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0.311 Drill Bit

I think I would drill undersize and then use a 0.311" straight flute reamer.

Reamers make a more round and accurate hole.
 
Naive question from a wannabe builder: why does this hole need to be reamed if the plans call for a drill? From what I'm reading you're opening up one hole in the mount. Presumably the upper hole was drilled at Van's. If one side is drilled you don't gain much if anything by reaming the other. Plus with the bit captured by the leg it isn't going to wander much and trigon the hole.

The spec for an AN5 bolt is .309-.312. So with a .311 reamer you're still potentially up to 0.002" loose.
 
Good that you've checked the bolt tolerance spec. Now check drill bit specs. A drill bit will probably work Ok, but since you are investing a lot of time and money, why not do the best job possible?

And I suggest fitting the wheels with the gear off the aircraft and have a machinist drill the axle for the axle nut. Less chance of messing up the threads that way, or ruining a bunch of small-diameter bits not made for that kind of work.
 
jacoby said:
Naive question from a wannabe builder: why does this hole need to be reamed if the plans call for a drill? From what I'm reading you're opening up one hole in the mount. Presumably the upper hole was drilled at Van's. If one side is drilled you don't gain much if anything by reaming the other. Plus with the bit captured by the leg it isn't going to wander much and trigon the hole.

The spec for an AN5 bolt is .309-.312. So with a .311 reamer you're still potentially up to 0.002" loose.
Click to expand...

Actually the upper hole and the hole in the gear leg is drill by Van's, so a reamer is doing very little as far as precision goes, but there is nothing wrong with doing it that way if someone doesn't mind spending the $$ for it.
In this particular situation, a .311 drill works just fine. The reason it works well is that even though the tolerance for an AN5 is .309-.312, every one I have ever checked measures at .311.

(JUST DON'T USE A 5/16" DRILL BIT).
 
rvbuilder2002 said:
Actually the upper hole and the hole in the gear leg is drill by Van's, so a reamer is doing very little as far as precision goes, but there is nothing wrong with doing it that way if someone doesn't mind spending the $$ for it.
In this particular situation, a .311 drill works just fine. The reason it works well is that even though the tolerance for an AN5 is .309-.312, every one I have ever checked measures at .311.

(JUST DON'T USE A 5/16" DRILL BIT).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification!
 
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