Technical redrilling 5 on 5.5 to 5 on 4.

I think that if you want a skinny 5 on 4" wheel, try a space saver spare from an old Chevy Citation. Stupid offset' but you could probably modify that.

 

Looks like you're on the right track.

So long as the center register is snug in the wheel hole, that locates the wheel.

The studs and nuts are just there for clamping force.

A slight deviation in the studs won't cause a problem. Just use good quality fasteners.

 

Why not rotate the new lug pattern so the lugs will be at the mid point between the current lug pattern?
The only reason its printed the way it is, is so all the patterns can be printed on one layout, nothing says you can't rotate the placement of the pattern. This would be pretty easy now that you have the new bolt circle laid out on the hub.

 

Probably not going to work well on the OP's wheels.........

 

Sorry, I was referring to move the new lug holes on the hub, not on the wheels.

 

Relocating studs in the wheel hub is sooo much easier than plugging and redrilling the wheels.
Looks like you don't even need to plug the old hub, just offset and redrill.

I'd leave the wheels alone.

 

In that case, I agree with you totally.

 

It's not rocket surgrey.

 

Mill or
Drill press?

 

@‘52 F-3

Would you take a pic of your rotary table for your drill press please?
Thanks

Hmmn, that page didn’t work!
@‘52 f-3

Or that one!!

 

I would just buy a wheel adapter that fits both patterns, pop the studs out, bolt it to the hub and use an appropriately sized drill bit as a center punch to transfer the holes.

This is hand drill type work, not something you need a mill for.

 

@'52 F-3 -3
When you say Altered,
Altered wheel base vehicle or
Altered tube chassis like Fc ?
My self picturing different ways to make things work ,
1/2 stock to make adapter , bolt to hub
Then studs or bolts to mount hold
wheel /rim . Make your own hub,
It just how much time thinking or having ways & determination to do . Many things done when 20 or so out on a farm .
There are several way's things can be done with out
lathe /mill, ( they help ) back in late 70s seen was involved in free hand drilling rotors / hubs with out lathe /mill , I was not in my teens yet, using cracks in porch as a brake & so on .
Being around & @ track pretty much since 4 , I see many things even on Quality race cars, I have seen 3/8 bolts on font wheels running 165 in 1/8, 2,200 pd door slammer
There are bolts , studs ect in
Aerospace Aviation 2-3 times smaller then lets say
Grade 8 1/2 that is stronger & lighter

 

When you said earlier that you had a "rotary table", I thought you were talking about one that has graduations around the side and a handle for cranking it in a circle to align with the graduations.......rather than a drill press with a round table that pivots. My mistake..........


If you are going to drill the hub to the wheel pattern rather than the wheel to the hub pattern............Then turn the centering lip on the hub so its a slip fit into the wheel. You may need to make a thin ring if the hub lip is too small. Anyway the hub needs to slide into the wheel (almost a slip fit). Then simply put the wheel on the hub and use the wheel pattern for your jig. This will insure that the wheel and its pattern are concentric with the hub.

Get some small round stock and turn it in your lathe till its a slip fit into a wheel hole.
Have a little shoulder on it, so it will slip into the wheel hole till it hits the shoulder. Before you remove it from your lathe, drill a small hole thru the center of it. Maybe 3/16" or so. Then when you put the wheel on the hub, slide your home made drill bushing in each hole and drill a "pilot" hole thru the wheel. That will make your finish drill less likely to walk any and drill more easily.


Something like this....

 

Like was said, it's not rocket science, I redrilled my hubs and rotors from 4.5 to 4.75 using a plastic wheel bolt pattern and a drill press.



Car was over 120 mph several times, wheelies all the time, street/highway driven without issues.
Use the pattern, account for the built in slop to fit over the lugs, find center, quadruple check your measurement and drill. I do think it's a good move to redrill the hub versus drilling the wheels, especially with the way they are cast.
I've did several drums the same way

 

Oh snap! I didn’t see the relation of the press table as a rotary table until you brought it up.
I asked for a pic of a drill press rotary table because I was just recently looking at options and was curious what others were using.

 

Waiting on Studs to be delivered. Decided to drill holes next to the web on backside of hub, inner wall thickness seems to be thickest here. I guess I have a "Turn Table", not a Rotary. My mistake.

 

About to do similar on a pair of 9 inch axles
Going to 6x5.5

 

mill quality work w/ a drillpress!

 

Nice job, I believe drilling the hubs is better than drilling the wheels. It will look much cleaner.
Dan

 

This is messing with my OCD.

 

I consider a little OCD a good thing.... If these 84 year old hubs could talk, looks like someone hammered in some studs at some point. It spun true on my lathe, hoping 2nd one goes as smooth.

 

This way he has room for 5 on 5 if he wants to run that in the future or if the next guy does another 80yr from now.

I would have used normal wheel studs with the shoulders ground on one side if needed to clear the barrel of the hub though.

Regardless, what he did will be fine.

 

Yes it’ll work just fine. But this looks so much better.

 

I think its one of those terms we use generically and most people would picture what you have when the term is used.
I'm an old machinist so (without thinking), when I hear that I just automatically think one thats separate from a drill press or milling machine and gets clamped or bolted in place.

Looks like you did a very nice job. An awful lot of "accuracy" when doing something like this is in the ability of the person who is doing the work. Most people are not as adept as you at making the paper pattern work accurately. Yes, it looks like you pulled it off rather well.

 

My suggestion is to watch for a 12" Rotary Table like the one I have. It's small enough to move by hand, yet large enough to hold most things you might need to machine. They sell some smaller ones, but its often difficult to clamp the part in place because there is little room to use clamps when the part is on the table.

In addition to the rotary table you will find that buying a lathe chuck with a flat back will serve you well as it can be clamped to the rotary table to hold shafts and stuff. I bought a new aftermarket one as they were pretty cheap to purchase. Because of the issue with having room for the clamps (and I have a 12 "), I had a friend plasma cut a round plate that I could weld the chuck to. I put a centering plug on the back of the plate and turned it slightly smaller than the hole in the Rotary Table. I indicate the rotary table true to the milling machine spindle. Then when I drop the lathe chuck in place, its close to being centered and it only takes a minute to indicate it true to the rotary table. The plate has predrilled holes to allow me to just bolt it to the rotary table. No need to fight with the clamps.


Note: 3 jaw chucks are not always as accurate as you would like, so find where it holds a part concentric before welding it in place. A 4 jaw chuck takes a little more work to get a part concentric, but may be a better choice if someone wants to copy this.

Edit: In the first picture, just to the left of the dial indicator there is a plug sitting on the rotary table. I chuck it in a drill chuck on its small diameter. The large diameter is a slip fit into the center hole of the rotary table. I set the rotary table in place and pull the mill or drill press handle down till its inserted into the center hole of the rotary table. This gets the rotary table very close to being centered and is very quick. Then I double check with an indicator to get it perfect. Just a quick way to position a rotary table.......

 

Once in a while I need bigger than my 12" table [already increased from 8"] then I select an engine flywheel and adapt to suit.

 

Be aware that these wheels used lug nuts with 7/16 studs. You will have to enlarge the lug holes I'm sure.

 

Mill.

 

I picked this up cheap when they were shutting down the ordnance station years ago. I've used it a few times, but it's Heeaavvvy..........

 

That right there is the TRUTH.