I didn't have any axle issues in my early commuting years, thanks in part that I was commuting on a Schwinn Varsity with it's stout freewheel axles, and later in the early 90's I unknowingly bought a commuter bike with a freehub. It's when I unknowingly replaced the freehub bike with one with a freewheel, with it's hollow axles for QR skewers, that I started having issues. The internet and bike forums are a wealth of information unlike the pre dot. com days of trial and error on one's part.