“Like a Hole in the Head”

Just a little info for those new to taps. Getting them perfectly vertical is bit of a pain. If you have a bench drill then setup the item to be tapped. Put the tap in the drill chuck, press it down lightly and wind it in a turn or two by hand twisting the chuck. Then release the tap from the chuck and continue by hand on the bench. You can do the same on a lathe by placing the tap in a drill chuck fitted to the tail stock, set the tail stock to slide freely and rotate the big chuck by hand.
 
When making parts in a mill or lathe I always try and use the machine to align the tap but for hand tapping I've generally found this to be helpful. Just a block of scrap steel that I have holes drilled in that just clear the OD of the tap. Lay it on the work piece, insert the tap through the appropriately sized holes to hold it square and turn.
As you can see it's had a lot of use and seems to get lighter in weight with age, unlike myself. As additional tap sizes are needed I drill another hole or if there are tight spots I'll add an additional hole close to the edge.
IMG_20211026_151428034.jpg
 
RC4MAN said:
When making parts in a mill or lathe I always try and use the machine to align the tap but for hand tapping I've generally found this to be helpful. Just a block of scrap steel that I have holes drilled in that just clear the OD of the tap. Lay it on the work piece, insert the tap through the appropriately sized holes to hold it square and turn.
As you can see it's had a lot of use and seems to get lighter in weight with age, unlike myself. As additional tap sizes are needed I drill another hole or if there are tight spots I'll add an additional hole close to the edge.View attachment 200484
Click to expand...
Good idea! I’ve been in machining, just been a few years. Never heard of this. On my lathe, gotcha Sutton. Right on man.
 
Had to read back on this thread, It’s been awhile. Think I did go back into the carb guide and found no orings. These carbs….I’m over it. After about $300, screw it, I’m buying new ones. Still won’t come back down to idle. I’m also buying aluminum intakes and the roundslide type carbs. Maybe try to fit some Amals. Relying on vacuum, there’s to much room for error. Mechanically pull up the slides (throttle cable) and let the spring return them. Worked for years. Some shit just gets old and wears out. Like me eventually. Lol
 
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This actually just happened to me! Not nearly as bad. I don't have any damage. I am very surprised by that. I rode about 50 miles with one of my intake adjusters missing :wtf: Luckily I followed my gut and had a peek inside. I thought it was just worn out cam chain adjusters but it seemed so effing loud that I had to take a peek. Caught it just in time.

The adjuster and nut tucked itself neatly behind the valve spring lol
 
Not trying to high jack or anything but I just dove into a bit more and did some deeper inspecting. Seems I now have a cracked intake valve spring retainer. DANG IT!

I JUST finished this build and have only gotten about 50 miles on it so far :( time to take off the head.

Anyone have a good source for the retainers? Or have any laying around to spare??
 

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