8 3/4 narrowing problem??

[Rog]

I needed to take 1" from each end of the housing so I used a die grinder to make the cuts, used a pipe fitters wrap around to scribe the lines. I machined some slugs to go in the bearing fits in the carrier and for the wheel bearings and am using a 1" dia ground and polished bar for alignment, (maybe should go bigger dia for the bar). Any way after assembling everything, the ends dont seem to be centered very well on the ends of the tubes. They didnt seem to be perfectly centered before I cut them off. There can be some flex with the 1" bar but not enough to where I couldnt get the feel for center. I would have to force it to get it centered to where it was originally. Any of you guys done this before and not had the ends centered on the tube. I know it doesnt have to be perfectly centered on the OD as long as the bearings are lined up but this sure seems to be off too much. Its almost flush on one side and the thickness of the end is sticking out on the other. Hope I explained good enough. What do you guys think.

[pishta]

I dont think it would matter too much since the bearing is where all the precision needs to be. The axles will still fit into the splines, right? Doesnt sound like it would be a problem. The radii from the end of the axle to the diff is large enough that a 1/16 inch difference is not going to throw everything out of whack. We are talking minutes, not degrees.

[John Kunkel]

If the ends aren't centered after welding you need to pull the housing into alignment.
With the centering bar installed, slide the slug up to the end and determine which direction the housing is bent. To pull the housing into alignment, heat the inner end of the axle tube on the side opposite the bend and shrink it. This will pull the housing end toward the shrunken spot.
Do this by using a torch with a rosebud tip, heat a spot about the size of a silver dollar to a red glow and quickly quench it with a rag soaked in water. A 3 lb. coffee can of water directly under the spot keeps the mess down. Continue the heating/shrinking, using different spots, until the alignment is correct. Allow it to cool for several hours and recheck it.
Strive for perfect alignment, your axles and bearings will appreciate it.