MEASURE ONCE, CUT TWICE Yes, we’ve all made that mistake, measure once and you better hope you cut it long, so the second cut will be on spec. Otherwise you’ve ruined the work. The proper phrase, measure twice… seems to apply to many things we do around the shop. ...
A DIFFERENT CAM BEARING FIT Most if not all OEM blocks were fitted with semi-finished cam bearings and then the I.D.”s were bored in place. Many suffer from poor factory size issues. This situation can lead to tight or no bearing clearance when finished cam bearings...
MAKE IT BIGGER Some engines are harder to increase the compression ratio on than others. Sometimes we are limited in cylinder head chamber size and sometimes higher compression pistons are not available or effective for certain engines. Increasing the crankshaft...
HEAVY METAL When adding heavy metal to crankshafts, you always want a nice clean installation. I start with a slightly heavier slug than required and machine the center of the tungsten like a barbell to bring the crank into balance, instead of running it short in the...
ANTI-VIBRATION TOWEL When machining or lightening a flywheel on a lathe, vibration and chattering will often cause a poor surface finish. To dampen the vibrations and achieve a nice smooth finish, soak a bath towel in water, wring it out and wrap the damp towel...
CRANK BALANCE SOCKET If your shop has a particular crankshaft design you tend to balance on a regular basis, we recommend using a crankshaft snout socket as a locator on your magnetic attachment for rpm and position on your balancer. This allows you to quickly remove...