Block tubing, got some questions.

-
TurboGLH

TurboGLH

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2017
Messages
621
Reaction score
692
Location
CT
I'm lucky enough to work in the defense support industry, so I'm still working. Apparently however, everyone and their brother is using the down time to get project work done, and my machine shop is backed up 8 weeks, and getting longer by the day

I've picked up a couple of long drill bits, got my tube, got a ream that should give me a slip fit and made a peening tool.

Everything I read talks about installing the tube add two pieces, front and rear. I'm assuming that's because there's a mismatch from having to drill front/rear, as opposed to all the way from one end.

Is that right, or an I missing some secondary reason?

Anything else that I should be on the lookout for?
 
TurboGLH said:
I'm lucky enough to work in the defense support industry, so I'm still working. Apparently however, everyone and their brother is using the down time to get project work done, and my machine shop is backed up 8 weeks, and getting longer by the day

I've picked up a couple of long drill bits, got my tube, got a ream that should give me a slip fit and made a peening tool.

Everything I read talks about installing the tube add two pieces, front and rear. I'm assuming that's because there's a mismatch from having to drill front/rear, as opposed to all the way from one end.

Is that right, or an I missing some secondary reason?

Anything else that I should be on the lookout for?
Click to expand...


Yeah, it can be off a bit. As long as you get past all 4 lifter bosses from the front and all 4 from the rear, the two tubes don’t need to butt together.

You don’t need a lot of press on it either. It can be slip fit and once you peen it, it can’t move or come out.
 
If you refer to the Direct Connection racing manual it shows to drill 10" from the front & 10" from the rear. A 20" long 5/8" drill bit might be a little hard to handle. I'm about to take my block to the machine shop to have this done for my solid roller cam.
 
Go slow, use lots of cutting oil, pull the bit out often to clean the chips out, blow the chips out of the galley each time you pull the bit out.
Just wait until it’s time to peen the #8 exhaust lifter bore.....your butthole is gonna pucker!
 
I would never even consider using a one piece (20-22 inch) and pounding it in. Two 10 inch pieces work well. May sure you truly understand the oiling system and double check to make sure you redrill all oiling holes and make sure the lifter clearance is set properly. Use oil on the preening tool and I ended up welding an extension on my peening tool to get me above the deck surface so I could put vice grips on my tool so I could slowly drive it in some and screw and pull it out. Then drive it in again.
 
pittsburghracer said:
I would never even consider using a one piece (20-22 inch) and pounding it in. Two 10 inch pieces work well. May sure you truly understand the oiling system and double check to make sure you redrill all oiling holes and make sure the lifter clearance is set properly. Use oil on the preening tool and I ended up welding an extension on my peening tool to get me above the deck surface so I could put vice grips on my tool so I could slowly drive it in some and screw and pull it out. Then drive it in again.
Click to expand...

Two 10" pieces it is.

As far as redrilling/installing. My plan was to install the rear tube so that it doesn't cover the feed from the filter, and the front tube so it doesn't cover #1 main fees, then redrill 2/3/4 up to 9/32.

I had to make the peening tool, no longer available. Well see how it holds up. Might need a bigger radius on the end, but I hate grinding HSS and we dont have a large enough tool in carbide.

IMG_20200417_105530.jpg
IMG_20200417_105540.jpg
 
TurboGLH said:
Two 10" pieces it is.

As far as redrilling/installing. My plan was to install the rear tube so that it doesn't cover the feed from the filter, and the front tube so it doesn't cover #1 main fees, then redrill 2/3/4 up to 9/32.

I had to make the peening tool, no longer available. Well see how it holds up. Might need a bigger radius on the end, but I hate grinding HSS and we dont have a large enough tool in carbide.

View attachment 1715509848 View attachment 1715509849
Click to expand...


I made my own peening tool. Looks like yours. Works fine. I agree with using lube on the tool while peening. Makes it much nicer.
 
Drilled to 9/16 first, got that all done. 5/8 got started good, but it looks after an inch or two I'm getting off course bit. Stopped to reconsider my exact plan. Whole setup is too big for the Bridgeport, and the drill press that will work has a fairly small table.

Monday problem, time for a couple beers and my thinking hat.

IMG_20200417_162922.jpg
 
You probably really don’t want to talk about this now but how deep are you. What I’m thinking is if yard straight past say two lifters, stop there. There is no rule saying you have to drill 10 inches from each side. If you have to drill deeper in the front so be it. Personally I wouldn’t have the block on a wooden palet and then stand on the wooden palet. I want it sitting square on a concrete floor. Goodluck buddy and I hope all goes well.
 
pittsburghracer said:
You probably really don’t want to talk about this now but how deep are you. What I’m thinking is if yard straight past say two lifters, stop there. There is no rule saying you have to drill 10 inches from each side. If you have to drill deeper in the front so be it. Personally I wouldn’t have the block on a wooden palet and then stand on the wooden palet. I want it sitting square on a concrete floor. Goodluck buddy and I hope all goes well.
Click to expand...

Lolol. Not deep at all, 1-2" from the front with the 5/8 drill. The 9/16 hole I started with worked great, I got 11-12" from each end, so overlapped a bit when I drilled the rear. If I had my choice it would be in the mill, second choice was a mag drill, but 12" drill bit was too much for it. I think my plan is, bolt a plate for the mag drill to bolt to, get it re-centered on my 9/16 drill hole with a short bit, and then drill the 5/8 with a 6" bit, switch back to the 12" one by hand.

You're probably right on the pallet, I had it on the floor to start, but I had to keep moving it during the day, and got tired of schlepping it on and off the pallet.
 
pittsburghracer said:
You probably really don’t want to talk about this now but how deep are you. What I’m thinking is if yard straight past say two lifters, stop there. There is no rule saying you have to drill 10 inches from each side. If you have to drill deeper in the front so be it. Personally I wouldn’t have the block on a wooden palet and then stand on the wooden palet. I want it sitting square on a concrete floor. Goodluck buddy and I hope all goes well.
Click to expand...
Actually I think that is supposed to be reamed, not drilled.
I have always done this with a 5/8 reamer and drilled the oil feeds.
A reamer usually follows the original hole quite accurately. Drilling not necessarily. Imho
 
Duane said:
Actually I think that is supposed to be reamed, not drilled.
I have always done this with a 5/8 reamer and drilled the oil feeds.
A reamer usually follows the original hole quite accurately. Drilling not necessarily. Imho
Click to expand...

I've got a 9" .626 ream for after drilling, trying to ream a hole from .563 to .626 is a big jump.
 
TurboGLH said:
I've got a 9" .626 ream for after drilling, trying to ream a hole from .563 to .626 is a big jump.
Click to expand...
Agreed but that is how I had alway done mine. Just take it slow. It's only about .025 per side. A little high but not rediculous. I beleive Mopar used to only sell a reamer for this job.
 
Hey just another thought you could alway just get the 9/16 stainless steel pipe from granger like I did. Hone it out some because you have a hone, I didn’t. Slam it home and your done. Easy piezy
 
Duane said:
Agreed but that is how I had alway done mine. Just take it slow. It's only about .025 per side. A little high but not rediculous. I beleive Mopar used to only sell a reamer for this job.
Click to expand...

Definitely worth a look. Block is at work anyways, gives me the weekend mull over my options.

pittsburghracer said:
Hey just another thought you could alway just get the 9/16 stainless steel pipe from granger like I did. Hone it out some because you have a hone, I didn’t. Slam it home and your done. Easy piezy
Click to expand...

I had considered that before I started, but you're comments about how much trouble you had peening it steered me away from it to begin with, and then I found a 2 foot piece of 1/2 copper at work and that sealed the deal. I'm going to check and see what grainger has in stock locally, what wall thickness is that?
 
TurboGLH said:
Definitely worth a look. Block is at work anyways, gives me the weekend mull over my options.



I had considered that before I started, but you're comments about how much trouble you had peening it steered me away from it to begin with, and then I found a 2 foot piece of 1/2 copper at work and that sealed the deal. I'm going to check and see what grainger has in stock locally, what wall thickness is that?
Click to expand...


I’m in the house now but it’s listed on grangers website
 
Refrigeration copper is seamed, IIRC. You take a chance of it splitting when peening it.
 
famous bob said:
I gotta ask this again , are you guys using L , OR M , 1/2 plumbing copper ?
Have any of you investigated refrigeration copper ?
Click to expand...


I did a little research on this when you suggested it before and very little info was to be found. I bought a 6 foot piece of soft 1/2 inch copper pipe (5/8 outside) and cut it up into 10 inch pieces but really didn’t want to risk drilling this block since it was already machined. Bad this have been know to happen.
 
McMaster shows seamless soft copper tubing. But only in standard sizes.

I also found brass tube in 9/16 OD, never worked with brass before, but if it work hardened while I was peening it anneals at low temps.

Still want to open it up to 5/8, leaning towards making a mounting plate for the mag base, that will give me a big enough footprint as well as we m the extra inch in height I need.

Screenshot_20200418-113206.jpg
Screenshot_20200418-113455.jpg
 
I’ve noticed if you start with a shorter 5/8 bit it’s easier to control. Then when us switch to the long bit you have a guide.
 
pittsburghracer said:
I’ve noticed if you start with a shorter 5/8 bit it’s easier to control. Then when us switch to the long bit you have a guide.
Click to expand...

That too. Going to be a combination of things. I let myself move too fast, starting with the long bit was stupid, but I stopped before it causes any real issues. I need to improve my setup and go back at it.
 
TurboGLH said:
That too. Going to be a combination of things. I let myself move too fast, starting with the long bit was stupid, but I stopped before it causes any real issues. I need to improve my setup and go back at it.
Click to expand...


I just used a 5/8 reamer that I turned the end down on with a tool post grinder and skipped all the rest.

There is no reason you can’t just use a reamer if the end has a chamfer on it. You are reaming a cast passage that’s isn’t real straight to begin with. As long as you get down through there and don’t blow out the gallery (which is pretty thick) you should be ok.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top