Block tubing, got some questions.

[gzig5]

If you can, grind a 1/2" pilot diameter on the tip of the drill. That rides down the bore of the drilled hole to keep it in line. You'll have to touch up the front of the cutting edge. Doing the pilot in a lathe is easy, but it can be done by spinning the bit in a drill and taking a grinder to it. Ends up looking like this. Piloted Double Margin Drills

Also, most drill presses have a machined surface on the base so you can set something tall on the base and drill it. If your head doesn't adjust down, you might need to block it up or build a simple support table from 2x4's.

 

[Demonracer]

I have a 6' tall Craftsman 10 speed drill press, the work tables swings out of the way & the drill head adjusts all the way to the bottom of the cast iron base. Maybe that would the the ticket.

 

[yellow rose]

I have a 6' tall Craftsman 10 speed drill press, the work tables swings out of the way & the drill head adjusts all the way to the bottom of the cast iron base. Maybe that would the the ticket.

Wish I could find a good used press like that around here. I could use the crap out of it.

 

[TurboGLH]

I have a 6' tall Craftsman 10 speed drill press, the work tables swings out of the way & the drill head adjusts all the way to the bottom of the cast iron base. Maybe that would the the ticket.

We've got one like that at work, it's on the shop floor not the machine area, and it's set up for a specific task. It's in the back of my mind with the rest of the helpful ideas.

 

[TurboGLH]

5/8 hole was definitely getting off angle. But, without writing a whole paragraph, some tooling issues have me leaning towards a 9/16 OD tube, ordered one yesterday.

Losing about 0.050 on the ID vs the original tube, but I think it will be ok. Getting it fitted so I can send the block to be cleaned, machine shop uses a bake/shot method now, so need to install the tube after the initial cleaning is done.

 

[Duane]

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.

That is exactly what I did. Made the tool 25 years ago. Used a standard length reamer, turn down the end and drilled a matching hole into a piece of bar stock to make an extension and welded it on.
No wobble or nothing. Reamers cannot cut oversize and wander is minimal.

 

[TurboGLH]

Tubes went in nice and easy, I made a tool that would pilot into the id so I could tap them into the right depth. Working on peening them over now, got my method down by the 2nd or 3rd one. Still have to hone them, going to stop by and visit my dad (from 6ft away) and grab a small ball hone at the same time.

Thanks everyone who had input, really hoping to get finished up and running before summer is too far gone, this is a big step in that.

 

[Mopar Sam]

Where did you get the 9/16 tube from?

 

[TurboGLH]

Where did you get the 9/16 tube from?

McMaster. Grainger also has it, but they wanted to sell them in a pack of 3.

McMaster-Carr

 

[SSG_Karg]

Are you planning to run full time oiling to the heads?

 

[TurboGLH]

Are you planning to run full time oiling to the heads?

Noticed the holes in the oil feeds I take it? Yeah, I'm doing full time head oiling, mainly for the option to restrict cam oiling down as well. I know that it's one of the topics that tends to attract disagreement, but after looking the oil system over and reading the info available, I'm confident that it adds value by allowing me to keep oil where it's needed most, mains/rods.

edit:less defensive, more info.

 

[SSG_Karg]

Noticed the holes in the oil feeds I take it? Yeah, I'm doing full time head oiling, mainly for the option to restrict cam oiling down as well. I know that it's one of the topics that tends to attract disagreement, but after looking the oil system over and reading the info available, I feel confident that it's a good choice.

Haha, yep noticed the holes. No judgement from me, run it! What rockers are you using? With the full time oiling you could even do a spray bar setup off the end of the rocker shaft if you wanna get real wild!

 

[TurboGLH]

Haha, yep noticed the holes. No judgement from me, run it! What rockers are you using? With the full time oiling you could even do a spray bar setup off the end of the rocker shaft if you wanna get real wild!

Sorry, wasn't trying to sound defensive. I was trying to say that I think the ability to keep oil supply for the rods/mains where it's needed is what made it a good choice.

Project is a mix of frugal and not so frugal spending. Rockers are the SM/PRW 17-4 stainless ones in 1.5. They were stupid cheap on BF, so I decided to order them and see what they looked like in person. Besides being a bit gritty out of the box, I washed/cleaned them all and they seem like a decent budget option.

 

[Duane]

Tubes went in nice and easy, I made a tool that would pilot into the id so I could tap them into the right depth. Working on peening them over now, got my method down by the 2nd or 3rd one. Still have to hone them, going to stop by and visit my dad (from 6ft away) and grab a small ball hone at the same time.

Thanks everyone who had input, really hoping to get finished up and running before summer is too far gone, this is a big step in that.

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Be careful with the honing that you do not accidentally make the entire lifter bore oversize. Perhaps talk with Pittsburg racer. Seems to me he had a better method than honing to get the excess material off of the tubes

 

[TurboGLH]

Be careful with the honing that you do not accidentally make the entire lifter bore oversize. Perhaps talk with Pittsburg racer. Seems to me he had a better method than honing to get the excess material off of the tubes

I'll drop him a PM. I considered bushing the bores, but it's $550 labor plus the bushings. Having almost $2000 in machine work on a stock block isn't a step I'm willing to take.

edit: I plan to use a 1" flex hone, like you would use to hand hone a block. I've never had an issue with material removal, they're more for surface finish. But if anyone has an info, don't be shy

 

[SSG_Karg]

I just honed my lifter bores after tubing with a 1” brake hone. Just took my time and snuck up on it.

 

[pittsburghracer]

Be careful with the honing that you do not accidentally make the entire lifter bore oversize. Perhaps talk with Pittsburg racer. Seems to me he had a better method than honing to get the excess material off of the tubes

One of the reasons I went with the stainless tube was because it was thicker. I carefully used a long shank carbide burr like I use for porting heads. Grind, bluing, checked to see fit, grind, bluing, and finish with sanding roll. Easy does it.

 

[pittsburghracer]

I just honed my lifter bores after tubing with a 1” brake hone. Just took my time and snuck up on it.

I didn’t want to take material off anywhere that didn’t need metal removed so I avoided this method.

 

[pittsburghracer]

The bluing will give you a real good idea where your tight spot is. Then you can address that area.

 

[TurboGLH]

The bluing will give you a real good idea where your tight spot is. Then you can address that area.

Good idea on the dykem. Not sure I trust a carbide with .029 wall, at least not in my hands. gives me a direction to work though

 

[Duane]

I just honed my lifter bores after tubing with a 1” brake hone. Just took my time and snuck up on it.

I have done this too with success on my first block, on my x block I end d up with a bore sloppy loose. I ended up bushing the block any ways but depending on the stone grit of the hone you can get in trouble. If I had to do it again, I would not use a hone. I like how Pittsburg racer does it. Less chance to get in trouble.

 

[famous bob]

Tubes went in nice and easy, I made a tool that would pilot into the id so I could tap them into the right depth. Working on peening them over now, got my method down by the 2nd or 3rd one. Still have to hone them, going to stop by and visit my dad (from 6ft away) and grab a small ball hone at the same time.

Thanks everyone who had input, really hoping to get finished up and running before summer is too far gone, this is a big step in that.

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I`m surprised the brass didn`t crack when u peened the bores ---------

 

[TurboGLH]

I`m surprised the brass didn`t crack when u peened the bores ---------

7/8 done and no cracks so far. It's H58 temper 260 brass, it works good cold and has low hardness. I don't see any reason why it would crack.

 

[pittsburghracer]

7/8 done and no cracks so far. It's H58 temper 260 brass, it works good cold and has low hardness. I don't see any reason why it would crack.

I’ll say something here that will probably come across as sounding stupid but let’s say one did crack at one lifter bore. Sure you would have a leak but worse case what, maybe one. And it would be a small leak compared to the dime size leak we just fixed. Just a thought.

 

[TurboGLH]

I’ll say something here that will probably come across as sounding stupid but let’s say one did crack at one lifter bore. Sure you would have a leak but worse case what, maybe one. And it would be a small leak compared to the dime size leak we just fixed. Just a thought.

Agreed 100%. It would be unfortunate, but probably wouldn't be the end of the world. But....I still have 19" left, so I'd probably drill out the cracked piece and start again.

Either way, good info as usual, thanks for chiming in.