I am building a kart based on the Shredder plans from UBuildit, with a 1" live axle.

I will be sourcing 1" keyed axle stock from Princess Auto, and building my drive hubs from parts obtained from the same source.

The axle stock will need to be cut to the length I need, and does not have threaded ends.

My question is whether there is any reason why I should not drill the hub and axle for a soft 1/4" shear bolt, in addition to the key and set screw, to give me a more secure hub? Would this weaken the axle too much, or is it ok?

I was also thinking about doing this for the drive sprocket.

The kart will be powered with a 6.5 hp engine through a TAV2 torque converter.

TIA

With out drilling a hole in axle and hub why put a locking collar on the inside drill and tap the shaft end for washer and bolt

Thanks for the reply.

What sort of locking collar would work well here? Is it possible that you would have a link so I can see a picture of the type you have in mind - I'm visual.

TIA

I did that to one of my karts and it worked great and lasted forever. I had no problems at all.

Its just a collar that has a set screw in it that slides over the shaft.some have keyways in the but you dont need it

2 main types:
Setscrew



and clamp-on

Thanks guy,I dont know how to do all this pictue stuff!

If he wanted to he could just zap it with welder

Thanks guys!

I wouldn't drill it. It's a 1" axle and a 1/4" hole takes out 25% of the metal. Weak point. Take a look at the Azusa vari hub. When you tighten the center it actually clamps down on the axle. (the center pieces that the axle passes through are tapered). I tried every which way to secure the sprocket on the old Manco, but it always moved or came loose. I put the vari hub on there and ran it for years with no issues. As an added bonus you can change the sprocket w/o removing the axle! (use split sprockets) Don't worry about the sprocket being aluminum. They are hardened. I never wore out the sprocket on the Manco, and I've been running Aluminum on my GY6 and CN250 Karts for 3 or 4 years and have yet to wear those out either.
http://gokartsusa.com/vari-hubandsprocketsfor1axles.aspx

So this is my current thinking:

In the Shredder plans, for the sprocket, they show drilling and tapping the set screw hole to accept a proper bolt over the keyway, and welding a nut to the outside as well to give a better, more secure grip. If I do this to the sprockets and hubs, at the ends of the axle I am thinking flat washer and drill a hole for a cotter pin to stop them from just flying off of the end of the axle in case of a problem.