Forwarding trailer minor modification question

[John Mc]

I have a Metavic M95 loader on their 13RF forwarding trailer. (Small, but suits my needs.) This has their hydraulic winch option. The cable comes up off the drum  and up through a pulley mounted on a pipe. The pipe is a snug fit inside another pipe which is mounted on top of the headache rck/guard at the front of the trailer. The nested pipes allow the pulley to swivel so I can pull from different directions.

The problem is that there is no grease zerk on this swivel joint. It froze up recently" even beating on it with a hammer would not get it to pivot. I removed the rack from the trailer, pulled out the winch cable, and finally got things disassembled and cleaned up. It moves freely now. I can grease it while I have it apart, but it seems it would be much easier to maintain if I added a grease zerk.

Is there any reason NOT to add one? it seems like an obvious thing. One concern is that it will be very difficult to deburr the hole once I drill and tap it, since it would be in the middle of a 6" long X 2" ID pipe. Reaching the inside will be difficult. The fit is close enough that a burr or shavings seem as though they will jam things up.

[beenthere]

Should be easy to add zerks where needed along that pipe. Get the correct tap and drill the correct size hole. Sounds like a great solution.

[Ljohnsaw]

One concern is that it will be very difficult to deburr the hole once I drill and tap it, since it would be in the middle of a 6" long X 2" ID pipe

Taking too much off at that area shouldn't be a problem (precision is not an issue), I would (and have) just used a partial round file.  The kind that are flat one side and a slight arc on the other.  Being only 3" or so in, will clean up fast and easy.  A rat tail file will work but is more difficult to control.

[chevytaHOE5674]

I'd drill and tap to say 1/4-28 (common grease fitting i have on the shelf). Reach in the pipe with a round file or long bit on the die grinder and deburr the hole and call it a day.

[John Mc]

Thanks for the suggestions. I hand greased it for now, while I had it disassembled. I thought I had some grease zerks around, but can't find them.

I know I can reach the new hole with a file, but I'm not sure I can actually get any filing done due to the angle. I'll nose around for something to use in my die grinder or Dremel tool.

[bitternut]

You need to get one of these de-burring tool sets. They come with interchangeable tips and the handle. Not very expensive and work great. Spin the right tip around the hole and the inside and outside burrs will be gone.  

Here is a sample link that gives you the idea of what they look like.

https://www.amazon.com/deburring-tools/s?k=deburring+tools

[John Mc]

You need to get one of these de-burring tool sets. They come with interchangeable tips and the handle. Not very expensive and work great. Spin the right tip around the hole and the inside and outside burrs will be gone.  

Here is a sample link that gives you the idea of what they look like.

https://www.amazon.com/deburring-tools/s?k=deburring+tools

My co-worker had one of those when we were doing solar PV installations. It was a great tool. I've been looking in local hardware stores and big box stores for one, but no one carries them.

[Old Greenhorn]

John, those are machinist tools. You can buy them here: https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/tn?mscNew=true&searchterm=deburring+tool&hdrsrh=true

I first saw these at the IMTS show in 1974 and bought one which I still have somewhere. Over the following 40 something years I have had dozens. Originally designed by an Israeli company that I think later became Iscar, they grew in popularity pretty quickly with machinists. They work good on most steels and with the right grinding profile they are amazing on aluminum. Yeah, a no brainer handy tool to have to the box for anybody that works in metal.

[rusticretreater]

Depending on the thickness of the inner pipe, you might want to carefully grind a groove around the pipe at the same height as the zerk fitting.  This will allow you to pump more grease in there.