I'm trying to shorten, or narrow the axles on a car I'm working on. The most common method that I've seen for this change, is to attach a brass tube to the base, cut the axle in two and try to get the ends lined up and glued into the tube. I don't always have great results with this method so I wanted to try and re-flatten the ends of cut axles but it's causing more problems.
I held the cut end tightly in a pair of vice-grips and tried to give the cut end a quick whack with a hammer. All that did was push the axle through the tool and scratch up the end where the wheels needs to spin freely. Clamping tighter with the pliers just dug grooves into the axle.
I'm pretty sure that more pressure will just flatten the axle lengthwise which would be the same as just gluing the wheels in place.
Anybody here have any ideas on how to "re-peen" the ends?
Thanks
I've had some good results using very tiny beads from the jewelry section of the hobby store (size 10/0 or 11/0) and supergluing that to one end of the axle (or both if needed) they will go into the centre of most Hot Wheels and MBX wheels.
I already responded to you over on Oppo, but in the interest of future viewers looking to answer the same question, I'll repeat myself here:
"Honestly, I've just resorted to buying three-piece axles at this point. There are a few places on Ebay that I've gotten them, and they work kinda like the brass tube method, but the tube is about the size of the regular HW axle, and the pins you insert are even smaller. You put a slight bend in the pins to get it to hold in the tube, and you can cut the tubes to length. (Use a dremel or other abrasive method, not a shearing method like snips, as that crushes the tube.)"