[simplechamp]

No prob mistercrash. You were trying to help me and I should have been responsible for checking my own numbers and measurements. Worst case I'll probably be able to use the short output and might have to replace the longer one. No big deal.

I ground down the output shafts to make them flush with the gears. The overall total length of the assembled diff is now 72mm. The short shaft sticks out of the cup side a hair less than 13mm, the long shaft sticks out of the spur side 16mm. I forgot that I still need to wait for my 8x12 bearings to arrive before test fitting.

I went to two different industrial tool shops today and everyone told me "If xxxxx machine shop couldn't drill/tap that metal I don't know what to tell you." They also said carbide is very brittle and I should try cobalt drill bits? I kept telling them that people have done this plenty of times with carbide and it can be done, but they didn't seem to want to listen. It's getting very frustrating. I think I'll just order the carbide bits online.

What about trying to soften the metal a bit? Is that even in the realm of possibility? Might not work but I want to explore any options to make this easier.