i've waded through dozens of posts in searching for someone who told how they drilled their flat top 44 knuckle for the steering arms with no luck. can anyone tell me what kind of jig they made or how they held the knuckle to drill it ?

... and don't tell me to take it to a machine shop i'm too freakin' cheap for that.

- jack

we did mine the hard way. used the steering arm from the chevy 44 to mark the high clearance arm, and then drilled it on a press.

then we took the arm, tacked it to the knuckle, and drilled the knuckle with an air drill. still on the vehicle.

You really should mill the top surface of the knuckle flat before drilling it for the studs. If you have access to a mill you can probably figure out where to drill and tap the knuckles.

i already have flat top knuckles, where to drill the holes wasn't the question. how to hold the knuckle itself so i can drill it in the press is what i'm asking ??

- jack

Good question....

I would assumesome rigging with a cross vise shims, etc. and get the flat top level then drill from there.... Make take a bit to get it leveled out, but once it is the cross vise should let you drill all of them without re-adjusting...

Originally posted by morpheus
i already have flat top knuckles, where to drill the holes wasn't the question. how to hold the knuckle itself so i can drill it in the press is what i'm asking ??

- jack

even with the flat top knuckles they need to be milled FLAT! just like the driver side chevy knuckle is, you need a machined surface for the arm to sit on, otherwise all the torque will be transfered through the studs

I think he already has flat top knuckles. They do not come out of the mold perfectly flat, but close enough that about 10 minutes with a flat file gets them VERY flat indeed.

To answer your drilling question, you need to get yourself a drill press and a cross vice. This has a nice clamp and two windage adjuster screws in it that allow you to move your workpiece without unclamping.

Another way to do it would be to weld up a little jig which you could bolt the spindle retention studs to. This would have to take into acount the non-perpendicularity of these two surfaces, but it should be easy to measure this angle with some degree of certainty. Then clamp the jig to your press table and drill away.

Andy

thanks andy, i had started to make a jig to bolt to the studs of the spindle but realized the spindle and flat surface of the knuckle weren't perpendicular so i stopped working on it thinking that making the jig with angle built into it would cause a problem when i went to drill the holes in it. But i guess if i brace it enough that it will not cause a problem. thanks...

- jack

Originally posted by morpheus
i've waded through dozens of posts in searching for someone who told how they drilled their flat top 44 knuckle for the steering arms with no luck. can anyone tell me what kind of jig they made or how they held the knuckle to drill it ?

... and don't tell me to take it to a machine shop i'm too freakin' cheap for that.

- jack

I just clamped the bottom of the knuckle into my drill press vice.

Then I drilled the holes.

I used the steering arm as a pattern for putting the holes in the right spot.

Since I used studs and the conical washers for alignment, getting the studs in "just the right place" wasn't critical.

Almost 3 years and it's doing fine.

Alright I understand how to drill the holes and make the jig no problem but what drill bit and tap do I need thanks :D

Morpheus,

I had another thought on the jig. Your drill press may have a table top that tilts. If it does, you can make a jig which is at a right angle to the spindle studs and just tilt the table to get a perfect perpendicular plane to the flat top.

the tap is 9/16 - 18 tpi

Andy

I know that this sounds stupid but what drill bit size do I need , thanks for the info on the tap

My book says a 1/2 inch bit will be best, giving about 87% theoretical thread strength.

Andy

Machinist hand book says .502-.5015 so 1/2 or 33/64 something like that

I took a 1" thick steel bar and marked the holes with a steering arm, then drilled 1/2 holes through the bar on a drill press, then clamped the bar to my knuckle on the truck and drilled with a hand drill .

I've done two sets in my drillpress by removing all but 2 spindle studs and bolting the knuckle to the table with them. Used a 1/2 inch bit for the holes. Dressed the tops flat with file.

I used a Bridgport Mill at work to mill them flat, it took quite a bit of material to get them flat ( I mean within 0.002 flat), I pity you guys with the files!

in a decently eqipeed shop, or mill/drill station there are clamps that will hold a nuckle for this type of operation, I placed the base of the knuckle on the tabel, and clamped it thru with some T bolts and clamps, I cannot remember whehter I had to tilt the head to match the top or not...

either way, its pretty soft stuff, and easy to drill really, the proper locaion is the hardest part to get exact.

Originally posted by afecko
Morpheus,

I had another thought on the jig. Your drill press may have a table top that tilts. If it does, you can make a jig which is at a right angle to the spindle studs and just tilt the table to get a perfect perpendicular plane to the flat top.

the tap is 9/16 - 18 tpi



hey thanks andy, i hadn't thought of tilting the drill press table. glad someone is thinking ... :zzz:

another question since i don't have nor have ever seen a chevy knuckle that was drilled and tapped. the 1/2" holes do get drilled all the way through the knuckle right ? if not i've not seen anybody mention drilling depth or special bottom end taps. thanks ...

- jack

All the way through, and then tap all the way through as well. My referance at work said 1/2" bit for 87% thread, but my card at home said 33/64" bit for 75% thread. I've always used 1/2", but the tap is pretty tought to get moving. I heartily suggest a really good thread cutting oil, like tap magic.


Andy

Sounds like you may not need this, but FYI I found this here somewhere a while back...

all good ideas for drilling the knuckles personally i would recommend having them surfaced and drilled by a machine shop price averages around $50 each, jack your arms are on the way you should see them by early next week goodluck Bob

Hey Bob - shoot me a price for some high steering Dana 60 arms, will ya? :) DRM033@aol.com

bob, the man himself, steps up and shoots down my cheapness ... :confused: ... what's a cheap guy to do ...

- jack

cheap's cool why not just weldem to the knuckles no drilling/tapping/xpensive nuts&studs :smokin:

Originally posted by Bob
cheap's cool why not just weldem to the knuckles no drilling/tapping/xpensive nuts&studs :smokin:
Becaue you would be welding dissimular metals and create a poor weld that is likly to break.

Bob is just being sarcastic to me, he's recommended over and over that i have a machine shop do it. i found out a friend had a mill though ... will go that route.

- jack