Fixing 5/16 Front Axle Threads?

[wintermute]

I recently received a nice, what appears to be Murray-built, Hiawatha from a forum member. Unfortunately, FedEx's kind and loving hands caused the threads on one side of the axle to get kludged up. The hex nut moves but it takes alot of effort. I tried to back the nut off the axle to try to adjust the bolt threads. It may have helped a little but I think the nut threads have also gotten a bit messed up. Because of this situation, I'm having difficulty adjusting the hub cones properly and keeping the wheel secured to the forks at the same time.

So first option is to buy a few nuts to sacrifice (anyone know the TPI on a 5/16" axle???) and try to use them to beat the threads back to where they belong. Is this a good idea or stupid?

Second is to get a die to realign the threads - don't know if this is an option and again, need to know TPI.

Third is I see that Wald sells an axle rebuild set, but the problem is they don't include the lock nuts that go on either side of the hub.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RustyGold]

Thread file or die would be the proper way of fixing damaged threads.

 

[RustyGold]

Should be a 5/16" - 24.

5/16" - 24 is a common size and you should be able to get thread file or die easily. To verify, I would take the nut to a hardware store and try it on a bolt to verify. There are odd sized threads that show up on old bikes...which is why I would verify.

If there is any indication that these are British wheels, then things get way more complicated.

 

[clamdigger]

Of course if the axle is threaded all the way across , you can remove all of the parts off of the good side. Once that you know the thread size, PorkChopBMX has the axle,nuts, and lock nuts .

 

[Phil Fink]

Modern axles are available in 5/16-26tpi, for about $5- to $10- plus shipping and taxes. Make sure that the threads match as there are 24’s and 26’s and also metrix. The Wald axle may be one of those odd metric 25.4tpi. Small triangular files may be available at a dollar store.

 

[RivNut]

Amazon has a 5/16" axle with bearings, cones, and nuts for $7.23.

 

[Indyjps]

Sounds like a good reason to buy another complete bike, pull the one part you need off and put it in the pile.
That's why we have build offs - to use up the pile of spare bikes and parts.

Harbor freight has SAE 40 pc tap and die sets for $17, has 5/16-24 in it. Theyre nice to have around and that set is just fine for cleaning threads. Not sure Id cut a lot of new threaded holes with it.