BALANCE HOLE PLUGS Balancing a crankshaft by drilling large holes in counterweights can leave an appearance of the counterweight that is not pretty. To improve the appearance, we keep a supply of disc style freeze plugs in the diameters of our balancing drills so we...

STROKER CLEARANCE When checking rod to cam clearance on stroker engines, you will often find interference. To find out “where you are at”, make a clay "hatchet" on the rod journal and roll it over. Put a little oil on the cam lobe first. It will give you an exact...

COTTER PIN CATCH PIN Sometimes it is necessary to remove bearings from the engine without removing the crankshaft. We have a flattened cotter pin that we slip into the oiling hole to rotate the bearings out. Simply put it into place and rotate the engine. The head of...

SOFT SPOT FOR YOU To improve the appearance when balancing connecting rods or other metal objects adding a “soft spot” to one end of your belt sander can help. Machining the end of the platen down about 1/8” will give you a “soft spot”. Finish sanding the part in the...

TAKE YOUR CAP OFF After being disappointed with a cap splitter, I found the best way to remove tight caps. Clamp the cap in a rod vise and put a rubber coated hammer handle inside rod. Put pressure on the rod by prying against the vise. Then smack the rod side to side...

ANOTHER HOMESPUN MANDREL We do a lot of crankshaft snout rebuilding. To make the process easier we keep some homespun mandrels that screw into the snout of the crankshaft so it is held secure for welding and machining. Also, by using a copper washer between the...