CRANK TURNING SOCKET I took a BB Chev crank socket and drilled and taped (3) ¼”-20 holes for set screws, 120 degrees apart. You can now use it on Mopar, Pontiac or just about any crankshaft with a 3/16” keyway. Paul Pionessa Pionessa Automotive Lancaster NY February,...
GOOD TO BE FOILED Keep a roll of kitchen aluminum foil handy in the shop. It is useful for many things including shimming chuck jaws, wrapping parts to keep shavings out, protecting parts from weld splatter, covering mill or lathe ways when machining abrasive cast...
HIT YOUR MARK Here is a trick I use when I am boring for sleeves, line boring mains or any other type of boring where I absolutely must to hit my size and tolerance is tight. Prior to removing the tool on your 2nd to last cut, set up a mag base and a tenth indicator....
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...
HIGH ZINC OIL FOR MORE THAN JUST CAMSHAFTS With more engine builds moving away from flat tappet cams to avoid the “oil & zinc” issue, another engine component frequently gets overlooked, the piston ring. While we all know flat tappet cams need to be broken in, piston...
QUICK DRILL CLAMP A very handy drill press clamp set can be made in about 15 minutes from 1" angle-iron, 2 carriage head bolts (they fit the t-slots), a couple valve guides for spacers and 2 wing nuts. It has a wide operating range, is very quick and easy to adjust or...