Set valve adjusting disc with a lathe

[Diesel Dean]

My wifes grandpa is 91 and has lost his eye sight. He had a nice bench top lathe with a ton of tooling he gave me when he lost his eye sight. He is a great old guy I try to remember everything he has to say about working on a lathe or other things he has worked on. He has a lot of knowledge.
Well I am working on a 1.6 head I bought new valves from Jack and hand laped them into the seats. You need a surface grinder to cut the adjusting disc to the thickness for the right valve clearence. I had a Idea to use the lathe and it worked great. I took a lifter bucket and drilled a hole in the center and chucked it up in the lathe. The hole is to knock the disc out. I made the measurment to find out how much I had to take off. I put a piece of paper under the lifter disc and taped it into the lifer bucket. That keep it tight enough to use the lathe to cut it down to size. I had to use a carbide tool to make the cut. Has anybody else tried this? It works great.
Dean

[tylernt]

Very clever. You can buy a set of adjusting disks but assuming your clearances are too tight (as after lapping) then it sounds like a great way to save a few bucks... assuming you write the new thickness on the back to avoid confusing yourself next time.

Wish I had access to some fun toys like a metal lathe.

[Asymtave]

I'll be curious to know how this turns out long term. What kind of surface finish were you able to get on the adjusting shim? I would be concerned that if it weren't baby bottom smooth that there would be some cam lobe wear.

Also - I bet that these shims are case hardened (hardened on the outside for only a thin layer.) So if the case hardening is removed the shim might wear fast.

Not to rain on your parade. Just thinking out loud. Chances are you'll have no real problems.

If you pull the valve cover for something 1,000 or 5,000 miles down the road please post an update.

[Diesel Dean]

It made a nice smooth finish I put the side that I cut on the bottom so cam would ride on the hardened factory finish. I also checked to make sure the disc was even thickness from side to side. I will up date how the tolerences hold up.
Thanks Dean