It's hard to trust many parts today. We've seen new oil pumps with issues right out of the box. We always take them apart to clean and inspect, lube up the pressure relief valve, and put them back together. Old style shaft driven pumps are pretty easy to bench test,...
To turn a small block Chevy crank with the damper on, I cut off an old crank snout and remove a few thousandths from the diameter so it would slide inside the damper. Than I can use it along with my crank-turning socket. Sylvain Tremblay Les Ateliers de Moteur...
An aluminum transmission's mounting bolt hole needed to be spot faced after a TIG welding repair. The situation called for a Back Spot Face Cutter, however the size cutter needed was not available. To make a cutter, I turned a short section of threads off the end of a...
You can use a magnetic base from a dial indicator stand to hold your work while grinding parts like thin cover plates on a disc sander. It saves your fingertips. Tom Nichols Automotive Machine & Supply, Inc Cleburne, TX
Use dowel pins or wrist pins that fit snug in your mill's T-slots to quickly tram or align a cylinder head, engine block, or vise. (shown using 18mm wrist pins). Also shown above is an alternative method. These simple to machine stepped pins, which fit snug in the...
Often it is necessary to space the work piece up in the mill vise or off the machine’s table, when drilling or boring, etc. In addition to typical set of milling parallels, these shop-made variable height fixtures have proven to be very handy. Tom Nichols Automotive...