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...

SAVE THAT SPECIAL PISTON When I really need to save a piston that does not have a good way to press it off without wrecking the sides, I mill a slot along the exposed lower side of the pin bore and it will release the pin fit. Then you can just tap the pin out. Randy...

PISTON FIXTURE A simple way to chuck pistons into the lathe is to make a draw rod assembly that goes through the head stock of the lathe. I made a bushing to locate it and give the draw nut a place to seat. Sometimes you may have to make a ring adapter for the...

RING SQUARING When gapping piston rings, an easy and often used way to square them in the bore is to invert a flattop piston and use it to push the rings down to the desired depth. Another good way on large bore engines is to use a tapered ring compressor of the...

PISTON PIN POLISHING I found it easy to polish piston pins in the rod hone. I use a small mandrel to hold them. Randy Torvinen Torvinen's Machine Menahga, MN October, 2019

RING INSTALL PLATFORM When I opened my shop, I used to struggle with holding pistons between my knees while installing rings. One day I noticed that on the common shop cart, most piston and rod assemblies would fit perfectly between the handle and the cart. It holds...