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A short video on machining the spark plug caps.

Thank you very much. Not sure how hot these will get at that location, but yes, maybe too hot. I should probably JB Weld a small reinforcing tube over that area. Checking for cracks with these isn't an issue, as just holding them they bend at that location so the they are cracked right through...

Spark plugs done.....hopefully/maybe... I made one plug some time ago as a test. I couldn't find Corian anywhere, so I used PEEK. It is slightly flexible but should take the temperature OK. Got back to making more plugs. Machined all the parts, except the insulators. The parts certainly...

How to machine these tiny parts, especially the cross-hole? Here's one way not to do it. I drilled holes in a plate the thickness of the length of the pins and put over-length ones in: The idea was to mill them off to the correct length. But I made the fit of the pins too loose and they...

Picture of the one small hole in the rocker after slipping it onto the pin in the fixture. Drill has been indexed from the pin/hole in the rocker for location. Rick

The valve train components are coming along nicely. Not without some hiccups of course. I had made the rockers earlier but wasn't really happy with them. You can see how I made them in my earlier posts. Nothing really wrong with how they came out, but I was trying to figure out how to cut the...

Very nice! I agree that with a 20" prop it is going to be a serious engine.

Are you using a course enough blade? I have a chunk of 3" thick aluminum of unknown grade that I had trouble cutting; blade drifting a lot. I switched to a course tooth blade (can't remember off hand, but maybe 6-8 tooth) and the cuts were dead straight after that.

I started making custom car badges a few years ago. I machined them from thin aluminum plate and TRIED to get paint to adhere. I tried every type of paint, including the super durable, made for car wheels, won't chip, sticks like you know what to a blanket. I couldn't find anything that I was...

Amazing work as always! So you use a 4 flute cutter on aluminum. I use a 2 flute 1/16" cutter when I really need detail machining, but do break them now and then, especially if I try anything like a .030" DOC. I thought a 4 flute would plug easier when cutting aluminum. I do use a mist system...

The short block is assembled and I ran it with the lathe to break in the piston rings. I assumed that would be a good idea. It was fairly stiff to turn over, but after running for a couple minutes it was quite a bit looser. Not sure how loose it should be at this stage. I can turn it over...

Starting assembly of this little engine. Not that everything is made yet, but the major rotating components are done. So I thought it would be fun to assemble it. I was wrong. Turned out to be a pain. Most of it my fault. First thing I did was make a small guide bushing to insert the pistons in...

There is a little more info on it in post #57. It is a piece of blade from one of these: I just snapped off one of the sections and used that. It is .0196" thick and extremely hard and durable. I've used it to cut the grooves in the valves, the piston ring grooves, small groove at the end of...

Gudgeon pin? Reminds me of the manuals for my first car, 1969 MGB. Bonnet, boot, dynamo, petrol, spanner.... :) But I digress. It is a press fit into the rod. From what I remember (I made the rods a while ago) I used a .124" reamer for the rod holes and .125" in the piston. The pins are .125...

Got the rings installed, only breaking 1. I had a good look at the block before installing the pistons to make sure there was no more machining on it to do. And there was. I had not machined the hole for the distributor. That meant assembling the heads and intake onto the block: I did have...

Thank you Michael. I'm not really happy with the rockers I've made, and still need some operations on them to finish; mainly figuring out how to make the slot. So looking at your build thread, I've "borrowed" your method of using the 4th axis to produce them. I've made a couple so far to fine...

"Conversation" sent.

The piston rings. I did a lot of research on how to make these. There are many ways to do it, with the most popular needing a heat treating oven. My wife has a kiln for glass work, but it would be a really bad idea for me to use that. So, other ways... I have a bar of cast iron I bought for a...

With the cylinder liners done and installed, time for the pistons. The CNC lathe did the turning, the bore in the bottom (with a 5/16" end mill centered and then with it offset, used as a boring bar, to give the correct ID), the grooves, and then the parting off. Once again the little grooving...

So you would have to machine them to just under the bore size to install them. Can't machine them larger than the bore size since you have no gap to compress. When cracked and installed there would be no spring tension from the ring to the cylinder wall. What am I missing?