SHOP SOLUTIONS
T-SLOT BRIDGE

T-SLOT BRIDGE

T-SLOT BRIDGE Occasionally, when clamping an odd-shaped part like a cylinder head or small engine block on our Bridgeport mill, the mill table's T-slots are not always spaced for convenient clamping. To make the job easier and faster, we machined a pair of steel...

read more
CAM CENTERS

CAM CENTERS

CAM CENTERS When I need to polish the main journals on a camshaft, I use a straight shank center, or a large center drill will work. Insert the center deep enough in the chuck so the Cam pin or a stud will rest against a chuck jaw. All Cams have the centers on both...

read more
BLOCK SQUARED

BLOCK SQUARED

BLOCK SQUARED For those using the common block deck indexing fixture, here’s an easy way to check accuracy of the front plate. When you finish squaring up a block. Flip the plate backwards and check the deck across the surface to the plate again. It should read the...

read more
GET YOUR BEARINGS

GET YOUR BEARINGS

GET YOUR BEARINGS When baking and shot peening cylinder blocks, I leave the main bearing shells and the cam bearings in the block to protect surfaces and maintain concentricity. Anthony Rotella Anthony’s Marine & Service St Petersburg, FL NOVEMBER, 2021

read more
TRACKING WORK ORDERS

TRACKING WORK ORDERS

TRACKING WORK ORDERS Because we have a stack of work orders, about an inch thick, we have a system that helps us match a customer with their job, when they call. The work orders are kept in numerical order on a clipboard. The customer is assigned a work order number,...

read more
ALIGNMENT DOWELS

ALIGNMENT DOWELS

ALIGNMENT DOWELS Every couple of months I repair a transmission ear. The people install the transmissions out of alignment and attempt to pull them in using the mounting bolts. Part of my repair includes donating a couple simple alignment pins fabricated from bolts to...

read more