Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
General Discussion => Tech Tips => Topic started by: REpozer on July 06, 2013, 04:25:56 am
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Do any of you use safety wire, or twist wire to hold nuts, bolts, fasteners, ...bits?
Has anyone drilled a hole in bolt/ nut head to accept this wire? And how did you drill it?
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I haven't used it on my bike but the company I retired from used it all over the place on the jet engines and gas turbines we built. (They are even better at loosening nuts than Royal Enfields, if you can believe that.)
One of the more common locations for lock wire was on the tubing nuts and fittings.
Most of the other nuts we used were self locking such as MS21043 which we used by the thousands.
There were a few applications where we needed lock wired bolts and nuts that were made out of exotic materials which were not commonly available.
For these, we built a special drilling machine which would clamp on the hexagon.
Hardened drill bushings were located in the clamping jaws. These bushings had the end that would be next to the bolt head or nut ground off flush with the clamping surface of the jaws.
This was needed because at the start of the drilling, the small drill bits were asked to make an interrupted cut where it was cutting only on one side.
With the bushing ends ground flush with the jaws surfaces, they would provide the support for the non-cutting side of the bit while this was happening.
The drill motors were special too.
With the small drill bits cutting some very hard to machine materials like Inconel718 and Rene'41 it was important to limit the speed and power being used to prevent burning up the small drill bits but also preventing the work hardening that can occur if the drill were to stop cutting even for an instant.
To do this special torque and speed sensors were employed.
My advice to anyone who is considering using lock wire is they need to look for bolts and nuts that have already been drilled. The big factories can afford the special equipment that's needed to produce these items.
If you intend to make some special jaws with holes to guide the drill bits plan on buying lots of drills. You're going to need them. :)
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Right. I got the idea from airplanes too. But aircraft have most fasteners drilled from the manufacture.
I want to drill my three oil drain plugs, so I can twist wire the 3 together.
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It's not too hard in a drill press with a steady vice. You need to start the hole 90 degrees to the flat, use a mill end, or grind with a Dremel tool to get it started. Then, drill across the corner. You can actually drill across two corners or across the center and still do a workable safety wire from bolt to bolt. Short drill bits are better than long ones. Skinny little bits want to walk.
Once you're through the hard surface it isn't too bad, although some bolt heads are hard all the way through. Use Doo-Drill or some drilling/cutting oil.
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Thanks D the D. After looking on line at various jigs and prices,...I need a drill press and vice to do this. A friend has these.
Im pretty sure the oil drain bolts will be "soft" metal.
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All race vehicles need to have many bolts and nuts drilled and safety wired.
The Badger had safety wire all over it.
You can do it with a drill press and vise.
It helps to have the special safety wire twisting pliers too.
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I hate those pliers, some people swear by them, many inspectors swear at them. ;D
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Hi Folks
The previous owner of my Sixty-5 had drilled the drain bolts as seen in the attached pictures. Hope this of some use.
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They drilled through the face, which will work. The twists should run all the way to the bolt head and shouldn't be too tight a wrap. The top plug is in a good spot. The wire from the top to the center plug really should go more to the left side of the center plug head and the bottom one is workable. The wire should be twisted nearer to the bolt head and the little free end tucked under a bit. The idea is that if a bolt tries to loosen the wire puts tension on it pulling clockwise. You won't lose any of those plugs on the road though I can't let you fly that way.
OK, I'll put my CDI stamp away and let our Heliochopper man critique it. :)
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Hi D the D
Thanks for your observations. When it comes round to changing the oil again I will do my best to follow your guidance :) Live long and proper
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This heliochopper man would say the same thing D and D did. The two small ones would keep the plugs from falling out, but not necessarily the oil! There is no tension there to keep the plugs from loosening.
Bare
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Basically, the wire should be installed so that if the bolt head tries to rotate counterclockwise to loosen, the wire running to the next bolt head will become tighter.
If it is installed so that as the bolt head turns counterclockwise the wire becomes looser it serves no purpose (except to make the frantic mechanic swear as he's trying to rapidly remove the bolt). :)
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I can't say this is the ONLY way to do the job, but your chances of success are far higher if you use a safety wire drilling jig to drill your holes. A link is attached. I found it pretty much impossible to drill the holes in proper alignment without a jig. Lots of places sell these jigs on the internet.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/3/13/133/30303/ITEM/BikeMaster-Safety-Wire-Drill-Guide.aspx?SiteID=Google_PLA133&WT.mc_ID=10012&esvt=0-GOUSC&esvadt=9-0-3886819-1&esvaid=30548&kw={keyword}&gclid=CIenw4-X37gCFYl_QgodtnsALA
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I hate those pliers, some people swear by them, many inspectors swear at them.
I love mine, but then when I'm using them I'm safety-wiring the pins shut in several *hundred* screw-pin shackles in an installation, and not using the pliers adds at least a day to the job.
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I'm sure you don't use the pliers to twist the wire as tight as you can without breaking and don't cause nicks where the wire passes through the bolt heads!