Bazz said:
Agree the wall is thin and only allows a few threads to be made. However, I have tapped through the spindle so I figure with the 1/4 bolt tightened up against the spindle tube it should hold the spindle in place. Effectively what I have done is replicate the existing centre fastener. I guess if it doesn't work I can always install the Kegler collar setup in the existing holes that I have tapped.
I think when the spindle tube in the cradle was put in it was designed to hold the oil and not much else. I think it's true that the plates bear all the stress from the spindle it's the stretching of the holes that is the cause of a loose spindle. Welding nuts to that tube or clamping onto it just won't get you much. In a fit of overkill, I cut it out, made a one piece tube and had it welded to the cradle. It spreads the load over a larger area of the plates. Slightly less overkill would be to have bead laid down around the tube along the plates. Any weldor will tell you that laying beads will shrink things and it will shrink plates around the holes.
Are the spindle bushes sintered? I can't remember. Even with an ultrasonic cleaner, I wouldn't feel too confident about getting it completely clean if you use lapping compound, in any case. You might want to ask the machinist to mount the bushes on a mandrel and turn them down a little on the outside, or even just dress them down with an abrasive strip. It's probably going to be around a thou. There's no need to find out if you happened to get a really talented machinist, who happens to be having a good day; when you have him line ream the bushings. It's a really hard thing to do, and you'll never get the finish you had originally. In my dotage, I'd be inclined to send the bushed back, get a Green Globe set and see if they fit.
