I'm a tool junkie. I'll buy anything that I think I may have some remote chance of using. I'll also keep buying tools for regular uses until I find the one's I like.

I've never been able to find anything that worked really well for working on cylinder heads, so I made one.

This started life as an ordinary $34 Harbor Freight engine stand-



I made these adapters out of the parts bins at the local Ace hardware. They're nothing more than 1/2" connecting nuts with 3/8" thread inserts in one end, which 3/8" studs are screwed into. It's all stuck toigether with Loctite sleeve & stud locker.



The only trick was to lengthen one of the bottom slots- I did it in a mill but it could easily be done with a die grinder or a burr in a drill.



To keep from constantly tripping over it, I lopped about 10" off of the forward leg.



This was cheap and easy to throw together, holds the head securely and locks in whatever position I need. Now all I need to do is fashion a tool tray for it.

Anybody wanna' buy a broad assortment of cylinder head tools? Cheap?

Thats pretty handy!! I am working on a drive stand that I saw in a thread in here. It uses a trailer jack and some square 2x2 tubing. These threads are always interesting!!!

Very clever!

'm also a tool nut. Walking into tractor supply, harbor freight, or sears, puts me in an unexplainable mood.

I figure its the same way women feel walking into shoe stores. Except tools are usefull!

I've tried them all- the spikes that go into the head bolt holes, the cradles, even the octagons that bolt to both ends of the head. They're all a PITA. So far, this has worked out very well.

Looks good. Gotta do what you gotta do. I'm also a custom tool nut.

I couldn't reach the the rearmost nut when I removed the all my railings to polish. That rear nut is in a void approx 12-16" deep, a couple inches wide, with no more than 3" clearance below the underneath side because Fountain glasses a tube in that same void to run the bilge vent hose out of. (This would be the round SS rings on each corner) Problem is, the railing is installed before the deck and hull are joined, so no problem at the factory. No way to get your hand in there afterwards, let alone a rachet.

SOooooo, I went to work and rumaged around and come up with this. Used 2 chain sprockets and pressed a socket in each sprocket to double as the shaft. The end one simply fits over the nut, while a standard rachet snapped in the other sprocket/socket combo. A simple 1x1 sq. tube as the body.

Worked flawlessly!

Now that's ingenious!

You might want to patent that.

great stuff guys, I just removed my heads this afternoon and was contemplating a way to keep them in a workable position; us1, I'm inspired by your creativity. LOVE this site.... - Jeff

Snap-On tools has a form you can fill out and send in with a tool design, I am not sure that there is any financial gain for the desginer but it would be cool to say you designed a Snap-On tool, you should send that one in.

amazing!