CARTRIDGE ROLL LIFE When doing port work, one way to get much more life out of your cartridge rolls is to cut the glue at the end and unroll and cut the sandpaper back to a fresh surface. This will also reduce the diameter for hard to reach places. I found that the...
STICKY SITUATION Most of us know that magnetism on parts such as connecting rods is a very bad thing. Heat and friction can cause used rods to become magnetized. Today we can download Gauss/Magnetometer apps for our phones. They use the phone’s internal compass to...
KEEPING CHIPS FLOWING When using a grinding discs, sanding disks or carbide die grinder tips on aluminum, use “cutting saw wax” as a lubricant. This will keep the aluminum from gumming them up. Just apply to the surface and grind away, reapplying as needed. Brad...
SHOP MATH Ever wonder how to find the center of 2 pulley groves? Use 2 long straight bolts, 3/8” in this case. Lay one in each pulley groove and measure the distance across both. Now subtract the width of one bolt to find the centers. (1.078”-.375” = .703” [.700”] in...
SLEEVE LOCKS When boring and honing engines with sleeves that have only a light press fit, we have found that the torque from the honing operation may cause the sleeve to slip in the engine case. We use 4 old 4-sided carbide inserts and some clamp bolts and nuts from...
REPEATABILITY KEY TO PROFITABILITY When machining multiple parts, put your first part up against a stop like this small parallel. Machine your first one then set and zero the indicator. Now just chuck up the next part the same way. Now you do not have to measure each...