I was having quite a bit of play on the axle of my 85 Sequoia and I thought I had actually broken it. I refurbished it a few weeks ago cleaned relubed and put new bearings in.
Well I took it apart and the axle ,cups and cones looked good so I put it back together.There is a fine line in tightening it that I can't seem to achieve
If I tighten it to where there is no play in the axle the axle is quite stiff to turn by hand. If I loosen it up a bit to where it turns a little bit easier I have
a small amount of play in the axle.. I refurbished all 4 of my other vintage bikes and had no trouble adjusting the tightness and none of them have any play
at all in the axle.