[robertob]

I'd like to safety wire a few things while I have my bike apart but I can't find pre-drilled JIS metric fasteners. In the past I've used AN hardware with drilled heads but obviously that won't do me any good.

Are you racers drilling your bolts yourselves (yuck)?

 

[BANDIT]

I go and buy lots and lots of 1/16 drill bits, tighten the nuts and bolts in a vice and spend lots of time drilling and snapping bits. At least with the Allen head type you can just centre punch on the side so you can get a good start without the bit wandering all over. Nuts is nuts and I usually start on one side and then finish from the other. Nuts are the bit eaters.
"Patience is a virtue"
"Anything worth doing well..."
Bullshit, it's time consuming and a pain in the ass, but it's gotta be done or you don't get to race!


BANDIT

If tomorrow really is the first day of the rest of my life....does that mean all the shit I do today can't be held against me?

 

[robertob]

That's what I figured.

This isn't a racer but I want the look - yeah, I know it's cheesy. Anyway, I guess I'll be doing it as/if/when I have time.

 

[Geeto67]

quote:
That's what I figured.

This isn't a racer but I want the look - yeah, I know it's cheesy. Anyway, I guess I'll be doing it as/if/when I have time.

For a street bike I would be careful about the things I safety wire, one safety wired bolt can make a roadside repair a nightmare or not feasible. On certain bikes I would wire the exhaust pipes or clamps as a matter of principle, but I would not do anything related to the wheels.

 

[jbranson]

I've drilled about a thousand nuts and bolts....literally.

Step one...get quality 1/16" cobalt drill bits. Like he said, socket head are a breeze...center punch and go. Back off the pressure but not the speed as it breaks through the other side of anything. Always use drilling/tapping oil.
On nuts...take a dremel with a round ball carbide bit...make a little crater in the flat...then punch a divet in the crater. Start at an angle that makes a good hole...back out..change the angle a bit more and go in slow (not rpm but forwar movement)...back out, go in a bit more angle..until you are heading across the point of the nut like you want. Stop a few times and dip the bit in cutting fluid as you go. Keep the rpm up but go very slow as it breaks through on the other side of the nut.
I can typically do about 20- nuts/bolts with a single cobalt bit.
After you are done...take your dremel with the ball end bit again and make a little dish over the hole...makes getting the wire in much easier.
JohnnyB

 

[aaron]

I use cobalt bits but I hand tighten the chuck. Most breaks are when the bit is reaching the other side. If the bit spins it doesn't break.

Street bike, I would do the master link and header nuts. And Bransons nuts.

Aaron

 

[jbranson]

Jeez, good tip on the chuck.....who'd a thunk it.

My nuts can't be drilled...they are like diamonds.

JohnnyB

 

[BANDIT]

Nice tip on the Dremel for dishing out the holes JohnnyB, it's a real pain in the ass aiming for that little hole especially on an inside nut.
As far as wheels, I and others use a hair clip instead of a cotter pin, then safety wire the hair pin, that way you can pull the pin and not worry about losing it in the grass or gravel in the pits.

If tomorrow really is the first day of the rest of my life....does that mean all the shit I do today can't be held against me?

 

[robertob]

Good tips, all. I like the idea of using a dremel to make the pilot on nuts.

Seems like someone (not me) with a CNC and a stack of 12.9 metric bolts could clean up selling drilled hardware.