Thanks all for the advice. Andy I recently came upon your decade (!) old thread while looking up how to straighten a bent steel fork. (topic for another thread!) I want to thank you for the effort and time you put into those posts.
Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
The usual way to check for an axle's threading is to test fit known nuts or cones on it. That didn't happen the first time at the LBs, or at least I'm assuming not done by the LBS when they sold you what you asked for. Did you have the old bent axle in hand when you were there?
9.5 is an axle diameter that have been made for many decades in 24TPI, 26TPI and 1mmpt. Do you know yet which pitch your old axle is? The other method for helping to determine axles is a thread pitch gage. Over the many threads that the gage will contact the slight differences between 26tpi and 1mmpt are able to be seen. The 24tpi should be pretty obvious and is generally limited to coaster brake hubs.
I brought the original axle in but incorrectly thought it was m10x1 since those are the nuts I had, which I knew the threading of, that closest fit it, so I asked for that and got it. Recently I went again to the LBS, with the original axle and nuts and the m10 one I bought from them earlier to ask for an exchange (it was my bad) and, since they couldn't find it, asked if they could tell me the size/threading pitch so I know what to look for but unfortunately they were two young guys who weren't really familiar with it I think. One told me to test it at Home Depot, which I was going to anyway for something else, and sure enough the axle didn't fit in any. It was somewhere between 3/8" (wouldn't fit) and m10x1 (fits but loose). ???
I don't have the m10x1pitch axle anymore to test visually next to the old axle
Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
As thread forming tools wear and need periodic adjustment (thread rolling specifically) and these needs are not always followed up on by factories the actual tolerances of dimensions and how almost but not exactly the same parts can fit together can be hard to discern.
I found it strange that the original cone nuts, which I assume were original since they fit with the dust cap, are noticeably wobbly when on the axle when pressed between two fingers. The locknuts however like I said fit great and removed the slack. I ordered NOS cones from ebay that were within added 0.7 ~1mm length of the original, keeping spacing in mind, and they had the same wobbliness, which was addressed by backing the locknut onto it like the presumed originals, so I presumed it to be ok. Not as sure now
I
read about sanding down the cones here with axle attached to power drill + incrementally higher grit sandpaper to get past the pits and smooth it out. Case hardened vs through hardened was the issue other posters here debated, not knowing for sure what hardening your cones are. But some claimed it worked for them - and I read a blog recently where someone who used this method on old cones claimed
"He even put the repaired cones to the test for a year (about 14.000 kms) and the cones seem to be holding up perfectly!" - Anyone have experience with this?
I almost wonder if I could get something like the below ebay link, with expected potential problems of the spacers not matching, or my original dustcap is too big or small, and that I might have to file the dropout to get it to fit.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304760164866
And lastly to go along with the desperate last resort,
. I'm sure that won't be widely recommended but I am curious what others think