HEX HEAD VALVE NUT Disassembling an old stuck engine can be challenging. When valves are stuck in the valve guides, try welding a nut to the face of the valve. Now you can rotate it to help free it from the guide.  Dave Matton  D and D Auto Machine  Bloomington, MN...

CONVOLUTED IDEA On many spray-wash machines, the "parts tree" will scuff up a freshly surfaced cylinder head if it is allowed to touch it. I simply slide some Convoluted Wire Tube over the branches of the tree and the heads are safe. Sometimes it can be difficult to...

SOUND CLEANING SOLUTIONS If you use an ultrasonic cleaner you can use smaller containers with various cleaning solutions in them within the water-filled ultrasonic cleaner. It will clean various materials simultaneously and reduce cleanup mess, time, and expense....

BLASTING OBSERVATIONS Here’s a couple of tips regarding soda blasting. Soda is very fine and it can become very cloudy and difficult to observe your work. I have drilled fresh air intake holes around the periphery of the viewing window, which helps keep the area...

CORE PLUG PULLING Some core plugs are notoriously tricky to remove. One example, that I see a lot of, is the deep plugs used in the back two positions of big block Chryslers where the cylinder wall is close to the plug hole. I simply tack weld a nut to the core plug....

SIMPLE SCRAPER I made a few of these simple scrapers to leave around the shop. They're really great for getting after rusty surfaces. An aluminum handle with used carbide tooling bolted on. They are simple to make. Repurpose your bits! Randy Torvinen Torvinen's...