Drilling the hubs out on Dubro 6" tundra tires

[dkalwishky]

I've got a set up Dubro 6" tundra tires for my Flex Cessna 170. I need to drill the axel hubs in the wheels out to fir the 5mm axel that's on the plane.

I was going to just use a hand drill and drill them out but geez after reading posts of guys saying to put them in a lathe if you have one and some of the other crazy ideas I thought I'd ask the experts here on how you drill out wheel hubs.

[yorkiepap]

Of course, a lathe would be the ideal method for centering once the tires are removed. A drill press would be the 2nd alternative to get a fairly true hole. Either provide the drill to engage in a straight line to eliminate an oval hole that may create wheel wobble. If you are REALLY good with a hand drill, it can be done as long as you can maintain steadiness. Another solution that I have employed with some of my bigger planes is to drill an oversize hole to press fit a metal bushing that is already drilled to fit the axel. This is the preferred method with plastic/Teflon wheels that eliminate any wear that may cause wobble after a while.

Denny

[WintrSol]

If I have a reamer of the proper size, I'll use that; I lock the reamer in a bench vise, and turn the wheel onto it by hand. Lacking the proper size reamer, I'll use a series of drills, also clamped in the vise. I find turning the wheel by hand keeps the drill centered better, instead of powering through with the drill turning. I'll also use a brass tube to protect the plastic, if there is enough plastic in the hub for the over size hole.

[Beeg]

I just used my hand drill on my 5 1/2's. Been on my H9 1/4Cub for about 2 years with lots of up and downs and no problems.

[doctormike]

I use my drill press. It always centers just fine into the existing hole. Doc