ROD STRAIGHTENING

ROD STRAIGHTENING

When checking and correcting rod straightness, I use two bars against each other in the rod vice. Since the vice isn’t mounted to the cabinet strong enough for most correction work, this allows you to use it. I feel the two bars gives me a better feel for how much I’m...
PNEUMATIC SLEEVE INSTALLER

PNEUMATIC SLEEVE INSTALLER

Instead of hammering sleeves in, I made this fixture out of a small bottle jack, threaded rod, and a steel plate. Once the plate is drilled for different blocks it makes the job super-fast, and my arm isn’t sore from swinging the hammer.
KEEPING IT ON CENTER

KEEPING IT ON CENTER

Sometimes, we get those cores in the shop where someone had previously attempted to drill out a broken fastener, and they wander way off-center. We often need to install a larger repair insert than we normally would. I like to use a piloted counterbore cutter to drill...
TAP DRILL SIZES

TAP DRILL SIZES

When you need to make a thread repair, and someone has “borrowed” your tap drill size chart, here is a little trick. Subtracting the pitch from the nominal thread O.D. will get you very close to the tap drill size for a 75% thread. Here are some examples:...