How to properly dress crankshaft grinding wheels

By Jim Tapp,
Goodson Tech Services Manager & ASE Certified Master Machinist

Manual dressing of the grinding wheel is an important factor in producing satisfactory work on your crankshaft grinder. The wheel must be dressed each time it is placed on the machine, even though it may not have been removed from the wheel center.

Mount the wheel dresser on the grinder table. Bring the rotating grinding wheel up close to the diamond and start the coolant flow. Never dress without coolant. Frictional heat buildup can cause the diamond to come loose or separate from its mount. Lack of lubricating properties, along with cooling, needlessly abrades the diamond. >>read complete story>>

Quick Tips from the Techxperts™

Torque Plates are key in cylinder boring success

Lightweight block castings have become very prevalent in our market. Since the overall mass has been reduced, the controlled stresses have become an important factor in the block's integrity. To ensure integrity, we must recreate that stress by using a Torque Plate when boring and honing.

Always begin by torquing your main caps in place to correct specifications. Next, install a torque plate and torque in place using final assembly torque specifications. Also, we recommend using correct length bolts. If they are too long or too short, they may abnormally stress the block. The future will even dictate correctly torquing all external motor mounts and related accessory brackets.

Allow .003" minimum material in the cylinder bore. Remove broken and partially severed material by honing after the boring operation.

Techxperts™ Top Picks

Save yourself time on guide replacement with the all NEW Valve Guide Run-out Gauge

Jim Tapp , Goodson Tech Services Department

This is one of my favorite new tools in the Goodson line-up. It was introduced in our 2008 Mid-Year New Product flyer and has caught on big time. Here's what it's all about.

Back when I owned a shop and did a lot of valve jobs, I seemed to run into problems with the guides not being concentric so I gave my son the job of checking each and every guide that came in the door for concentricity. It was a time consuming task, but one that saved me from installing bad guides into a job for one of my valuable customers. We still run into a lot of guides that aren't concentric so the tech department here at Goodson developed this simple tool to do what my son did so many years. After all, he's only one man and can't measure guides for everyone.

To test your guides, simply insert your pilot and tighten down the set screw to hold it in place. Slip a guide over the end of the pilot below the dial indicator (which is included, by the way) and measure the run-out (rotate 360°). Take that guide and slip it end for end and rotate again. Personally I never used a guide with run-out exceeding .001" combined measurements. Most guide companies will guarantee tolerances even tighter than that.

Take my word for it – this is one tool you can't be without, it will save you time and money in the long run.