Sometimes assembling heads with beehive springs and retainers can be difficult because of their size. I find it easier to use a spring shim that fits the retainer and large enough to fit the spring compressor jaws. Randy Torvinen Torvinen's Machine Menahga, MN
When I’m porting cylinder heads or otherwise using the dividers, once the size is set, I put a couple witness dabs with a high visibility pen, so I can see if I’ve inadvertently bumped it and changed the setting. It’s a time saver over checking it occasionally...
When you’re grinding Titanium valves, if you want a super shiny finish, grind them with the green wheel and "Mirror finish". Wipe them off before pulling them from the chuck and give them 30 seconds of spinning with a microfiber towel and some Mother's polish. Wipe...
Here’s a way to remove valve seats where it’s not easy to drive them out from the backside. This was from a flathead block. I tig weld three lugs on the seat I.D. This allows a junk valve to slip in past them. Now install a retainer and locks, and with a slide hammer,...
Each machine style, or machinist, has their own bolt mounting system for ridged clamping of the cylinder head to the rollover fixture. Our Winona machine has 2 universal T-handles with 7/16" threaded rod and a fast mount bar it threads into. We have a variety of...
I have found a very quick and accurate way of measuring the spring installed height on DOHC heads that don't have enough room to use a spring height mic. I made a simple but precise piece of tubing on the lathe that I use as a standard. It's important to measure...