Adam, your honesty in declaring your mistakes and stating what you know and what you don't know, in other words your humbleness is admirable and an example. Thanks.

This has got to be the coolest dude ever that can take constructive criticism and make it work and learn and become better what an awesome gentleman thank you for your videos.

Abom, I'm an electrical engineer for a robotics company and have no formal machine shop training. Thanks to you and the other youtube guys I have learned so much. Right now I can hold better tolerances than my mechanical engineering coworkers who do have machine shop training. You, Tom Lipton, Keith Rucker, Keith Fenner, and Mr Pete have given me more knowledge than I could have ever asked for. Keep up the good work. -Josh

Adam, It truly shows what kind of man you are , when even with as much of the machine world experience you have, from growing up around the business, that you can admit easily that you don't know a topic or subject, and be honestly thankful that others helped you out and recognize them for their effort. As always thank you for the awesome shared Knowledge and I look forward to more of your videos.

I always like seeing how different people do jobs. Every part can be made 100 different ways, and then you find someone that came up with a 101st way. Nice work, even if it wasn't needed for the piston project. Thanks for the videos.

Thanks for following the idea through, Adam. I always enjoy your inspiring curiosity.

Glad you continued with the operation Adam, always something to be learned. I think the decision not to cut the pistons was a sound one.

Great video Adam. Not only did you learn, we all learned as well. That's the beauty of the KZfaq community

I am glad to see that the decision was made to hone the cylinder to fit the piston and not cut the piston. I used to do a lot of motorcycle boring and i would never bore a cylinder without having the piston in my hand before I started. Keep on keeping on.

Great video Adam and great feedback from the viewers on the topic. In the end you all helped the customer do the right thing. On the flipside. There were a LOT of haters on the other video who honestly should feel ashamed at their comments and how they handled themselves. You all know who you are. These channels and the community doesn't need negativity, its thriving on positivity, learning, comradery and a mutual respect for eachother. Lets keep it that way, its where the strength of all of this comes from. :-)

Such a nice guy and brilliant videos loaded with quality, time served information. Thanks so much for making your videos. I can't wait to get a lathe and get cracking now!

Wanted to thank you for your videos. They bring back a lot of good memory's of the early 60s when I worked for North American Aviation in California as an apprentice in their machine shop. I liked the work but at that time in my life (a young no-nothing kid of 19) I made a mistake and went on to other things but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the trade. Thanks again.

Ingenious way to tackle a very unusual situation!! Very, very smart of you to read the comments from your first video on this to discover that you didn't/shouldn't cut the pistons down but to open up the cylinder bore the tolerance that was needed!! Love your work!!

Love the way you square the part in the 4 jaw. That's some knowledge and skill right there. I don't have those skills but I am smart enough to admire and respect those who do. Thanks Adam.

Thanks for continuing on with the video series Adam, even though I am not a machinist, and most likely never will be, seeing how jigs like this are made really intrigues me. Between your channel, Keith Rucker, Keith Fenner, ClickSpring and Tom Lipton, I have learned so much. Keep up the awesome work!

Alot of respect to your knowledge and your 'fingerspitzen' feeling. You should be teaching youngsters as you have the patience and wisdom.

I have been enjoying your videos for sometime now and I have to say, you make me want to be a machinist. Not because I feel I have what it takes however I feel you can give me the knowledge to have what it takes. You are a true testament of a dying breed of true American heart, desire and honor of having a trade passed down to you through generations. I have great respect for your craft and even though I don’t have access to machines, I have learned a lot about not only metal work but life in general. Thank you.

Respect to your father for teaching you the fundamentals.You've taken them and obviously ran with it. The trades are a dying art. I enjoy your videos. As a fabricator/pipe welder for many years now, I'm looking to diversify my skill set. This kind of work excites me. Thanks for sharing.

Also thank you for finishing the series - a fixture I will keep to the back of my mind, never know when it will come in handy

I have been out of the machine shop for 30 years, I really enjoy your videos, keep up the great work.

One thing to remember, if you cut a piston sleeve on a high performance engine. You are taking a risk of losing balance of the engine due to removal of material. The comments were exactly right on the machining of the motor with the pistons. Kudos for learning that. Excellent video!

I still come back to this video every now and then to remind me what humility really is, I love the fact that you actually read the comments and take on board some of the knowledge of other people, just carrying on with that job would have been a costly mistake if you hadn't taken the time to double check. On this visit though I thought I would thank you for being a brilliant, humble and explanatory tuber. Good health to you and keep up the good work.

AdamThank you for taking time to do these videos.

Sure was good to see you finished the series. Thanks for the information on making the fixture and the techniques for such accurate work.

Just recently found your channel Adam and am now hypnotized by it; loving your work, and your kindness and humility

Great videos! I have learned a lot from your channel, especially the indicating. I've been a welder and fabricator my entire career, with a lot of maintenance mechanic thrown in as well. Lathe work and milling has always been a small part of the things I've had to do in the projects and repairs I've done, but I was never formally taught that stuff. Your videos have been so informative to me, Thanks! I'm sure many here would agree, you would be an incredible Shop Teacher, bringing the knowledge of working with manual and cnc metal working machinery. Keep it up and I look forward to seeing the new videos.

I really enjoy listening to you think, and explain why in plain language, don't ever stop mate you're doing a fine job.

I learned (and continue to learn) so much from watching your videos! Thank you for sharing

Good video Adam and good idea for the fixture to hold the piston even though you did not use it.

I really appreciate you keeping on and teaching us and admitting a mistake.

Adam, there’s something about watching you indicate a piece of material in the lathe that I find so fascinating. The efficiency at which you perform this vital task is admiral to say the least. Just love it. So glad I found your channel. Not a machinist, and I don’t work around them anymore, but I can appreciate the skills just the same. Keep doing the great work you do.

You were smart to listen to some of the guys comments. The person who bored the cylinders shouldn't have bored the cylinders without the pistons like one of your comments said. I really like how careful you are with everything you do. I have learned a lot from watching you do machine work. I guess you could say that I'm on the other side of the table from you because I've been a mechanic for 50 years, and a wanna be machinist for 20, lol. Love your videos keep them coming!!

Completely enjoyed being schooled and learning from a humble and thoughtful artist.

Hey Adam, the wise man is the man who listens to 'critique' and modifies their behaviour. Many thanks for sharing young man, much appreciated. Joe

Thanks to you I learned about that killer coolant setup from Noga. Just ordered one. Cant wait to try it. I have always used flood coolant and it makes a mess on regular machines, flinging coolant all over the place. Thanks again. Love the videos too. Keep up the great work.

What a god damned legend. This video series is amazing. Starting off with getting off on totally the wrong foot in part 1 to coming back in part 2 and going over all the problems.

Hi Abom, Thanks for the really well made and informative vids! There was a time when I needed to cut the skirts down from a standard set of pistons for a non standard overbore and compression alteration to a motorcycle. So your method would have been perfect for that job and I will be remembering it in case I ever come across a job like that again. Nice Work.

I really appreciate you going into the various ways to problem solve and get something done, like you were talking about. Regardless of the project (and I'm seeing now why a lot of general machine shops want nothing to do with automotive/engine work!!) just seeing your thought process on how to chuck something or get it clamped in a vice makes for interesting video.

This man is a great person number one,and a very smart person because he is willing to learn the right way,he was miss led for sure on cutting pistons ,iv never heard of cutting pistons to fit

Beautifully made holder! Thanks for your great work and teaching.

Great idea for holding the piston. Nice of you showing how it's done. Thanks for sharing your expertise!! ....13

I have said it before and I will say it again, you are an amazing KZfaqr and I enjoy watching everything you create. You do such a great job all around and I learn every time I watch. Thank you for continuing to make videos for us.

Thanks for the video Adam! We are all learning together in your videos, please keep them up.

Hello Adam, you do a great job with all your videos ! thank you to show us all of your hard work and knowledge . go on

Gotta give you credit , accepting other peoples input . I'm going on 30 years in the business and I am still learning new ways. There is always more than one way to get from A to B . Some are a long way off , and some have a great shortcut I never saw. Keep up the great work.

Top bloke, thanks for following through with the project it was great to see it turn out as good as it did.

These guys are right again. You go through a learning experience and show how nobody knows everything, but if they listen to others they will be pretty close. That is the most important skill any of us can have. :) :) :) I like your explanation on how to inspect the part which is normally as challenging as the close tolerance machining itself. You wouldn't believe how many guys will inspect those pistons with 6" dial calipers.

I haven't been machining long, but I have been binge watching a lot of your old videos. Something about watching you dial in those 4 jaws so quick is so nice. Also like this video for fixturing, my struggle. Working as a tool maker in a manufacturing plant with over engineer prints, I wish I could say .001" will do lol. Thanks for all the videos and info you provide. I machine tiny stuff but loves learning/watching this big stuff be made.

thanks for showing this method to hold those pistons , i need to take a skim cut off the piston crowns of a motor i am building but i didnt want to chuck directly on the piston skirt, this is exactly the solution i was looking for ! i have learnt so much from watching you tom ,stan, Keith . i am not a machinist by trade i just play around at home building bits for my race car .with out you sharing your extensive knowledge through these videos people like me would never have been able to buy a lathe and be able to build stuff at home without spending years being frustrated and giving up , thank you so much for making these videos and sharing your knowledge with people like me!

This is an amazing channel, for you to show your mistakes and how to fix them, I’m amazed, so many people on KZfaq just want to show how great they are, and you are pointing out your mistakes and helping us all learn how to check things, or learn the correct process, I appreciate you! I really enjoy your videos! Keep up the good work, machining is a lost art, and you truly give amazing information for people who have no clue what it takes to make something work in the tenths of thousands of an inch dimensions! Best channel ever!

I live up near Keith Fenner and watch all his stuff, sfter the lathe cut competition I've started binge watching your videos. Great job, enjoy the southern pace.

You are a great teacher. Thank you for posting these videos.

Bro I love your channel ive missed the shop I grew up in and worked at forever and when I found this channel man it like going home with every project you do I appreciate ya man

congratulations from Greece...! thank you for all these beautiful things!!! and for the angle table for more sort moving!

The amount of machining involved just to get set up to start machining the part is astounding.

Still fun to watch. I had some engine work done last summer and had start searching on the internet how they actually go about doing it, and in the process I think I stumbled upon your large lathe work video and I've been here ever since. Learn a lot from these videos.

Your a bad ass machinist. You got awesome skills! That shop that machined your friends cylinders definitely never should have done the work without the pistons! Anyone with engine builds knows to match the cylinder to the piston. The skirts never get cut or milled down, that’s what takes the thrust of the piston going up and down. I love watching your videos!

I worked as a machinist in an engine shop for 11 years and I ALWAYS fitted the cylinder to the average size of the piston skirt. Your jig is what they used to balance a set of pistons.

I think you could build a holder for ANYTHING Adam ..LOL ! good work man , Glad ya got that squared away with the customer .. thumbs up

Adam, great content, always! it's nice to watch a real machinist in action. Keep up the good work!!

I thoroughly enjoy your videos Adam. You explain things very well! I'm a hands-on layman with a full shop yet without a machining/milling background. But I do know enough to know how much I don't know!! Your "MacGyver-type" ingenuity and fixes are fantastic! I'm currently learning how to oxy/acetylene and mig weld. And I definitely now see a shop lathe in my future!

Excellent video of an example of how to hold precisely and carefully. Great job and thinking.

These are really great videos. I don’t know much about machining, but the trade is really interesting. Watch them all the time.

Thank you Adam for your time and work teaching me!

Yep, I agree with Greg, your honesty is truly why I enjoy your videos so much.

Greetings from Sweden Adam! Just wanted to say i think it was great of you to see this project thru to the end even though it changed. Most people would have scrapped it and noone would have learned anything. This way to hold something in the lathe will definately be something i will try to remember. I´m positive it will come in handy at some point! Cheers!

I appreciate you honesty when you say "that is not my world". Good for your friend for having the cylinders sized correctly. A Hyabusa engine spinning at well over 10,000 rpm can have any # of issues without adding any more! Very nice holder though!!

Great video. I'm glad you went ahead with the setup. That was the important thing.

I enjoyed the video and seeing how you made the fixture. Good call by your customer and yourself to size the bore to the piston. Forged piston skirts are cam ground so once they get to operating temperature they expand ever so slightly to minimize piston slap among other things. I modify pistons for a race engine builder often. most of the time we remove material from the piston domes to optimize compression based on the customer's requirements. I have some specialized jaws that bolt to the chuck in place of the standard jaws. These jaws clamp inside of the large oil control ring groove. They are made quite well and have less than .0002 of runout, which overkill when cutting the top of the piston. Looking forward to next weeks videos.

hi, im also a machinist/millwright, back in the 70s when i came back from viet nam, we built and flew gyrocopters with the McCulloch 0-100 target drone engines, they tended to run hot siezing the pistons resulting in the dreaded automatic silence, the fix was to havve the pistons graphite coated and cam ground on the skirts. keep on keeping on, buck, i sure wish i had access to a machine shop again, miss it, buck

Hi Adam, I just started watching your channel today and I really like the way everything is explained. I’m 3 months into my machining course now and learning on a Bridgeport Mill then onto a Haas CNC in a few months. Keep up the awesome work. Subscribed!

Adam, I like the way you made that fixture by sawing part way through with draw down bolts. I learned an important technique from this video. Keep up your excellent teaching even if some jobs don't turn out as expected.

Two tips that may solve some mysteries for me. Shocking to see so much out of round those pistons are. Thanks for teaching us underlings so much.

Fascinating. It reminds me of making a jam chuck for woodturning, except that in general wood lathes do not have micrometer slide movements, so we turners have to sneak up on the desired fit in other ways. Thanks for posting this.

i just found your videos and i must say you have a great abundance of knowledge also a great attitude thank you and I will make it my point to watch all your videos

I had no doubt it would have held, you are true machinist!

Abom: Good man, you are a total professional, Master of your art. Even with the 'mistake' and then the whole ellipsoid piston etc you managed to create an extremely informative video. I am not a machinist but I do work with some (exceptionally) hard woods, carbon fibre and aluminium (violin's cello's etc). I try to adopt you work ethic and practice into my own. Regard for tolerances and your creative solutions (like this one) are absolutley inspirational. Thank you. What a great KZfaqr.

So very glad you thought to indicate the skirt at the end to show that even the reduced piston ring land area is not machined concentric to the piston itself. Was hoping for that part and you came thru for me. Pistons are an odd ball of wax in many places. For a racing engine with not much life expected anyway, my opinion is that this would have worked for him maybe not giving him the very last 1% of power for the win, but there's always next time. I could be wrong about that too, but now we'll never really know...

Hey mate, don't worry about not actually machining the pistons. This is actually really sound advice that many people were looking for. Thank and Keep it up!

Adam, not a loss....give the fixture to your buddy as he can use as a deadman fixture when installing the rings with the piston inset upside down...maybe add a flat square plate for being held in the vise. Running nitro I would bet he will use a lot!

I'm impressed with the ingenuity to design and make a fixture to hold the piston the way you did. I know nothing about boring the engine etc. But, I am impressed with your fixture. Thanks for posting this Adam.

even though you never skimmed the pistons I appreciate that you took the time to show how you would've done it also that you're not too big to take and ask for advice from your fan viewers.

Hi Adam - The way you handled the comments (the non positive criticism ones) shows that you are a true professional. The video was excellent as usual. Thanks

Never stepped foot in a machine shop. Construction, restoration & estate maintenance is my gig. I'd be lying if I told you I didn't learn anything from these vids. I will stay tuned, thanks & subbed sir.

Adam you have great videos! i enjoy every one of them! You have some great viewers also They donate some really great things, Kudos to you and your viewers!

Class act bro. Real men own their mistakes and shortcomings, and arn't ashamed to acknowledge that they dont know everything. You cant teach someone who already knows everything.. Love what you do here, i'm no machinist, but im learning a lot from watching your channel.

That's why this man is loved all over the world..Mistake,not really it turned out to work just fine.Your The Man, See Ya

I love you series of videos. Makes me want to try it out myself!

That is as good as it gets,a very old example of discipline and precision as you creep on up to an exact size.. Great skills mate.

Your videos are great ,and informative ,very educational thanks for the hard work! Its appreciated

I am glad to hear he didn't have you to do that. Them pistons when made all weigh the same and is supp to be with in -1 +1 of each other in weight. I had commented on the last video wondering how the motor is doing n then I heard you say he decided not to shave the pistons and just have the cylinders honed for them. I been watching your video's because I been wanting to get into lathe's and before I purchased one and give alot of money for one. I wanted to see just how much was involved before I purchased one cheaper or higher. I appreciate your work buddy. Great Videos.

Thanks Adam for your commitment to sharing your experience for our benefit. You're a real grown-up, as far as I can see. I quite often make "spud chucks" and the like, and here's a couple more ideas for people to consider: 1) For a fixture you might use again, consider turning the diameter down a little where you grip it, so there is a flat face to butt back against the jaws (so it can be reused without wobble) 2) If using in a self centering chuck, make a centrepop in the middle of the OD in front of the #1 jaw, so you can replace it in the same relative rotational position, and it will run more nearly true next time it's used.

hi Adam, i don't think it ever does any harm to look into different world's. Good on you . many of us here on youtube have learned so much by looking at what you do in your world.

You are an accomplished individual -- do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Thank you.

.100 cut an interrupted. I love that machine. Thanks for sharing. When we used to drag race harleys back in the 80 's I've done both bore the cylinders an cut or knurled the pistons. But back then we didn't know any better or have the money so we did what we could. Didn't get paid unless you raced and won. Thanks for sharing.

It is a pleasure watching a craftsman apply his trade.

You just have to love this guy! I would like to spend some time with him in his workshop. He is so thorough and no obstacles are too big. "Hmm here I see a problem. This thing doesn't fit in here I just mount it to my machine xxxx and fiddle a little bit with it. No problem" Me in the same situation. MAMAAAA !!!!;)

Respect. You show it as it really is. I greatly enjoy watching your videos.

we live and we learn, thanks for listening to the comments and growing, your viewers appreceate and want you to succeed forward, good work.

Nice video, enjoy seeing the precision it take to do this machine work. Keep it up.