04/23/2026
To do this job you need so much stuff.
Most people specialise in one brand or marque…. Well we sort of do… we specialise in solving problems and haven’t quite got round to setting limits to what these problems are but nevertheless you need so much equipment and tools,cutters,taps and specialists machine,you can’t possibly own everything… but the other thing is you need to use a machine a lot to get good at it, so the more you have the less time you spend on each one…,it’s a constant conundrum.
So we have most of what we need but not everything, but as the years go by, the job has changed many times and you need newer or better equipment and more specialised machines.. I would need to win the lottery and my first purchase would be a Time Machine and wind back 30 years 😳😳😳
But that ain’t gonna happen.
So we try and do 90% in house and use a few companies to fill the gaps.. I always keep the relationship as sweet as I can… it’s nice to be nice..and it helps lubricate the wheels of industry as such.
So here are some updates .. we are working on so many things that both me and Jim are finding it difficult to keep abreast of it all… but I’m at front of house sorting and sending, assembling and assessing, ordering and checking,welding and fettling as much stuff and Jim is on the machines as it requires concentration and is a must to be left alone..
First is a Atlas 750 crank for over haul, it was stripped and ground, the oil seal journal need a little bit of work to where it was spread and dented,
The next picture is a Harley head that had a cracked valve guide boss, the guides were out when it came and one hole was bell mouthed and split… we had this laser welded and then we trued the hole up and resized by honing it and it ended up at a respectable 4 thou oversize.. we are going to make all new guides as the Kibblewhite ones supplied only had 0.001” interference and that wasn’t quite enough really..but a excellent job done by the laser man… he doesn’t like doing engine stuff… much prefers doing vacuum forming tool repairs… more money and less agro.
Lastly are the steps that we need to do to repair Ducati heads.
We need to get tooled up because they are going to become a more often job.
We had an Exhaust nut 3D scanned and then cast in bronze, we found that the originals could be anywhere between 51.3-51.7mm on the thread and the nominal size is 52.00 x 1.5 mm pitch.. usual clearance is 0.1… it’s no wonder they strip the thread in the head..
The stainless inserts are also made, and lots guides in various oversizes.
Finally the new bronze nuts which are a bloody brilliant copy of the originals
Ps this Ducati project has been on the back burner for 2 years or more… we just didn’t have the time to move it forward till now
