When machining, sometimes seeing where your tool is in relation to the part you are machining can be difficult at best. In the first photo it is difficult to tell exactly where the tool tip is. In the second photo you can see that I…
Tommy Daniels Daniels Speed and Machine Hernando, MS
To help with the cast iron dust when boring, I've made a couple different collectors. Vacuum cleaners work, but are so noisy you can't hear the machine. This last one I built,with the large air filter is by far the best one. Made from an…
Randy Torvinen Torvinen's Machine Shop Menahga, MN
One of the most used tools in our shop is a good pair of side cutters. They can be a little messy with the clipped ends flying and sometimes unwieldy if you’re trying to keep multiple wires separate in your holding hand. To make them more functional…
Glyn Hassler Diesel Air Systems Jacksonville, FL
I made many different size tools for quick and easy piston ring squaring when end gapping. I used scraps from leftover cylinder sleeves and turned them to size on my lathe. They don't take up much space for storage even with more than a…
Randy Torvinen Torvinen's Machine Shop Menahga, MN
For those who don’t have a pressure tester, torque plates work great. Use along with homemade block off plates for the other holes and I use expandable rubber core plugs to seal up the block. I use them in cylinder heads as well. Just have a selection…
Ron Flood Cedar Machine North Branch, MN
Here are some inexpensive digital read outs (DRO) I’ve added to various machines in the shop. On the seat and guide machine it’s great to be able to set seat depths for different cutters on the same head without setting the end stop for each one. You…
Ron Flood Cedar Machine North Branch, MN
When my ratchets get noisy or sluggish I soak the head in 90wt. gear lube overnight and drain them the next day. The ratchets work like new. I find that 90wt gear lube lasts longer than engine oil and gives smoother operation. Will Samples S&S Imports Dallas, TX…
Will Samples S&S Imports Dallas, TX
Yes it's great to have the proper tools to install a press-fit pick-up tube onto your new oil pump. There are times when you may be helping someone in their shop and you need to improvise a quick tool to get this job done. With two simple…
Mike Segar Segars Engine Building Bloomington, MN
For 7/16” holes, take a 7/16” rocker arm stud, weld a metal pin at 90¨ on end and it becomes a T-Handle. Make 2 of them, this way you don’t need a wrench to take a lift chain off of an engine block. For ½” bolt holes…
Kimberly Duncan Reid's Automotive, Inc. Whitman, MA
I use a set of machinist Transfer Punches to help me set up on an existing hole that may have a broken bolt or even broken drill bit, that is below the surface. The Transfer Punch is designed to drop into a hole by specific size, and the…
Lewis Andrews Andrews Automotive Savannah, MO