After breaking the knurled ends of two 1666 and 221 engine axles, I need to ask what's the best way to place the wheels on the axle without damaging the axle.
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Are you putting new wheels on existing axles? If so, you need a method to press the wheels on the axles that holds the axle square to the wheel. Ignoring the knurling and just looking at the wheel bore and axle diameter, you need an interference fit of 0.0015” to 0.002” between the wheel bore and axle diameter. Use appropriate chucking reamers to get the correct interference fit. I prefer a wheel press with a cam driving the ram. With a cam, as the axle is pressed deeper into the wheel, the mechanical advantage increases and the ram speed reduces. I find this makes controlling the press work is easier. This is ignoring the issues of quartering, that is clocking the side rod mounting bosses. If you are pressing wheels back on to the axle they were pulled off of, scribe a line across the end of the axle and wheel hub before they are pulled off. This is so the wheel and axle can be lined up and pressed back on in the same location.
Wow Sounds like I need more tools to get this done.Your advice makes complete sense. Chucking reamers and wheel press where do I get these?
Do you really want to invest in all the tools to rebuild steam engines? How many are you planning on rebuilding?
The press and press tool can be acquired from Jeff Kane, The Train Tender. I get reamers from either MSC or McMaster Carr.
