Monday Night Meatloaf 26

[@dirtygarageguy]

High Tom great video. The spring you showed has 3 springs to stop valve float, the springs are different thicknesses and wound opposite directions to counter the resonance frequency of each individual spring, just in case anyone wanted to know. I know engines but getting into to machining and your videos are of massive interest, thanks again from the UK - matt

[@Abom79]

Hey Tom, looks like have a nice flea market there! Lots of good stuff to be had. I bet your like me and don't even see all the junk, only focus on tools and the like. I enjoyed the story too. Thanks for sharing with us! Enjoyed! Abom

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Adam, I don't waste much eye energy looking at the junk. I see certain patterns and things. My wife see an entirely different set of things when we go. Hey Howd you like that Adam sized pipe wrench? Talk to you soon. Tom

[@RaysGarage]

Hi Tom, Another great mix of things! Funny, I saw the same Husky tool bag at one of the stands in Adam's flea market video from this past Sunday. Cool torch add-on's, thanks for sharing! Ray

[@mainemikeiii]

That has to be one of the largest fencing operations, I mean flea markets, I've ever seen..... thanks for sharing Tom!

[@RobertGallop]

Really cool torch accessories! And might I just say, your torch sound effects are second to none!!! Thanks for another great video!

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Robert, I left out the pops and whistles that normally accompany my cutting efforts. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@Fierofreak01]

Reminds me of the Orange county swap meet they used to have in Irvine when I lived El Toro back in 95. I always had a good time checking out the all the stuff and dickering on prices. It's too bad they tore that old Drive in down what fun it was! Thanks for taking us along, and do it again sometime. -Jason

[@billmoran3812]

Story time with Tom...... Kind of like stopping by a friends shop on a Monday night. Nice.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Bill, Thanks for the comment. Bring food next time. Cheers, Tom

[@ScoutCrafter]

Very nice mix Tom- Brilliant torch accessories! I had to laugh when your spring was under tension because I think we all experienced that moment when we heard "Boing" and then a ping at the far end of the shop where the spring landed never to be seen again... =)

[@oxtoolco]

Hey John, Yeah the noise and then freeze in place while you try to see where that little spring went flying. Cheers, Tom

[@reideichner8597]

Hi Tom, Good mix of things. Got a thermostat story too. I had a boss, owner, that had the thermostat in his office for all the front offices in our industrial building. He liked it where he could shut off the air conditioner and all office personnel would suffer with the heat (was in So Cal). When he left the building, they would rush in and turn down the thermostat so the AC would turn on. He would come back and get all pissed off that the AC was running. I fixed it - being responsible for the building maintenance. I had our HVAC guy come in and put a duct stat in and disable his thermostat totally. He thought he was shutting off the AC but did nothing to control the air conditioner. Walla… everyone was happy. I think he never knew what I did but all the office personnel were happy. Thanks for sharing. Reid

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Reid, I think I might have worked for him at some point. Was there one coffee cup on a chain near the coffee maker? Cheers, Tom

[@reideichner8597]

oxtoolco Hey Tom, I think you DID work for him!! You sure know his traits. :-)))) Best, Reid

[@ckvasnic1]

Tom, Love the meatloaf. Thanks for sharing your time and talent. I think the safety scalpel was designed by the legal staff.... Just say'en. All the best. Chuck.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Chuck, I think there is a lot of that going around these days. I don't know how they can even build cars these days. Cheers, Tom

[@Bookerb2004]

Thanks Tom, that thermostat story is classic I did the same thing at work Damn! Great video!

[@EVguru]

Hi Tom, That valve spring is what they call interference wound. It forms a friction damping mechanism to stop surge leading to coil binding and valve train failure.

[@CarterWHern]

good info Paul.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Paul, I thought all the engines you played with have hairspring type valve springs to prevent that...... Never heard of interference wound springs. Thanks for the info. Cheers, Tom

[@EVguru]

oxtoolco Hi Tom, Only the Settebello originally ran hairspring valve springs and that's been upgraded to coils. The main reason for hairsprings was because the alloys of the day weren't up to the task to make a coil of sufficient rate that could take the heat of being that close to the valve. I've played with low speed Diesel engines where you could compress and remove the springs by hand.

[@outsidescrewball]

Hi Tom As always....great little subtle lessons....enjoyed See you Sunday in Salano...u better be an early bird....lol Chuck

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Chuck, All I have to be is a little faster than you. You would have to leave the night before to beat me there. Pretty tough sleeping in the vette. Cheers, Tom

[@BleuJurassic]

hey Mr Wizard sound effects as well Giggles, the tomometer looks a great tool. nice video and fun market

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Bleu, You liked the cutting torch sound. You should hear the Carbon arc gouge sound effect. Cheers, Tom

[@xull1x123]

Mondays are my fav day thanks to you!

[@SuperSecretSquirell]

The torch attachments are genius. I use a torch a lot at work and there are time where my arms are completely outstretched and I'm crammed up in a bad position. It's hard to hold a nice straight line or keep your tip at a constant distance in those situations.

[@oxtoolco]

SuperSecretSquirell Hey Squirell, That is exactly the reason I made them. Those long reaches are a pain unless you have one of those long junkyard torches. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@Max_Marz]

Lol at the guy pushing around spring collets on the concrete.

[@mog5858]

nice job. love the bring wheel idea might have to build one as i still do lost of hand burning at work of plates in the 1-3' range

[@swarfrat311]

Hey Tom, I assume 2 things about the flea market: 1. It's at the old Concord drive-in theater. 2. You must be fluent in Spanish. In one of your shorts I saw a honkin' pipe wrench -- a good 3 feet long! What do you use scalpels at work for? Dissecting the jobs? You know the 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt not piss off CAL-OSHA!" Thanks for another tasty (yum!) version of meatloaf. Next time, I could use extra napkins, please. Regards, Oxen Dave

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Dave, Your eye calibration is off. That wrench was closer to five feet long. Did you notice it was bent? Some animals were using that one. We cut all manner of things with scalpels including taking things apart. Cal-OSHA has nothing on our safety folks. We default to which ever standard is more stringent. Cheers, Tom

[@mattcurry29]

Nice video on the dual purpose Tom-O-Meter, When you were walking around the flea market and stopped at the Very Large Pipe Wrench, I was waiting for you to say something about it being a Adam size pipe wrench but he probably already has one that size. Matt

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Matt, He probably has two. One for each arm. Did you notice it was bent? Cheers, Tom

[@mattcurry29]

oxtoolco I went back and watched it again How? do you bend one like that. Matt

[@CompEdgeX2013]

Hey, I saw you eyeing that big knurling tool at the flea market! So the T-O-M relies on only internal spring pressure during comp measurements? So if the dial indicator is a little sticky it can skew the specs slightly. No biggie if taken into account. AND, lastly, did you ArmorAll the rear way cover? Man, Adams gonna be pissed! LOL! Colin

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Colin, I keep that cover lubed and polished. It just makes Stan's and Adam's look that much worse. I'm shame those two into upgrading one of these days. Cheers, Tom

[@CompEdgeX2013]

HAha, I hate it when mine's dirty too! ShopVac on standby! Colin

[@Opinionator52]

Hi Tom, Nother cool video! That was a heck of a valve spring (gosh I've installed so many), it reminds me of the old 396 or 454 big block Chevy springs, but not stock... You never have to worry about your valves floating, with springs like that. That gauge mechanism is a little work of mechanical art. what a beauty. Drive-Ins are almost a thing of the past (too bad). Cool torch stuff I always talked about making some things but lazy won out, and improve probably took more time than making them would have. As always thank you for sharing! :o) O,

[@oxtoolco]

Hi O, Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@rchopp]

Maybe it's a good thing we don't have flee markets in my area, I could see that it might create a large void in my wallet. Thanks for the video there's always something to like..

[@cgis123]

Nice....... I was waiting with baited breath.....

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Matthew, Its okay to breathe now. Thanks for the comment. ----Tom

[@stephensmith8756]

Hi Tom The flea markets at Concord remind me a lot of a Sunday market at Gepps X in Adelaide, except they're a mix of farmers market as well, and the default language is Vietnamese or Mandarin, instead of Spanish. Thanks.

[@oxtoolco]

He Stephen, There is another section with the farm and produce guys as well as the Vietnamese bakery joint. Its really a multicultural experience going there. Cheers, Tom

[@raycurren3639]

I can't believe you didn't buy that giant pipe wrench and flaunt it to abom Adam. He would have gone nuts!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Ray, I have to admit I thought about it. Did you notice it was bent? Honestly I didn't feel like carrying it. I know, pretty weak. Cheers, Tom

[@EnergyFabricator]

26:15 - great sound effects :) Damn digital thermostats! & now I need something to wash down my meatloaf...

[@oxtoolco]

Hi E, How about some brass turnings from cutting metric threads? I have the ID tap now. Freaky little bugger. It will get totally labeled and segregated from the rest of my 1/8 pipe taps. That's a cock up waiting to happen. I managed a handful of Mr Faraday's junk from the bin. They may or may not be charged when you see them..... All the best, Tom

[@EnergyFabricator]

oxtoolco Sounds good to me - I'll leave it in your capable hands. Yes, I have tapped a few 1/8 BSPT holes in my time. All the small diameter quick-connect air fittings (for up to 8mm hose) use this thread as a standard, along with 1/4 BSPT, so they are handy taps to have when dealing with these fittings. Ahhh...awesome...charged I hope! You're a good man Tom :) Don't forget to put your name on the fitting when it's finished!

[@johnmacdonald6201]

Tom, Great video as always, some good stuff in there, I wouldn't mind taking a spin around your weekend market, that looks pretty good, lots of stuff there that could be of interest, the temp story was good, as we all know one just has to think outside the square to be ahead of the game, one thing that I have noted which is on your whiteboard is a comment written there about railroad thermite welding, and this subject does interest me as I have always wondered having seen this process done on various you tube videos, is that once the rails are welded using this thermite process, is how do they allow for expansion and contraction, as the whole length of the rail effectively becomes one piece, without any joints the rails would buckle, one would think, I would be interested if you have any thoughts on this aspect of it, regards John MD

[@oxtoolco]

Hi John, I will get to the story pretty soon. I did a seminar once where I used the expansion of railroad track over a mile from daytime to nighttime temperature. Quite a bit of length change to deal with. Cheers, Tom

[@prototype3a]

Gotta love a bourdon tube gage.

[@tom7601]

Looking at the stuff at the fleamarket, you probably need asbestos gloves to even touch most of it... :>)) Tom - Vista, CA

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Tom, Judging from all the various bright paint colors you see on tools I would have to agree. Cheers, Tom

[@ericcorse]

The guts to the pressure gauge look like they were a high dollar item. That turned out as a neat display. There were a slew of wrenches, were they mixed COO or older US stuff? Can't believe you didn't get that massive pipe wrench.

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Eric, Lots of wrenches. Lots of scrap steel. Did you notice the pipe wrench was bent? Some giants were using that one. Cheers, Tom

[@itzik4x6zh]

Cutting a straight line I use two wheels Installed on each side of the cutting head It gives stability Interesting visit to the market Maybe you can focus on the tools The market really similar to what here in Israel Of course much larger I was impressed that you have a lot of junk And dominant language is Spanish Great for your movies You have also watched in the Holy Land

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Itzik, Thanks for the comment. I have seen the dual wheel models. I like to see the line and the kerf of the cut while cutting. Both work well. All the best, Tom

[@JohnBare747]

At a place I worked we had a couple of employees doing the thermostat two step so having had enough of that we simply intercepted the leads as they happened to go through the office overlooking the production floor and put in a thermostat in the office and the one on the floor that they were playing tag with was rendered just a decoration So unbeknown to the two self appointed monitors for some reason they seemed to settle on a nonfunctional setting ending the longstanding temperature dispute.. Go Figure!

[@oxtoolco]

Hey John, Bringing peace to an otherwise escalating situation. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Tom

[@tombellus8986]

I saw you checking out all the hammers, you do have an itch for hammers don't you. Nice video, thanks for sharing your world.

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Tom, You got that right. But they have to be just right. My standards are getting stricter now that I have run out of room in my hammer rack. Cheers, Tom

[@tombellus8986]

) I saw your collegtion and you have a lot of them that are alright in my book also

[@Buckrun11]

We don't have any good flee markets around here that I know of. I save all year for the RT-127 sale. It starts in MI and goes all the way to the Gulf I think. I have never made it out of Ohio but I try hard to cove as much as my wife can stand. lol

[@bcbloc02]

The 127 yard sale doesn't run to far from me here in KY. Man that is a crazy event!

[@oxtoolco]

Wow a flea market that runs hundreds of miles. I just got a little dizzy thinking about it. You need a trailer to haul your booty back. Cheers, Tom

[@Buckrun11]

I have already put in for the Thrusday and Friday for the sale off at work. I have done that for the last couple years. Only happens once a year though.

[@vilsiran]

Hey Tom Just found your channel thru abom79. would like to add my two cents worth about the valve spring. years ago when we first started using roller cams we would shim the valve (head side) to keep the lifter on the cam. We would use different shim thickness to get the lifter to fallow the cam profile..090 Th in our case. We had 327 cid engines turning 11000 RPM.Ok to the point ,you may have to shim your valves to get the same pressure. Keep up the great work Evil

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Evil, Thanks for the comment. These big fat springs will be running much slower for my job. Cheers, Tom

[@caskwith]

I am so jealous of your flea market/car boot. I never find any like that around me :(

[@bcassel12000]

Is the Concord Flea Market your "preferred" site? I'm up in Woodland and the closest to me is Roseville, but it is not all that hot for tools and such. I'm up for a Goldwing ride to other sites on a Saturday or Sunday if I could find some that are more interesting. Thanx! and really enjoy your channel. Bob C, Woodland, CA

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Bob, Yes the Concord flea is the one I go to all the time. Make a good ride down 84 past Rio Vista to 160 on the bike. Can't haul too much back that way. Go on Sunday if you go. Saturday is a waste of time in my opinion. Cheers, Tom

[@andymandyandsheba4571]

we used to use flat bar cut to different lengths with a spike on one end and a hole in the other end for the nozzle for cutting holes

[@tom7601]

A fellow named George used to go into the blacksmith shop and just snoop around. Nothing mean or anything like that, he was just curious and had lots of free time. One day, the blacksmith had been making horseshoes and had one sitting on the anvil. The shoe had cooled down below the color stage, but was still pretty hot. Old Curious George walked over and picked up the shoe, which he immediately dropped. The smithhy, said, "Pretty hot ain't it?" George replied, "Naw, it just don't take me very long to look at a horseshoe." Tom - Vista, CA

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Tom, I got a chuckle out of that one. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Tom

[@WAVETUBE84]

A ha ha: the thermostat story!! It's even worse when you have multiple "zones" on independent A/C units (like at a office building, etc.), multiple floors, stairwells or doors that are blocked open. Them office rats get into thermostat-wars! I remember something about 700+ PSI for racing valve springs. I forget if that was compressed or at lift minus .010". Some of those high RPM valve springs, with multiple coils, are of different spring rates or physical coil wind dimensions....to reduce harmonics? When those rascals are going up and down a few thousand times a second...they start acting funny. I forget. I can't wait to see the gizmo that will be use them. The milling machine chip flap saga (Shadon HKW) continues...cracked me up!

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Joe, The big mill flap caper is coming soon. I think I shamed Stan into a new one but Adam is still dragging his feet. cheers, Tom

[@rubbersideup]

was there on Sunday all we got was the basket of tennis balls at 36:34.. parking is a booger though

[@oxtoolco]

Uh oh. Looks like I'm going to need a disguise pretty soon. We park under the freeway overpass to the west. Cheers, Tom

[@Bookerb2004]

Ahh Spanish, love the language, what a jackpot o tools Tom

[@kg2nc]

That's a good idea to cut circles. You know how you can use that too. You can have different size circles and you put the rod in the circle and trace the circle all around and you made a circle with the torch. You know what I mean. It's hard for me to explain.

[@11zekim]

Rigged thermostat brings to mind a WWII story. Manhattan project hired dozens of housewives to keep uranium centrifuges optimized using variac knobs, with an analog meter showing how they were doing. It was tricky and frustrating, due to a delay between adjusting the knob and seeing the result on the meter needle. Suddenly, production mysteriously fell off in one section; soon the disease spread through the whole plant. Investigators eventually found that one woman had discovered the little calibration screw on the meter face worked much better than the variac. She told two buddies, and...

[@oxtoolco]

I heard a similar story about these woman. They could extract more Uranuim ions than the machine designers thought was possible. When ever the physicists came down and adjusted the machine production fell off. Cheers, Tom

[@76Xram]

The reason for the extra springs is not so much for extra tension (shutting valves) it's because at certain rpm a single spring will resonate causing valve bounce the extra spring or springs will resonate at a different rpm thus canceling each other out.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Ram, Thanks for the explanation. I took out the inner springs and just the outer is enough for my repurposing job. Cheers, Tom

[@2007markb]

Tom if you need springs, boy have i got some for you. I found a rather large box at work and theyll be trashed soon if no one wants them., ill email some pics to you tomorrow Mark

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Mark, The first Tom-O-Meter was made with huge coil springs. We called it the agrometer because it was so crude. Used some big honking coil springs as the load. Cheers, Tom

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Another great video as usual. Your lucky I don't live next door or I would be over to give you a little tease on the sound effects. I think it was sort of Pisssshhh for the torch? I cant help it the devil made me say it. Enjoyed seeing your hand made tools. I make them now and then myself but mostly back then. One of my better tools was a puller to get ball bearings out of a dead end hole. Keep up the good work and don't let Adam go to a better flea market than you.

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Cerberus, It was a weak flea market this last time. Its okay I made up for it in the last couple of weeks. Thanks for the comment and viewership. Cheers, Tom

[@douro20]

Safety Nazis in the big retailers have everyone using these special knives which you have to hold a certain way to use, slow you down in some instances and take very expensive custom blades.

[@gigabytex64]

Next to your white board is the ply sheet with a couple of items but next to it looks like a Chart from Sterrett am I right because from what I can see looks like one of the ones I have got coming. .

[@oxtoolco]

Yep You have it right. Its actually the metric side of the chart showing the metric threads and tap drills. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@BgEsy123]

Tianguis en Mexico!

[@bubster1981]

springs are counter wound too eliminate natural bad things that can actually over come the pre load and hold the valve off the seat at high rpm

[@63256325N]

That was one hell of a pipe wrench there at the flea market. Are those drive-ins active?

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Duncan, The scary part is the wrench was bent! Yes the flea markets are still active. One of the few remaining ones around. Cheers, Tom

[@Vickwick58]

I was expecting to hear that the wife had earlier tweaked the thermostat in the other direction.

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Victor, That would make a really good story. There are a couple of good ones in the comments. Seems like this is a common problem on the home front. Cheers, Tom

[@Steve_Just_Steve]

Sure do wish we had similar flea markets around here with all those tools you come up with. All I ever see is crap. When I do see tools their usually overpriced vintage tools.

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Steve, These flea markets are pretty good. I have found many many goodies at the one closest to me. Been going there for over thirty years. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom

[@bradley3549]

Tom, I've been holding off on harassing you on the whiteboard. Thanks for coming through for me on at least one topic.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Bradley, Now there is plenty of room to add more that will drive you nuts. Stay tuned. Cheers, Tom

[@joefalmo5528]

tom I have to thank you I got one of the Milwaukee cordless ratchets, very handy around a mill, I have always put off removing vise jaws it seemed a pain, now it's very easy also I think I've been over tighting them years. ps just got a new kurt 688.. Purdy..the old one looks so bad now.heres something new to me the old vise would not stayed tramed, I would tighten it down, tap it with a soft face hammer, and it would move a few thousands. I know don't tap it with the hammer. I would put a piece paper between the two and that helped?? maybe I need to send it stan or os screwball and have it surfaced? help!

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Joe, Its hard to find these Skil cordless ratchets. The Milwaukee's are nice as well. Sounds like the bottom of your vise has a hump in it. Its pivoting on a single point for some reason. If you have a surface plate you may be able to map where it is. Cheers, Tom

[@joefalmo5528]

yes there is high spot looks like a half moon maybe from being overtightened a lot?? thank you tom

[@12345NoNamesLeft]

36:14 There's a meat mallet hammer, have you got one of those ?

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Nonames, I have a powered version of one of those. Only for discriminating meat pounders..... Cheers, Tom

[@pierresgarage2687]

Hi Tom, Those flea markets, where the latinos are kings. Lot's of goodies, good thing I'm not close because I'd probably be worse than you when it comes to tools. About the circle cutting guide, there is one made by Hypertherm for their torches that could easy be adapted for Oxy cutting, even inspire someone to fabricate one. The nice thing about this one is that you don't have to whirl the hoses around, the holder is mobile around the tip. For what it's good here is a link that shows how it is used. www.davidharriesstore.co.uk/HYP.027668/ Cheers, Pierre

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Pierre, I have used this type for cutting torches. They didn't have wheels out at the tip end however. Thanks for the link. Cheers, Tom

[@pierresgarage2687]

Hi Tom, I personally own one of those kit on a Hypertherm 1000 and it works pretty good, never tried it on a Oxy torch. Pierre

[@ziggyr1]

hi tom i like your tomometer and i think it would be cool if you changed the pronunciation from tom-o-meter to tom-om-eter (rymes with thermometer.) o k so i need a life.but i still love the videos.

[@oxtoolco]

Hi Ziggy, The first version of the tomometer was called the agrometer. Agro-meter. It was pretty rough looking and weighed about a hundred pounds. This one is way more elegant. Cheers, Tom

[@MyShopNotes]

Tom, you suck! It's not fair that you have access to all these flea market deals, I'm looking for exactly those types of flea markets here in canada/toronto area and they just don't exist. Maybe I need to move to CA. Thanks for the vids, I always look forward to Monday when you give us some meatloaf to chew on.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey Steve, You guys have health care. We have flea markets and McMaster Carr. Sorry bud. Cheers, Tom

[@MyShopNotes]

LOL, I'll take the flea markets and McMaster Carr over health care any day. Oh, you guys have less tax than us too, maybe that's how we can provide the 'free' healthcare.

[@aserta]

So, if we are oxen, what kind of oxen are we? Ask your friend to give you the engine washer. The spring doesn't work properly without those. Also you'd probably need two that are identical (the top ones would probably work best), because you're using this differently so each side of the compound spring needs a washer. Something like this "ht tp : // w w w . jabiruworkshop . com / wp-content/uploads/2013/04/valve-spring-washer.jpg" (sorry for the split link but youtube sends these comments directly to spam and i've lost quite a few messages like this) Good music selection. I'm kind of a butt for this, but on the same topic, i bought a thermostat that has that wheel that you can remove and set the top end and bottom end of the range. I installed it and the opposite party had to give up. I know. I know. I'm a butt, but i never got roasted in my room whilst working on 100 by 70 cm papers, dripping like a hog over them, after that. Was that an actual wrench, the orange one in the flea market, or a sign one? Kinda...flimsy, the flea market this time. The ones i usually go to are all packed in tight places with piles of stuff. Difference between Europe and US i guess :). Man, i've come to enjoy your shows more than i once did, enjoy, the Discovery channel documentaries, way back when, when they actually did documentaries and you know, cared to teach a thing or two. Now it's all pink panties and full faced sunglasses. My childhood...it weeps in sorrow.

[@oxtoolco]

Hey aserta, The wrench was real. Did you notice it was bent? I will most likely only use the outer spring of the three. I only need to balance a load of ~700 lbs between two springs. Glad you like the show. Cheers Tom

[@aserta]

oxtoolco Hey, Mr Tom, So damn huge. Probably one of the most out of norm tools i've ever seen.( From the same family as a Starrett micrometer that was as taller than the man that wielded it.) How many guys would be required to even use that thing...i'm already picturing those older Greek or Roman themed movies where there's 5 guys pushing on a lever. And yeah, if you're only using a spring then a normal washer to protect the surface you're resting the spring will do perfectly. I did some quick fact checking and the engine is a beefy monster. I'm glad you're taking your time to make it. So big thanks for that! Cheers, Andrew.