I'm away until 27th but I will ream them properly if you are still stuck then.

Location: Bristol

I'm with the field of thought that you may have a tapered reamer, great thing to get it started but you need a parallel reamer to finish of.

Location: Oakley hants

hi simon,

i notice you have bought bushes and reamer.

what reamer do you have.

is it an ordinary single cut. are there 2 cutting faces, or are there 3 cutting faces.

the ID of kingpin bushes should be 10 thou under size.

if you use a standard supply reamer with one cut its hard to line up the bushes. if you are out, the pingpin will be tight in the lower bush. even though the reamer is a parallel and has reached the bottom of the bush.

if you use a two cutting face, the plain shaft end should be 10 thou under size, and drops through to line up the bottom bush wilst the cutting face cuts the top bush.

if you are useing the three cutting edge, one of the end cutting faces will be 10 thou under, use as above.

tony

Location: huncote on the pig

Resist the temptation to fit the pins tight. The car will wander much worse than usual until the pins free up. And the bushes will likely turn in the hub, complicating next replacement.

Ideally reaming is only to correct the slighty unpredictable closing due interference fit, so bushes can fit the pin before, and I have purchased sets like this. But hubs are distorted to some degree and a bit more metal and use of reamer piloted one way or another sorts all.

Those with lathes and scraps of silver steel can get by making d bits or the like but then they know that anyway.

Location: Auckland, NZ

Hi, Please refer to my Post just added to Kingpins Beware in the index-I hope it helps.
Cheers Steve h

Location: Wellington NZ

Simon,
In order to get the bottom 1/2" of pin and bush to fit I have stuck a length of 5/16" BSF studding in the kingpin. Put the kingpin/studding assembly,well oiled,in my lathe set on very low speed and very,very carefully fed the stub axle,hand held onto the kingpin. Keep removing stub axle from pin,let it cool,apply more oil and repeat.You have to be very carefull that the pin doesn't grab on the bush and cause damage to you ,the stub axle or the lathe. This is mainly for oversize pins when I cannot use the special A7 reamer which is for standard size pins. If you do this be aware that the pin and axle very easily grab. Not really good health and safety but my dad who was a maintenance fitter in the thirties up to mid seventies taught me this method.
Dave.

Location: Sheffield

Thank you, everyone, for the help.

For some reason I assumed the newly bought reamer, from a supplier of Austin Seven spares, would be a parallel one.

Following the replies above, I checked it - of course, it is tapered.

The top bushes, reamed, accepted the pins ok, so I have left them in the axles.

The bottom ones, removed and reamed, were fine on the pins before replacing, but still tight after replacing.

So I will adapt Steve Hainsworth's method, turn the lowers undersize until the pins are free in both when the lowers are dropped in the axles, and loctite the lowers in place using the kingpin as the lining-up tool.
This method really appeals to me as a modern solution to an old problem.

Two comments -

It took more hammering than I liked to remove the old bushes. When I checked the new bushes they were several thou oversize, so I turned around 3 thou off to leave them a tap-in fit (frozen bushes into heated axles).

I didn't get a satisfactory fit after hand-reaming, the pins were still a bit tight in the bushes. So I put the reamer in a hand held electric drill and ran them through at a gentle speed until the fit was ok on the pins.

I will let you know how I get on, thanks again,

Simon

Location: On a hill in Wiltshire

Hi Simon - have you bought a proper Austin Seven king pin reamer like this?



or an ordinary 1/2" reamer like this?

It's maybe time to 'fess up. Many years ago when everybody was breaking through-hardened swivel pins, the culprits were mainly an Australian firm. At the risk of being sued, I think from memory their name was Dufor (We used to say they were DUE FOR replacement BEFORE they were installed). If anyone has new-old stock of pins with that brand, suggest you think twice before using them. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa, Australia

I have several boxes o Du(n)for pins here Bill if you ever need some. Their reputation for Premature breaking is well known to us Kiwis.A good friend of mine lost a wheel in the middle of Wellington city some years ago as a result.

I have survived the Large earthquake unscathed. (pretty scary) but it did dislodge my seven spares pile and I found a few things I had forgotten I had.
The Top Hat was outside at the time so was saved any damage.I am still off work as The technical institute I work at has some seismic damage to buildings and contents. Still getting some big aftershocks as I write.

Location: Wellington NZ

Failed kingpins were not all cheap items. I had one break and it would have been bought from the Austin agents. I greased the car very frequently and always shook the wheels, so promptly detected but with only the Girling plugs to retain was lucky not to lose.

I did not then know of chromed bar so had a length of HT steel hard chromed. From what I have read about the effect of chroming on fatigue it may not be a great improvement! With softer materials care is necessary not to spread the pin. Personally I reckon Herbert should have lost his title for continuing the Seven front axle, kingpins and steering arm into the 30s.

Ford 10s have markedly soft kingpins. Lester Reader of local competition special fame used to entrust his life to a piece of as supplied Silver steel, but mileage was negligible.

And anyone confused about d bits, should have been D!

Just read the Dufor post.Such known risks cannot be over publicised. The Oz brand was very widely used in Australasia for servicing covering a huge range of components and makes. I have a Dufor axle which has been finished too thin so that the taper runs out at the end of the key. Although near new and no sign of loose key, naturally there is a detectable crack. If all like this must have had a dismal reputation.(I presume with the original equipment earlier thin axles the key was located to avoid this).

Location: Auckland, NZ

Sorry to hear about the recent quake, but thankful that there was so little loss of life considering the severity & that (no surprise here) that you are all pressing on! I have good memories of pre-quake Christchurch
On a lighter note I had not come across Dufor brand, but they must be closely related to the Brand in our family who supply Christmas and Birthday presents. I am sure you know them....DoFor.... as in "that will Do For David" or "that'll do for Aunt Jane"!!!
My king Pins feel ok, but I have no idea whose they were/are!
David

Location: Stratford upon Avon

No, Ruairidh, I am not that sophisticated.

But I do expect, when I order a parallel reamer from one of our main suppliers, to get a parallel reamer.

I checked what I ordered, so I don't think it was me.

Whatever, I learned something from all this, which is what it is all about, innit?

Cheers

Simon

Location: On a hill in Wiltshire

Ive got a 'old stock' king pin doing sterling service as the pin in the carden block on the saloon. It hasnt snapped yet.

In general use the term parallel reamer applied to hand reamers assumes a slight lead taper. Even adjustable reamers have a lead.

But in (pre girling) Seven circles where a reamer without the lead is required to finish, the term often used with specific meaning hence confusion.

Most taper reamers are obviously so, for example for Morse tapers.

Location: Auckland, NZ