Originally Posted by
chunk t
PIPE CUTTER!!!!! Man, you know how to hurt a guy.
To Ring a piston you need to chuck the piston in a lathe and use a sharp carbide cutter. Cut the groove about .060" down from the piston face and .003 to .004" deep (I like to do a second cut .008-.010 below the first cut). When you are done - with the piston face up - the cut would look like an upsidedown "7". The 90-degree corner that the cut forms with the cylinder wall will pack the oil into the ring on the up-stroke and the bevel will force the oil out against the sleeve on the down stroke giving an air-tight seal. If you get any chatter during cutting, the sleeve is toast. I let an experienced machinist do the work for me.
Can't say I've had a bad experience with pinching...
chunk
Is the rolleyes b/c I spelled experience wrong?
That's the first time I've ever heard of your method. I have a lathe so I may give that a try next summer with a boned engine. Sounds interesting. But I am not sure how the compression would not blow the oil out of the groove and break the seal? But sounds neat enough to try. Thanks for the idea.
: )