Opening wheel bore with router?

[GTP]

I am considering repurposing my OEM wheels for my other car.

• Other car bore = 71.5mm
• Mustang bore = 70.5mm

My plan is to use 1/16" offset/rabbeting router bit on the Mustang wheels, which opens them to 73.8mm. I researched 10,000 rpm for a 1" diameter cutter on soft aluminum. I would take multiple shallow cuts to keep the excitement level low.

• Then I would purchase 74mm hub rings, in case I ever want to put the wheels back onto the Mustang.
• The studs on the other car are smaller, of course, but I don't think that is an issue, so long as the wheel bore is accurate.
• Also, I checked all the other specs, e.g. offset, tire diameter, etc, and they are match.

My greatest concern is how tight/loose the rings fit the wheels, and same for how they fit the other car's hubs.

Comments?

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[Paul@PKAUTODESIGN]

I do not advise it.

Have a cnc shop do it for you please.

 

[2morrow]

I do not advise it.

Have a cnc shop do it for you please.

Great advice.

 

[Paul@PKAUTODESIGN]

Great advice.

Thanks bro.

 

[Velgen]

I do not advise it.

Have a cnc shop do it for you please.

10000000%%%%% correct have a shop with the correct machinery do it.

 

[cop on my back]

As a machinist you don't use a CNC. No shop would spend the time to set up a CNC for this, it would be on a manual machine. The only concern you have is concentricity and I would not trust a router to provide that. Cutting the aluminum with a router is easy and the idea is viable, but if the new bore is not concentric to the rest of the wheel you will have terrible vibrations.

 

[908ssp]

A CNC machine is not the same a Mill or Lathe. A CNC controller can be installed or built from scratch as a mill or a lath. I machine my own parts often and people always ask if I have a CNC machine. No; but I do have a Mill and a Lathe the terms aren't interchangeable.

Don't try it with a router.

 

[GTP]

As a machinist you don't use a CNC. No shop would spend the time to set up a CNC for this, it would be on a manual machine. The only concern you have is concentricity and I would not trust a router to provide that. Cutting the aluminum with a router is easy and the idea is viable, but if the new bore is not concentric to the rest of the wheel you will have terrible vibrations.

The router method will make it exactly as concentric as it began. I am not worried about concentricity AT ALL. I am more worried about the exact diameter. I have to choose a hub ring that will work with the rabbet bit offset, since the smallest offset is exactly 1/16".

A CNC machine is not the same a Mill or Lathe. A CNC controller can be installed or built from scratch as a mill or a lath. I machine my own parts often and people always ask if I have a CNC machine. No; but I do have a Mill and a Lathe the terms aren't interchangeable.

Don't try it with a router.

If I had access to a (big) lathe, then I would do it myself.

The bore differences is only 1mm. I plan to try one Mustang wheel on the other car this weekend, just to see if it is too tight to go on. Surely there has to be some slop, because we put the wheel on at a bit of an angle anyway.

 

[cop on my back]

I assume the router has a ball bearing to follow the bore lower down so as to guide the cutter perfectly. The only way to get the correct diameter is by grinding the cutter head to the correct offset diameter. If concentricity is achieved, your next battle is the dimension and tolerance. You probably have to be +-0.005" at the most of the correct dimension. How you will achieve that with a router could be a fluke. If you do go this way, I wish you luck. (not in a bad way, in a ballsy way)

 

[whalesalad]

Find a shop to do this for you. I have had it done and it was relatively inexpensive and the work was done perfectly. Not something you want to fuck around with.

 

[GTP]

Circling back to my thread for closure.

So I tried to fit the Mustang wheel onto the other car's hub. Confirmed that 1mm interference fit truly prevented it from seating all the way. So close.

Inspecting the backside of the wheel shows a generous chamfer at the leading edge of the bore. This means the the guide bearing of the router bit does not have a perpendicular surface to guide it. IOW, the offset cut depth is dependent on the bit cut depth, and that was enough to kill the idea.

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