Home made cylinder liner

[robert644]

Has anyone ever heard of buying liner blanks and then making their own liners on one of those cheap Harbor Freight lathes ?

[model 10]

Originally Posted by robert644

Has anyone ever heard of buying liner blanks and then making their own liners on one of those cheap Harbor Freight lathes ?

I assume you are talking about machining on the OD of the liner? Maybe a lip or a groove? You don't machine the ID on a lathe, you bore or grind the ID. As for a Harbor Freight lathe, you will be very unhappy to say the least. You will also need additional tooling to support the liner while you are working on it and I don't think they sell that kind of tooling.
You are right about buying liner blanks. There is probably a size liner for anything but they are mostly made for a dry install in an overbored cylinder. No O rings or seals. Liners with sealing surfaces etc., are made for a particular engine, they are not just a generic liner that somebody machines on a little cheap lathe. For example a Perkins 107 is a wet liner and needs an O ring. I doubt you could make one of those but then they can make a gun on the street corner in the middle east with hand tools so who knows.

[georgelieber]

I have been using my South Bend lathe for 25 years. I am sure that it would be incredibly difficult if not impossible. You cannot hold the thin liner in a chuck and turn it round. It has to be honed in place in the engine, on a honing machine, or with a center-less grinding machine. Buy liners the right size, hone them in the engine block, or have a shop that is set up to size them do it.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by georgelieber

I have been using my South Bend lathe for 25 years. I am sure that it would be incredibly difficult if not impossible. You cannot hold the thin liner in a chuck and turn it round. It has to be honed in place in the engine, on a honing machine, or with a center-less grinding machine. Buy liners the right size, hone them in the engine block, or have a shop that is set up to size them do it.

I'm a Toolmaker/Machinist, so I will bring a little light to this topic. On a Habor Freight lathe...no. On a good lathe?...chancy. The length over diameter may cause a slight taper. Over .001" might be problematic. It should actually be centerless ground. All this said, it would be prudent to go to these people Los Angeles Sleeve Co., Inc. for help. When I raced Flattrack I occasionally had to re-sleeve my Triumphs.