by Donnie Hurt | Aug 8, 2025 | OTHER SHOP WORK
When drilling to repair stripped holes, I often use the VGS seat & guide machine. I made this little pilot to go in a good hole and level it up against the spindle, this one is 3/8-16, and I also have one made to go in 7/16 stud holes. I tipped it in the valve...
by Donnie Hurt | Oct 11, 2024 | OTHER SHOP WORK
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...
by Donnie Hurt | Oct 8, 2024 | OTHER SHOP WORK
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:...