Old Machine, Modern Surface Finish - Can It Be Done? 

I believe WJ has said "a good machinist can make perfect parts on a bad machine. A machine operator can make junk parts on a perfect machine"

Great video. Yes, quality can be had with The Old Machines. Thanks for sharing. Take care, Ed.

Great stuff! Especially for the shop that doesn’t have the capital for a quarter million dollar machine, but has individuals capable of exacting work.

Lake Speed Jr., this is a fantastic video. Thank you very much for posting this.

Finding someone like this is pretty darn hard in today's world. SO.... Great work!! Shows open mindedness to new tech (stones/brushes/measurement) ... and probably some trial and error in the to get it there (hard earned experience).

I'm in the trade since 1976... sure have seen a lot of changes over the years. I wouldn't have guessed that you could go from 120 to finish in 2 steps plus a plateau brush. Always learning in this business

How about hand (drill) honing with vitrified stones like Sunnen AN? That would be nice to see?

Experience and skills. Well done

I would love to see a comparison of an old school engine shop. Them using the standard way of getting within .001” and honing from there to fit the pistons with no real consideration to surface finish, and then compare against using a system like this and see what the leak down, break in period, and power numbers look like.

nice work guys

Sir how we make different cross hatch angle

I have witnessed with a Profilometer, Bore dial indicator, Micrometer, ect with proper tooling, patience one can even achieve .0001 all four corners bore distortion and correct cyl wall finish with hand made suspensed by spring drill hone with Torque plate. Something 1 Muskogee and 2 Tulsa Machines failed to achieve. Just saying it can be done, not my choice of time spent but definitely witnessed and used said engine for one of the racecars in a bind at the 11th hour. 2.0l went 12.1 at 115mph in a 3600lb car on 18 psi of boost from a small td06. Ran for a full 3 season and 15000 miles before tear down and them cyl walls beautiful. Except for the window from the failed water meth controller hydrolocking cyl #4 but hey cyl walls are beautiful.. Always thanks for Lake jr, Total seal and all from PRI!!!!!.

@TotalSeal... Question(s): Those three strokes with the brushes, takes the "break in" process away from ring running in the bore to do the work and possible degradation of parts or risking glaze... and presents a truly finished bore for the rings to ride in? What would you expect to see are the RPK #'s after, say a couple of good dyno runs following this hone work? (much change or not??) Are these Mazda blocks hard? (say, compared to a Dart-SHP casting)

There might be some flaws in the assumptions leading up to my question. If so, feel free to correct them. I have been taught that cast rings require a fairly coarse honing in order to seal correctly. And that, by nature, the break in process with that ring and cylinder finish combination is a destructive one. The rings and cross hatch create their own “plateau” during break in. It works, but you have knowingly shortened the life of the rings (perhaps the cylinders too) from day one. So, let’s say I have an engine from the 1950s or early 60s (in my case an early Chevy inline 6). Cast rings are the only thing widely available for those ring dimensions. Can a guy skip all the destruction of the coarse cylinder finish, and still get cast rings to seat with a cylinder that has more of a plateau honing like you have here? Understand that you at optimizing the cylinder for a very different ring (thinner and lower tension). But is it a myth that you NEED lots of roughness to seat an older-style, thick, cast ring?

Would this more modern method of honing and thinner rings be beneficial on an old motor that won’t be used in high performance application? I’m considering rebuilding a Ford 300 I6 for an old pickup that I own, but would like to make some modest improvements over the stock motor.

Could be wrong but those didn’t look like diamond holders? Any more info on the diamond holders and abrasives used?

Great stuff!! Lake, what tablet and software are you using? Can I use a Mac tablet? Thanks

If you don’t measure then you never know.

Where are you getting those diamond stones from ?

I go way further by using the portable Sunnen AN112, this cat was done in seconds what takes me the best part of a day, problem is I am ready to commit suicide by then, the only way I got this to work is to leave .0015 to hone after boring which is hard to get if the toolbit even slightly wears then the honing part is quickly done and super straight. It takes no talent and lots of money wasted on a machine that will never pay for itself, credit goes to those who can do much with very little..

LMFAO!!!! check your ego and you're microprocessor controlled machine at the door.