and pick up a set of the four common "airplane sizes"; .1875, .25, .3125, and .375. They're essential tools for quality work.
 
Reamers for sure

I had a set that went from 1/8 to 1/2 in and I used them a lot. Run them as slow as your drill will work and use some type of lube. You will have a lot better holes that fit very nice. I had got mine from where I work but I beleive you can get them from MSC or McMaster Carr both have websights

Jim Knight
Burlington Iowa
RV-6
 
thanks

Thanks for the advice guys. Unfortunately there is no place in Orlando that I can find that has reamers. MCS has a branch here but they don't stock tools???

Avery has reamers at a reasonable price, but they would have to ship and are closed in any case.

If anyone in Orlando has a 5/16 reamer that I can borrow to do 2 holes in thin material please give me a shout.

Tony
 
<<MCS has a branch here but they don't stock tools>>

I bet they can get them to that branch PDQ.

BTW, I can't say enough good things about MSC. I've been buying from them for years (mostly machine tool stuff) and they have never failed to be on time and as ordered. You get a choice of price vs quality right there in the catalog; they often have what you want from three or four different manufacturers. MSC is a great example of how a mail order house should be run.
 
I ordered

Dan,

Thanks for the info about MCS. I heard about them for the first time last week. I went ahead and ordered the 4 sizes of reamers that you recommended from the Avery website. Because of the holidays I won't be able to get the tools for a week or so in any case.
 
If it is not too late

If you can still add to your order, you should order a .311 inch reamer for those gear mount brackets. That is the actual size the gear legs are reamed to and will provide a much better fit than a .3125 (5/16) reamer. I know it does not sound like much, but you will notice it. Also if you try to run a .3125 reamer through the gear leg as a guide, you will have to remove material from it as well and that steel is not to friendly to work with. This is assuming you are using a standard tolerance bolt and not a tight tolerance bolt.

And most definitely spin it slow and be sure to use cutting oil.
 
I added the .311

Richard,

Thanks for the heads up. I sent an email to avery asking them to add the 311 reamer to my order.
 
tonyjohnson said:
Richard,

Thanks for the heads up. I sent an email to avery asking them to add the 311 reamer to my order.
Click to expand...

Tony,

Give me a call when you are ready to do this. I'm getting close to starting on my fuse and I'd like to lend a hand if I can and see it done first hand.

I'm building an 8A QB as well just north of you (Winter Springs). My # is 407 334-2028.

PS: I know, I know, I keep threatening to come and see your project. This time I'm serious :D
PSS: If you'd like to share the cost of the reamers I'm willing to throw in half if you let me use them when my time comes to do this
 
Reamers-Brown Tool

Brown Tool has a good selection and prices appear cheaper than MSC (I just compared HSS chucking reamers made in USA...). Free shipping when you order more than $85 (somehow I never have trouble reaching that amount :rolleyes: )
 
-8A Gear Legs

I mounted my -8A gear yesterday. I found that the holes through the gear legs were the proper size, but the fitting holes hade to be drilled to 5/16.

I also had to use emery paper, Boelube and a Dremmel sander to get the legs properly seated in the wiedemonts.
 
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