Crankshaft Balancing

[Dave S]

Chaz,,,,, when we go out to eat.....might as well cook our own food. We say well done..... comes back red and raw..... blacken tunna..... back to the kitchen 3 times until I get it like I want it. As far as Stoker Boys dealing..... most crank shops just want the easy production work....not time eating work. Find a slow shop that is hungry and hope that they know what they are doing.good luck with that.I have a balance problem.

[Chaz]

Production balancing = that's why there is a balance shop in every little town .. (or was) .. and a few of them in every big city ... for those people who think a quarter pound overall isn't quite close enough ..

Good deal .. we'll let them cook mine first and when they ruin it .. I'll give you that one and have them go back and do one ... medium rare.

Speakin of tuna steaks with black beans and rice ... NJ Larry, Gar and I had dinner @ Flannigan's last night ... good food , great company

[Stoker boy]

Chaz,

I am aware of what it takes to balance the assembly. The business next-door to my shop specialized in building race motors. The owner showed me what it takes to balance the assembly. He had some very serious computerized equipment. Unfortunately he passed away a few years back and the business closed.

I did not tell Dave how to do his job I told him what I wanted he basically said it was too much hassle and he wasn’t interested. Its his business he can run it anyway he likes perhaps there is not enough customers willing to pay the price. I’m guessing he makes more money on other projects.

Just to let you know I cook my own steaks.

I’m done here you can have the last word Chaz have a wonderful day sir.

[Dave S]

Bingo..... more money on other.......Stoker Boy....don't leave the thread.....your dealings show what is. Lots of shops are going ByBy.... the old WOOD passes off..... new motor guys..... just crate it. In my neck of the woods..... and it is the woods very poor/sparse area.....3 great machinests have aged out.... shops gone. They were old school .... took the knowledge with them. One was from NJ......knew things.... wow......other small shop/ with crank grinder.... died and children scraped the works.

[Chaz]

Chaz,

I am aware of what it takes to balance the assembly. The business next-door to my shop specialized in building race motors. The owner showed me what it takes to balance the assembly. He had some very serious computerized equipment. Unfortunately he passed away a few years back and the business closed.

I did not tell Dave how to do his job I told him what I wanted he basically said it was too much hassle and he wasn’t interested. Its his business he can run it anyway he likes perhaps there is not enough customers willing to pay the price. I’m guessing he makes more money on other projects.

Just to let you know I cook my own steaks.

I’m done here you can have the last word Chaz have a wonderful day sir.

Is that how it works .. you pass along misinformation , then say peace-out ..

You cook your own steaks .. even when you go out to eat ...

You had a neighboring shop, that had a balance machine . Was it near a Holiday Inn express .. ???

Like Dave, I hate to see you go ... but if you insist . <---(dyno water{-=

For the rest of us that don't mind learning about the process ...

https://hinesindustries.com/resources/articles/199-the-basics-of-drag-race-engine-
balancing

Typical bobweight card. They might keep it on file, but you should ask for a copy when you pick up your crank . If you change pistons or go with a different rod, you will need this to make re-balancing less costly and time consuming .

[InjectorService]

So it seems to me here that we are basically dealing with trying to balance a crankshaft, and someone saying that they want to balance the entire assembly rather.

Is there even a point to having a balanced crankshaft if the rest of your rotating assembly is out?

Seems to me that you would want to balance everything, flywheel, crankshaft, piston assys, rods. Probably have the flywheel on the crank during the process... no?

Blake

[Dave S]

My brother Tripps worked for years in speed shops.....Speedwin.....Lab ... McBetts........I was always trying to pick the brains of those that worked in the shops he worked in. The guy that did the crank work ....I tried to understand how diff cranks and bob weights work in the equation.....being a Mush head it didn't sink in. I think it is an Art/ skill......

[Chaz]

So it seems to me here that we are basically dealing with trying to balance a crankshaft, and someone saying that they want to balance the entire assembly rather.

Is there even a point to having a balanced crankshaft if the rest of your rotating assembly is out?

Seems to me that you would want to balance everything, flywheel, crankshaft, piston assys, rods. Probably have the flywheel on the crank during the process... no?

Blake

Yes ..

Today's aftermarket pistons and rods (automotive) of the same mfg, model , part number etc. are for all practical purposes are within a gram. So if you weigh one .. you have weighed 1000 of them. Change the length , clearanced for a stroker , pin diameter , some of which are considered "shelf item's" .. from a quality mfg. and they pretty much are all the same as well .

Stock stuff ... not so much.

I have heard some guys that think if they get the pistons to weigh the same , that they are good to go.
Same for the rods .. without consideration for end weights. When you ask them : How do you split the rotating from reciprocating weight ?? .. The What ?
Yea , thats what I thought

If you look at the pdf chart I posted on engine type and percentage's required , you will see some cranks require no bobweight , while other's like Harleys and some big singles need as much as 65 percent . Low rpm outboards 30% . If your gonna spin it up 50% . Like I said , I have had the best luck with 52% on just about everything.

The reasons why are listed in the second pdf file.

Dave .. you mean this Harold McBetts ..

[Dave S]

Ya......Used to Know him as John.......My brother helped me build a 327..... all neat ..BP... if ya will.........1975.... Got laid off from my day job.........Christmas party... At McBetts.......I was drunk......... at said party........I told John I could beat him with my 1964 wagon...... he had a 1966 vett..... lucky for all I left the party with 24 beers in my belli......and Crashed my car on the way home...... I owe John an Appoligy.... That has never been paided....

[Chaz]

For some reason I thought his first name is / was Harold.

1975 .. Didn't Joe Satmary or Richie Zul drive the McBett's Pro Stock car ?

1975 ... I think we both overindulged a bit ..

Glad ya made it to 2021 my brother

[Dave S]

Richie Zul....... He had a Boston whaler with a Merc 150.... burnt piston..... Fixed by......The beer man.

[Chaz]

So it dawned on me ...

That I was thinking about Harold Bett's from Superflow , dyno and flow bench .. fame.

The McBett's Pro Stock was a bad ** . When I was a kid a bunch of us chipped in and bought an old school bus . We took it to the Gatornationals every year thru-out the 70's ... good times and met some racer/vendors that were key in helping me get started in the chassis shop buiz ..

[rudderless]

Is that how it works .. you pass along misinformation , then say peace-out ..

You cook your own steaks .. even when you go out to eat ...

You had a neighboring shop, that had a balance machine . Was it near a Holiday Inn express .. ???

Like Dave, I hate to see you go ... but if you insist . <---(dyno water{-=

For the rest of us that don't mind learning about the process ...

https://hinesindustries.com/resources/articles/199-the-basics-of-drag-race-engine-
balancing

Typical bobweight card. They might keep it on file, but you should ask for a copy when you pick up your crank . If you change pistons or go with a different rod, you will need this to make re-balancing less costly and time consuming .

...you guyz are over-complicating this here balancing thing. The feller just needs to know where things are lite and where its heavy. Then he'll use the weed scale to weigh the pistons and stuff to find whats lite and whats heavy. Heavy piston stuff goes on the lite pin and lite stuff goes on the heavy pin....then he can say his motor was balanced...


Sorry for bustin up the old folx talk...

[Chaz]

Sometimes you can have a big box of rods , pistons and pins in front of you ... and still need to do just that .. light pin heavy piston , swip~swap to get the reciprocating end to all weigh the same. But that's only the start .. as you know

PS , pull up a rockin - chair and a glass of sweat tea ..