The Daily Grind
Today, seats are made of a wide variety of materials, different combinations of various alloys, powdered metals and other super hard materials. This seat material is designed to prolong the ability of the valve seat to seal against the pounding of the valve head during engine operation. The variety of materials also means new and different abrasives are required for proper machining.
Going Green Not Just for Irish
Did you know that as engine builders, we were green long before green became the IN thing? We were green even before Kermit said it wasn’t easy. How are we green, you ask? We are green because we rebuild, which means we recycle. Green is defined as: • Relating to or being an environmentalist
Giving Away Profits To Stay Busy Makes No Business Sense
Why am I writing about your wallet? To be perfectly honest, it’s because I want you to stay in business. If you’re not in business, Engine Builder magazine isn’t in business. If you’re not in business, Goodson Tools & Supplies isn’t in business. If you’re not in business, Dave Monyhan is not employed, and that
The Nitty Gritty of Abrasive Safety
Conventional abrasives have kind of taken a back seat to PCD and CBN cutters in the automotive world in the last few years. Since most engines being rebuilt these days are made from multi-alloy components they are more easily machined with PCD or CBN. But PCD and CBN can’t do everything, so abrasives are still
Be More Efficient And Profitable With Well Organized Shop
The best way to be ready to start your day is to get your shop together. This means that every day certain things must be shut down, cleaned, put away, wiped down and organized. Get yourself a pedometer, attach it to your belt and at the end of the day see how many miles you’ve walked around your
Owner Maintenance: Who
Over the past several years, I’ve written a lot articles on maintaining your machine shop equipment. I’ve always believed in being proactive when it comes to maintenance and preached it many times in this column. I am convinced that by doing maintenance up front you’ll keep these expensive machines lasting longer and performing better for
Your Shop Machines Have No Idea If They
Shop machines don’t have a clue that your tooling is dull, bent, nicked, burred, or the wrong size. It does exactly what you direct it to do, and if your tooling isn’t up to spec you’ll surely junk out a work piece in record time. Let’s start with tooling made from carbide. Carbide tooling comes
Sizing Up The Valve Guide
Worn guides will draw oil down the valve stem and will coat or coke on the port side of the valve. This will hinder air flow and cause engine performance to be compromised. Too much oil getting down that valve stem and may cause mechanical failure due to the increased possibility of pre-ignition. Worn valve
Cleaning Up In The Shop
In fact, it can be very difficult to make an accurate diagnosis of what’s wrong with an engine until it’s clean. You may be able to recognize some failed parts, you can often see large cracks or obvious damage, but you’re really only assuming you know what caused a failure if you can’t see for
When Does One-Thousandth Of An Inch Equal A Mile?
Now this statement has both good and bad advice in it. Good, because we all know high quality tools cost money, and bad because, as engine builders, who are you going to borrow tools from? The guy next door? Probably not. You need to have your own tools and tooling to control your quality in
Spring, Sprang, Sprung: Why Valve Springs Matter So Much
Keep in mind the cam, pushrods, lifters, and rocker arms do all the work in opening the valves, but it is the spring that keeps that valve closed during the operation of the engine. Valve springs can be compressed and expanded throughout their life cycle, sometimes at more than 1,150 times per minute for most
Take Care of Your Tooling and It
Let’s face it, when you invest in new state-of-the-art equipment, some or most of that investment is in the tooling. That tooling needs proper care – especially if you want your new machine to perform according to the manufacturer’s specs. These newer machines don’t have a clue that your tooling is dull, bent, nicked, burred,