Ian Inglis wrote:
>
> I had a hub puller made up by my local power station machine shop a few
> years ago, I have had no trouble pulling Spit or Herald hubs since. A
> similar puller is available from the T.S.S.C. , it cost GBP 52.95 at last
> years prices. It grieves me to recommend purchasing anything from this club
> as, IMHO, all they want is your money but I don't know anyone else selling
> one.
He's right. I had a local machine shop fabricate a hub puller, based on
the drawings in the manuals. I measured the lug pattern, figured how big
and thick things needed to be, drilled and tapped the end for a one inch
coarse thread screw (with a nut welded onto the outside end), and bingo,
I've got a hub popper. I do have to use an impact wrench to make it work
(my puny 3" bench vice ain't big enough to keep the axle from turning),
but on my last rebuild, I had no problem popping the hubs, without
distortion. A little anti-seize goes a long way on load bearing parts.
The cost for puller fabrication was about $100, but then I've got two
Spits to keep rolling--I'm thinking long term investment.
Pulling these hubs without proper support will cause distortion. Modern
machine shops generally don't understand this--or how much force is
required to separate the hub from the axle. If there's enough interest
working drawings could be made available...
Charlie B.
Spitfire Pilot
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