by Donnie Hurt | Feb 10, 2026 | TOOLING
Up against a deadline to ship engines, we elected to machine the 20 chrome water necks to fit, rather than return them and order more. To securely hold the water necks in our lathe, we needed a custom-sized expanding arbor. I made the arbor from a 4″ length of...
by Donnie Hurt | Feb 10, 2026 | TOOLING
If you ever tried to get the locating dowels out of the Cummins main caps, you know that using a straight drift doesn’t work. The bolt holes are tighter on the opposite side of the dowel end. I made an expandable driver spud that allows the removal end to be...
by Donnie Hurt | Jan 26, 2026 | CRANKSHAFTS & CONNECTING RODS
When drilling on cranks for balancing, install a simple jackscrew between the counterweights to eliminate flex at the rod journal. I use the same ones for drilling in line with the crank for heavy metal install, if the counterweight is unsupported on the drill...
by Donnie Hurt | Jan 12, 2026 | OTHER SHOP WORK
Here’s an easy fixture for inspecting run-out on shafts with a diameter too large to fit in your V-blocks. We place 2-4-6 blocks (or you can use a couple of 1-2-3 blocks) on our granite surface plate. You could also use a mill table. Next drop 4 steel ball bearings...
by Donnie Hurt | Jan 5, 2026 | TOOLING
I have a “snakey” set of 1.75″ headers on my hot rod truck. Several of the spark plugs are nearly impossible to access. I took an extra 5/8″ socket, though the concept would work regardless what size hex. I trimmed it down In the lathe and drilled a...
