I watch a lot of motor shows Davin, and that is the first time I have ever seen the balancing process explained and demonstrated properly, thank you old son.
I worked in an automotive machine shop while in college for...automotive technology. Balancing rotating assemblies was my favorite part. The owner was not only a patient teacher but a fabulous machinist. R.I.P Billy Newton Whitfield, 1937-2021
I'm sure in the moment you guys were less than thrilled about the crank, but your machinist is correct, this did make for a good video. Really enjoyed this one.
That is a lot of work to put into a cast nodular iron crank. I get why. But it brings memory's!!! Back in the day I had a 440 crank balanced, hard chromed and grooved and it still broke. I bought a off the shelf crank kit and slap in it and as far as I know its still running!!!
Great video, you are absolutely right about the labor shortage in these types of fields. Young guys just don't seem interested in going into machining anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a young guy balancing that crank for you!!
@@michaeldavis3430 Same with aircraft maintance. I love working on airplanes but no one locally is willing to pay a wage that'll cover food and housing. Oh well.
I don't know about anywhere else, but here in NC machine shops cry and scream about having to pay 11 or 12 bucks an hour. I have my own machine tools but it's not worth turning them on.. I make more mowing grass.
Just to add to the conversation here, I've been working with a machinist here in Washington state after going through 2 other shops that closed due to retirement. This new shop's owner is a spring chicken in his mid-forties!! But with that said his shop is completely booked for months, and just added a fourth machinist. He has to be making a ton of money, since his prices are well above average and has this big backlog of work. Most of the work he does is performance LS stuff, but occasionally will work on SBC/BBC for old farts like me :)
@@danosburn80 I can make $150-$250 per day working at home vs $100 per day doing aircraft mnt in town. That is net $ after fuel, lunch, and taxes are accounted for. No reason to drive 45 minutes each way and spend 10.5 hrs away from home for slightly above minimum wage when everything is accounted for.
@@scottdoubleyou563 I don't know man... I weld alot and spatter seems to stick to everything. I even worry about lint from my cloth on bearing surfaces. I'm sure they will clean it well. He does an awesome job. But I just can't get past it... 😳
The least he could have done was spray it with antisplatter spray or covered it with a welding blanket. Fix one thing and damage something else. Any shop I worked in they would be fired. Their motto must be - we do it nice because we do it twice.
Cool process. Of course I've always known what "balanced and blueprinted" meant, but I've never seen a dynamic balancing of a crankshaft before. Pretty sweet! This puppy's gonna be smoooth...✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
"Balanced and blueprinted" We just saw the "balanced" part. "Blueprinted" referes to the process where the block and head(s) are machined as close to perfect compared to the original (or modified) engine Blueprint. This may include: bore size, bore spacing, deck height as well as the deck being perpendicular to the crankshaft journals.
Very entertaining. I bought a crate motor that was 640 grams off on total bob weight, 80 grams per piston/rod. It snapped the cast crank in half within the first 500 miles of install. I no longer trust that nationally known engine builder and when local. Glad I did. He's a one man shop that took a lot more care with it. I also went with a forged crank instead of a cast one. I consider myself lucky because past the crank only 1 piston needed to be replaced. Usually with a crank braking it wipes out the whole block, but didn't. It's been 4 yrs since the new crank, it's perfect!
At one time I balanced transmission parts in Caterpillar auto shift transmissions. There's a real art to doing it quickly and efficiently and since all the trans were dyno tested a small out of balance even in a huge tractor trans would show up as a vibration.
Very cool video. I already knew about piston and rod balancing, but never saw the procedure for balancing a crankshaft. Now I know. Keep up the great work.
@@ellieprice363 the motion of a straight six creates theoretical balance, but you still need to have your pistons and rods equal weight for optimal balance.
“Externally” balancing, as you’ve put it, doesnt correct the imbalance where it occurs, so your local stresses would still exist… despite the whole assembly being balanced. In other words, you may still have issues related to a large, local imbalance such as localized fatigue cracks, excesssive babbitt wear, to name just a few. A well-balanced rotating assembly ALWAYS helps a machine run better!
@Jerry Whalen in a external balance... those issues (difference within the crank itself) can not be resolved... it's why internal balance is better... external balance is an acceptable compromise of NOT being spot on excat
Proper (dynamic) balancing is such an important part of engine building that is overlooked by so many tuners. Heck, even Caterham and Lotus messed that up with the Rover K-Series. Just balancing a dime a dozen V8 can free up an easy 10 HP by reducing internal friction. Plus the engine will run smoother, more reliable and has more tuning potential.
A note about engine shops-the local shops that serve our local circle-track are desperately looking for help. They're hard pressed to help the "regulars," never mind taking on new clients!
I can't find a good machine shop where I live now and it sucks! I need someone I can trust to do the work properly! I really do need to move back to Edmonton.
6:18 Those spindle speed buttons must be for military trained technicians. Back in the day, the military found pictures (cartoons) trained soldiers faster than words. Nice.
I've never actually seen the crank being balanced before. On the other hand, and not to brag but, I have instantaneously unbalanced, while simultaneously and rapidly disassembled a small block Chevy before. It went _BOOM!!_ . . . and then went silent. Not my proudest moment.
Hypereutectic pistons are a LOT lighter than the steel reinforced cast pistons. I have never had to put mallory in a Chev crank. And I have done 3" 3 1/4 and 3.48/ 3.5" engines
How do they determine the weight to be added? Once you drill out the hole you remove weight. How do you know how many grams you are removing when making room for that tungsten slug?
It's the volume of a cylinder times the density of the material. A 1" diameter hole in a 1" thick lobe would be 3.14159 cubic inches. Cast iron is 425lbs to 487lbs per cubic foot. 3.14159 cubic inches is 0.001818049769 cubic feet, so assuming 456lbs as a median, that's about 0.829 pounds. Converting to grams, that's about 376 grams (or 350 grams on the lower end to 401 grams on the high end). There's a way to work backwards from knowing how much weight you need to the hole size, but that's too much for a Monday morning (even if it is Memorial Day) :)
Hmmmm.... On VW Aircooled engines, we only balance the crankshaft internally without any bob weights around. I'm wondering if we're not missing something here...
Davin, would it have been possible to get this crank into balance by completely welding up the original counterweight factory drillings at each end? I could not tell from the video how much of the factory counterweight drillings got filled by welding. Could you have lightened the pistons somewhat by material removal on the underside of the piston top? Just curious what your options were. Great videos showing the practical aspects of engine building.
Why do you go thru all that trouble???? A good answer is "Because MY name is on that engine!" That simple! Good job Sir, now break is over, I'm going into my garage to work on my project.
interesting, would have like to have seen more. do the Bob weights have rod bearings, do they have to point in a certain direction ? is that a stock crank ?
so if the rods were 14gs out from each other from the factory and the motor ran forever like that in stock forum how much better will it be? (i mean for a stock engine that won't see high rpm) because my understanding many factory motors are not well balanced from the factory
14'ish grams is well within the factory spec balance job. It would not have any notable vibration at that. It depends how hi rpm you turn it.. and how picky excating you wanna be at that point
*DAVIN!* I've apparently lost track of the "Snowball" '37 race car with the *440* engine (last seen on #94). What happened to that project?? - Ed on the Ridge
Do you normally having guarding over the crankshaft while rotating? Seems like a safety concern, I know it's not very fast, but with all the weights, you have plenty of chances for something to fly off. I do think it's appropriate for filming to without it, just curious. Awesome video!
Is the process where you are grinding the piston rings for the ringgap going to have a big influence to the weight of the piston assembly and therefore also the balancing?
Hi Davin, nice information. I got a couple questions: I could see the ‘bob’ weights were spread in 90 degrees from one another. What is the rule for that? And, how would it be for an in-line six Chevy 235? Thanks a lot! Felipe.
Cross plane V8 cranks need bob weights, but inline sixes don't. You just put an inline 6 crank on the balancer with no weights, measure, and then balance.
Davin chewing his nails as the crank spins is priceless. Like a Dad waiting for his newborn ... :o)
Kind of grossed me out! 🤮
I watch a lot of motor shows Davin, and that is the first time I have ever seen the balancing process explained and demonstrated properly, thank you old son.
JB you're exactly right. When you're doing it it feels a bit like witchcraft...
I worked in an automotive machine shop while in college for...automotive technology. Balancing rotating assemblies was my favorite part. The owner was not only a patient teacher but a fabulous machinist.
R.I.P Billy Newton Whitfield, 1937-2021
Amazing how much effort one can put into something they love. All those tiny details needed to get it perfect. Amazing work guys
that is my son, best engine builder around. He knows his stuff
I'm sure in the moment you guys were less than thrilled about the crank, but your machinist is correct, this did make for a good video. Really enjoyed this one.
Wow , I never realized how much work was involved in balancing.
The closed captions during the welding read “applause”, and I love it
Couldn't imagine how smooth this engine would feel like. Must be butter
Impressive skills, a pleasure to watch as always ! and filming quality is gorgeous
That is a lot of work to put into a cast nodular iron crank. I get why. But it brings memory's!!! Back in the day I had a 440 crank balanced, hard chromed and grooved and it still broke. I bought a off the shelf crank kit and slap in it and as far as I know its still running!!!
The welding sparks going all over the bearing surfaces :)
Those small block 400s were the most under rated motors Chevrolet ever built, also the lights being blown out of the ceiling very cool
Great video, you are absolutely right about the labor shortage in these types of fields. Young guys just don't seem interested in going into machining anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a young guy balancing that crank for you!!
Long hours, low pay, abusive to your body... Yeah, sounds like a great career.
@@michaeldavis3430 Same with aircraft maintance. I love working on airplanes but no one locally is willing to pay a wage that'll cover food and housing. Oh well.
I don't know about anywhere else, but here in NC machine shops cry and scream about having to pay 11 or 12 bucks an hour. I have my own machine tools but it's not worth turning them on.. I make more mowing grass.
Just to add to the conversation here, I've been working with a machinist here in Washington state after going through 2 other shops that closed due to retirement. This new shop's owner is a spring chicken in his mid-forties!! But with that said his shop is completely booked for months, and just added a fourth machinist. He has to be making a ton of money, since his prices are well above average and has this big backlog of work. Most of the work he does is performance LS stuff, but occasionally will work on SBC/BBC for old farts like me :)
@@danosburn80 I can make $150-$250 per day working at home vs $100 per day doing aircraft mnt in town. That is net $ after fuel, lunch, and taxes are accounted for. No reason to drive 45 minutes each way and spend 10.5 hrs away from home for slightly above minimum wage when everything is accounted for.
as a welder i was cringing at him plug welding the crank with exposed crank journals ,but the end result is awesome
A part of me died inside watching him weld the plugs with out coverimg the rest of the crank...
Honestly it's a valid concern, but you'd be suprised how a clean and polished bearing surface will not allow welding spatter to stick.
@@scottdoubleyou563 I don't know man... I weld alot and spatter seems to stick to everything. I even worry about lint from my cloth on bearing surfaces. I'm sure they will clean it well. He does an awesome job. But I just can't get past it... 😳
@@scottdoubleyou563 Weld will stick to any steel.
Totally AGREE!!!... I was like... "OH-MY-GOSH! 😳😲
The least he could have done was spray it with antisplatter spray or covered it with a welding blanket.
Fix one thing and damage something else.
Any shop I worked in they would be fired.
Their motto must be - we do it nice because we do it twice.
Cool process. Of course I've always known what "balanced and blueprinted" meant, but I've never seen a dynamic balancing of a crankshaft before. Pretty sweet! This puppy's gonna be smoooth...✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
"Balanced and blueprinted"
We just saw the "balanced" part. "Blueprinted" referes to the process where the block and head(s) are machined as close to perfect compared to the original (or modified) engine Blueprint. This may include: bore size, bore spacing, deck height as well as the deck being perpendicular to the crankshaft journals.
Yup.
I said I know what they mean, but thanks!
@@scottimusgarrett15 sorry partner...
@@williamwright6978,For those of you who don’t know what blueprinting means, William has just given us a good explanation!
Awesome video.!! I love watching Davin in his natural habitat.
Thanks for showing what I've wondered about. The detail and difference between internal and external balance. These videos are a learning experience.
The mix pic with Hetfield is badass. 😄
That's a great employee. Cool to see a younger guy take his job series and trade
Great video! Been building for years, never understood why they needed the crank to balance everything!
Very entertaining. I bought a crate motor that was 640 grams off on total bob weight, 80 grams per piston/rod. It snapped the cast crank in half within the first 500 miles of install. I no longer trust that nationally known engine builder and when local. Glad I did. He's a one man shop that took a lot more care with it. I also went with a forged crank instead of a cast one. I consider myself lucky because past the crank only 1 piston needed to be replaced. Usually with a crank braking it wipes out the whole block, but didn't. It's been 4 yrs since the new crank, it's perfect!
At one time I balanced transmission parts in Caterpillar auto shift transmissions. There's a real art to doing it quickly and efficiently and since all the trans were dyno tested a small out of balance even in a huge tractor trans would show up as a vibration.
Yea heavy metal 🎸 y motores súper cool 😎
Awesome work Jon from APEX!!!
Very cool video. I already knew about piston and rod balancing, but never saw the procedure for balancing a crankshaft. Now I know. Keep up the great work.
Bob weights and harmonic balancers are only used on V8 engines. The straight six is a naturally balanced design.
@@ellieprice363 the motion of a straight six creates theoretical balance, but you still need to have your pistons and rods equal weight for optimal balance.
@@TML34 Yes that’s very true. I decided not to include that important blueprinting operation.
It's all about the Details.!!! Great video
The precision and amount of effort that goes into these videos are truely astonishing and uner appreciated. Thats why i will stay subbed forever
Welding with all them naked journals laying around!!! Omy my!
“Externally” balancing, as you’ve put it, doesnt correct the imbalance where it occurs, so your local stresses would still exist… despite the whole assembly being balanced. In other words, you may still have issues related to a large, local imbalance such as localized fatigue cracks, excesssive babbitt wear, to name just a few.
A well-balanced rotating assembly ALWAYS helps a machine run better!
So how do you correct those problems
@Jerry Whalen in a external balance... those issues (difference within the crank itself) can not be resolved... it's why internal balance is better... external balance is an acceptable compromise of NOT being spot on excat
Excellent. First time that I've seen this done.
That look of an expectant father, the first time they spun up the crankshaft.
Always learning something on this channel, appreciate all the detail and knowledge!
Love the background music on this vid. Pure class.
Don’t do Whatsapp
Man this motor should run super smooth!!!
Proper (dynamic) balancing is such an important part of engine building that is overlooked by so many tuners. Heck, even Caterham and Lotus messed that up with the Rover K-Series. Just balancing a dime a dozen V8 can free up an easy 10 HP by reducing internal friction. Plus the engine will run smoother, more reliable and has more tuning potential.
KEEP CALM AND BALANCE THE CRANKSHAFT
Davin Hetfield 🤘
serious wizardry been done here.
Very informative, thank you for so many good videos.
Davin's head on James Hetfield's body works much better than I would've expected lol
Nice Muzak. feel like im at a nice supper club with my wife!!
good to get everything right but really? mig welding and not having something to protect the journals from spatter?
Learned a lot!
A note about engine shops-the local shops that serve our local circle-track are desperately looking for help. They're hard pressed to help the "regulars," never mind taking on new clients!
Great video BTW and it does make a difference!
Of all the channels I watch with engine repair and will it run I have never seen this done before.
I love this piano jazz. Use this more.
I can't find a good machine shop where I live now and it sucks! I need someone I can trust to do the work properly! I really do need to move back to Edmonton.
6:18 Those spindle speed buttons must be for military trained technicians. Back in the day, the military found pictures (cartoons) trained soldiers faster than words. Nice.
I never knew that a crankshaft could be welded on, I figured the localized heat from the weld would somehow denature and weaken the overall unit.
very interesting to watch this.
Can't wait to hear that baby purrrrrr !!
Are we not concerned about weld splatter landing on the bearing surface?
They should
I've never actually seen the crank being balanced before. On the other hand, and not to brag but, I have instantaneously unbalanced, while simultaneously and rapidly disassembled a small block Chevy before. It went _BOOM!!_ . . . and then went silent. Not my proudest moment.
I like this video. Thanks.
Welding spatter flying all over those bearing surfaces..
Maybe next time protect the crankshaft from the welding slag with a simple welding blanket.........
Dat Elevator music on Quaalude's tho
Hypereutectic pistons are a LOT lighter than the steel reinforced cast pistons.
I have never had to put mallory in a Chev crank. And I have done 3" 3 1/4 and 3.48/ 3.5" engines
Good stuff 👍.
So, this should handle a 6-71 blower and turn tires into smoke soon, right?😁
How do they determine the weight to be added? Once you drill out the hole you remove weight. How do you know how many grams you are removing when making room for that tungsten slug?
It's the volume of a cylinder times the density of the material. A 1" diameter hole in a 1" thick lobe would be 3.14159 cubic inches. Cast iron is 425lbs to 487lbs per cubic foot. 3.14159 cubic inches is 0.001818049769 cubic feet, so assuming 456lbs as a median, that's about 0.829 pounds. Converting to grams, that's about 376 grams (or 350 grams on the lower end to 401 grams on the high end). There's a way to work backwards from knowing how much weight you need to the hole size, but that's too much for a Monday morning (even if it is Memorial Day) :)
@@JCWren 🤯🤯😵😵 my head hurts from to much math. And it's a Monday at that.😆
@@JCWren Thanks for the lesson in Syrian Aramaic. I'm gonna go take 2 motrin for the migraine I have now.
🤣🤣🤣
@@JCWren or you just weight the material you removed, smart guy.
That’s awesome
This is God's work. These men are heroes. Definitely going to Heaven someday. Bravo!!!
Why not grind on the piston skirts to lighten them up ?
Davin needs to get some sleep your looking wore out man !!! Thanks for all you Do
Hmmmm.... On VW Aircooled engines, we only balance the crankshaft internally without any bob weights around. I'm wondering if we're not missing something here...
Very good 🔥🔥🔥
If you have a motor apart for a build then always balance it no matter what the power level it will balance in longevity
Davin, would it have been possible to get this crank into balance by completely welding up the original counterweight factory drillings at each end? I could not tell from the video how much of the factory counterweight drillings got filled by welding. Could you have lightened the pistons somewhat by material removal on the underside of the piston top? Just curious what your options were. Great videos showing the practical aspects of engine building.
The drillings aren't at the same angle as where the weight is needed.
@@eneapasquali2941 Good point, I did not consider the angles required for the added weights. Thx
Son los mejores 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Why do you go thru all that trouble????
A good answer is
"Because MY name is on that engine!"
That simple!
Good job Sir, now break is over, I'm going into my garage to work on my project.
Some new cars get a signed engine. AMG Mercedes and Nismo edition Nissans do.
What about Mallory for added weight ?
If this is “heavy metal” I can’t wait to see what will be defined as “industrial harsh noise”
interesting, would have like to have seen more. do the Bob weights have rod bearings, do they have to point in a certain direction ? is that a stock crank ?
I'm a mechanic. I love building engines. Would be awesome to work for the Perfit outfit.
After all this skill and attention to detail...will we still get 180° out? It's a staple now I think.
What did it cost $$$ to do this procedure?
Where I live a typical balance job is about $200. Alittle more if they have to add heavy metal.
so if the rods were 14gs out from each other from the factory and the motor ran forever like that in stock forum how much better will it be? (i mean for a stock engine that won't see high rpm) because my understanding many factory motors are not well balanced from the factory
14'ish grams is well within the factory spec balance job. It would not have any notable vibration at that. It depends how hi rpm you turn it.. and how picky excating you wanna be at that point
why would you not cover the journals when you weld on the crank..
*DAVIN!*
I've apparently lost track of the "Snowball" '37 race car with the *440* engine (last seen on #94).
What happened to that project??
- Ed on the Ridge
They are still waiting for parts, per Davin.
@@markbremmer8642 Thank you sir.
Why did he weld the crank without protecting the throws.
Do you normally having guarding over the crankshaft while rotating? Seems like a safety concern, I know it's not very fast, but with all the weights, you have plenty of chances for something to fly off. I do think it's appropriate for filming to without it, just curious. Awesome video!
Nah, just stand out of the way. It's only 500-600 rpm and you don't want to be there since it flings oil off anyways and makes a mess.
professional
Do the bob-weights have to be phased in line with each crank throw?
Generally yes... it makes for a more precise job
Loved the content, but not the 50's piano lounge music.
I would not have been welding on that crankshaft with the journals exposed
I have a question. Whatever happened to the Chrysler 440 motor?
When he made that huge hole . To add a weight . Supposed to compensate what he drilled out
He drilled cast iron to install mallory,..
Pretty self explanatory why that would work....
How much does a normal balance like that cost?
Is the process where you are grinding the piston rings for the ringgap going to have a big influence to the weight of the piston assembly and therefore also the balancing?
No
How much is a balancing job like this?
Какой уровень молодец !
How much it cost to to this done?
Hi Davin, nice information. I got a couple questions:
I could see the ‘bob’ weights were spread in 90 degrees from one another. What is the rule for that?
And, how would it be for an in-line six Chevy 235?
Thanks a lot!
Felipe.
Cross plane V8 cranks need bob weights, but inline sixes don't. You just put an inline 6 crank on the balancer with no weights, measure, and then balance.
I would think welding on the crank would heat it up and warp it
How much weight could you have eliminated by working the small ends of the connecting rods and lightening the pistons?
Theres not enough meat on those pistons to make them them that much lighter/light enough. Modifying the crank was the only viable option.
I missed the part where choosing heavier pistons was deemed good for a build
Блин, до сих пор не пойму что у шатунов внутри меряют, если овальность то у нас ручные приборы