Drilling out wheel stud holes

[flyboy2610]

I want to drill out the wheel stud holes on my brake drums so that the next time I have to replace them I won't have to have the hubs pressed of.
Does anyone know what size drill to use so that I can get the drum on, but not have it sloppy loose on there
Yhanks.
John

[Leadfoot]

NOT RECOMMENDED. and not a good idea you will be opening up a big can of worms

[flyboy2610]

Actually, very common thing to do.

[fordman]

i dont think its your lug holes that are catching. its probably the center of the hub. clean it up real well before you put it back on. and you may even grind it some to make it slightly larger. this is the rears right?

[flyboy2610]

Front. The hubs are pressed in from the factory.
I think I'll see if I still have any studs left, but I don't think I kept them when I had the hubs pressed out. I know, I should have.

[QC]

Originally the knurled part of the stud stuck slightly through the drum. A hollow tool that slipped over the threads was used in a press to mushroom the knurled shoulder slightly to hold on the drum. This is called swedging. The proper way to remove the drums was to use a tool called a swedge cutter, a hollow cutter used in a drill press that slipped over the threads and cut the mushroomed shoulder off. You needed to replace the studs evey time the drum was removed from the hub. It was important to cut the swedging off before pressing or driving the studs out of the hub, because you could stretch out the holes in the hub and have to get oversized studs. I doubt if many off these trucks still have the drums swedged on any more. It probably would be hard to find someone that still has the tools.

[flyboy2610]

That's interesting. I didn't know that.
The drums on my truck were the originals, though. They were painted the same as the original body color.

[rjewkes]

i thought the fronts came off by removing the bearing? is this drums or disc?