by Andy Stacy | Jul 1, 2026 | TOOLING
My lathe does have a 4-jaw chuck, but this small one is quicker and easier for small jobs that need to be precise. I machined up a spud for the small chuck, and I just chuck it in the lathe’s 3-jaw. It saves a lot of time. Randy Torvinen Torvinen Machine...
by Andy Stacy | Jun 24, 2026 | CYLINDER HEADS
I needed a spring seat cutter pilot that wouldn’t hurt the guides on a special set of heads. I tried 3 different pilots that came with the cutters I have and couldn’t get better than .005 runout. I used a Chevy oil pump shaft as that’s excellent...
by Andy Stacy | Jun 17, 2026 | CAMSHAFTS & VALVE TRAIN
We all know the challenges of flat tappet cams these days, with what seems to be regular failures. When I break them in, I like to preheat the oil some to get better flow right off the start. Also, adding an extra quart of oil perpetuates extra “splash lube” as well....
by Andy Stacy | Jun 10, 2026 | CYLINDER HEADS
When removing guides from an air-cooled cylinder head, where you are pressing from the spring side into the port, I cut the guide away flush to the spring pad. I press the guide from here. This way the protruding guide material does not expand and damage the cylinder...
by Andy Stacy | Jun 3, 2026 | PISTONS & RINGS
Tight ring lands in used pistons due to carbon, rust, or even slightly pinched can be a real problem to overcome. Keeping old rings and using them as scrapers has always been in my playbook, however, applying fine lapping compound liberally and working the ring back...
