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Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:09 am

anyone who's interested should google 'hank the crank', the guy nsracing says developed the truline bar. he is still making cranks, only now they are the top end nascar variety.

Tue Sep 21, 2010 6:01 pm

i found a truline thrust cutter. the thrust cutter is something i have never seen before, i wonder how many of them were sold. i have not used it yet, or cleaned it up. it came with an instruction sheet and was in the original cardboard box that was used to ship it from cold form products to whoever bought it originally. it uses the same type of micro-stop to set the cutter depth and the machining is very nice, like the truline bars. the fit of the cutter into the mounting flange is beautiful, i guess it's a few .0001" so the cutter turns very smooth but is tight in the mounting flange.

Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:49 pm

I actually have that in one of my line boring kits. I had a feeling it was a thrust cutter. Too bad no diagram was included in either kit. Thanks for the pic, saved for future reference.

Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:50 pm

Some TruLines came w/ those, Scott. Just make sure when you use the thrust cutter to install a piece of paper for the "fingers" to dig into. Or you will marr and screw up your pretty linebored mains.

Stick the paper in the rear main and then install the fingers, tighten and when snug do the thing w/ the cutter and depth mike. It is trial and error the first time but when you get the proper depth, you can lock it in place.

I for one only clean up enough on the rear main and then cut the oversized thrust bearing to size. Saves the case.

Cool find.

Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:06 pm

germansupplyscott wrote:

there is also this in the box, is it a standard?

so what is this for? i have one of these in my kit too.
there are #s etched into it (acid etched?, im sure it was made before laser etching)
every 3/16" there is a line and next to each one 0,1,2,3,4 and then "over" next to the "0"

i have measured the inside and the outside diameters and the tube has a .004" taper to it (OD). the taper lines up with the markings. every line is .001" smaller. so its obviously a measuring device. but how do you use it?

Oh and "0" starts out at .020" oversize of standard

any ideas?

Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:30 pm

it's mentioned here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/truline/Truline_Info_Sheet.pdf

they call it a plug gauge but not much in the way of specifics on the markings.

a while ago i got an email from a samba member with details on the standard / plug gauge:

Quote: The piece you asked about is a "standard" it is tapered and you can judge the size of your bore by how far it will push into the freshly bored ( and still torqued case). The bars when new, 25-35 years ago, all came with a .50mm (.020 inch) gauge and you could order from them 1.0 and 1.5. When the gauge is pushed into the bore (wipe chips out first) it will go in about the width of the bearing ( an inch or so) It takes a little "feel" to know how hard to push and I always have it a little lubed as that affects the feel and depth of push.

one other thing, i was watching this auction today because it had the cam bar and thrust cutter included:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...500wt_1076

price was too rich for me however. i have two truline bars, one feed unit and the thrust cutter, so all i need now to have the complete set is the cam bar and the type 4 bar kit.

Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:31 am

Hi

I want to make a wooden box for my bar, somebody can tell me which is the box size? wood thickness?

cheers

Sun May 15, 2011 7:07 pm

I had picked this up years ago. It is called a Yellow jacket or a renamed true line in my opinion. I have put it through around 50 cases over the years without any issues to speak of.

In action.

Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:42 am

nice but what if your case has an over sized rear (pully end )where someone either machined for a seal or ran the preivous boreing bar too far and all the way out the case?( yes another used up case I got screwed on)

Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:42 pm

I wouldn't think that it would be to difficult to make a spacer the same OD as the sand seal, and ID as an original case to centre the boring bar support.

Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:36 pm

mark tucker wrote: nice but what if your case has an over sized rear (pully end )where someone either machined for a seal or ran the preivous boreing bar too far and all the way out the case?( yes another used up case I got screwed on)

I haven't had a sand seal that has been machined all the way through, but I suppose it happens. Yes I could just make a sleeve that would fit to center everything up again.

Thu May 16, 2013 10:28 pm

what is the most practical method of etching again the numbers? i have one but numbers are barely visible. with use they will wear out..

are these available only in 0.20''? does anyone still produce them? (nick?)

Mon Jun 24, 2013 6:27 pm

Hi guys! I just joined the Truline club! I've always wanted one of these things, but could never saw one at "the right price" to justify such a thing. I've always wanted the capability though! Tools are exciting!

Well - A bit of good luck and an impulsive (ebay) decision in the parking lot of Costco and there you have it! I figure at $250 "buy it now" I couldn't go wrong!

So, I am looking for knowledge on how to use this thing. Anything will help!! I've found this thread so far....

How does one evaluate a tool like this?

Anyway - here's what I've got! I believe it's complete. Supposedly it's set up for .010 over. I am apprehensive about touching the cutters though.

It came witth a few extra tidbits!

Some is obvious what it's for - others not so much.

* Cam and bearings - I assume to help set the case up, so stuff doesn't move around
* Thrust cutter - awesome!
* Micrometer thing for setting (pushing) the cutters?
* 3 Thrust bearing test fit parts - stamped 000 - 020 - 040
* Other "test bearings" with "handles" on them I guess...
* Some sort of little dowel pins with steps on them??
* Misc nuts, etc...
* Looks like some parts from a head/case flycutter and maybe a centering device.

Mon Jun 24, 2013 6:40 pm

Nice!!

I can show you how to use it after you sell it to me? :lol:

They are a thing of beauty to see in action.

Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:18 pm

Oh - I think I am gonna keep it! Keep it for now anyway - who knows what I'll think "one day"

It looks like a very nice tool - I've been thinking about it all week and it finally arrived today - so very exciting stuff.

I've enjoyed reading your posts about these things. You're a true fan for sure!

Is this one of the chrome bars? The end is stamped "400 373"

Now I need to find a victim, er I mean case. A buddy of mine has a nice brand-new case with a new "window" in the top of it - I think that's a good enough trial case as any......

-Garrett

Wed Jun 26, 2013 8:37 am

It does not look like chrome bar but regular mild steel. It is good but of course you have to really take care of it and lube plenty when you pass it thru the case.

Also, you need to check the feed unit to make sure the PO did not crash the gears. Check the "slop" between bearings and bar. If the fit in the bearings are wobbly, you will NOT be doing accurate linebore work.

Make sure all the bits are not chipped, have nice radius tips and keen cutting edges.

If it checks out inspection, do a trial linebore and see the tolerance you have on the bearing crush. You will need a dialbore gauge and calipers to confirm your work.

When you do feed it through, do NOT crash the gears at the end of cut or you be very unhappy forever.

There is only one way to take it off the case without mangling it. call me if you need assistance.

Wed Jun 26, 2013 8:39 am

Great thread, I just picked up a line bore bar and have been reading through it trying to educate myself. I think its a "yellow jacket" line bore bar same as the one in the thread above. Can anyone confirm its a yellow jacket bar by the pictures? The parts look pretty similar to the truline line bore bar.

Wed Jun 26, 2013 6:29 pm

So, I've had a chance to look this thing over the last few nights.

The cutters look pretty good. Nice radius on the tips. One has a little-tiny chip in the leading edge of the cutter. It's really small - you have to look VERY closely to see it. It's not close to the tip, so it seems as if we're okay..

The feed mechanism seems to work as intended. The gears run nice and smooth and the button does its thing.

The bushing in the feed mechanism looks a little questionable. It appears as if someone has "machined" an oiling groove, and perhaps got a little chip stuck in there at some point and it tore it's way out when someone "twisted" the bar out. Who knows - maybe it's intentional?

There is a little bit of "feelable" play if I rock the feeder back and forth on the bar - but none if I pull on the bushing up-and-down parallell to the bar.

I don't have a dial-bore gauge yet. So I can't really tell what's going on.

Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:50 pm

What the hell??

That bearing had been done messed w/ heavily. If it is wobbly, you can forget about getting a round hole. The bar should be slide-fit in the bushings to give accurate cuts. If the bar is wobbling all over the place, then the bits will do the same thing.

1/1000 inch out-of-round is probably the limit on the mains to be any good. Cheap linebore jobs will be very tight when the crank is turned as the mains do not lineup and/or out of round. The bearings are not centered so they are loaded on one side.

An awesome linebore job is smooth when you turn the crank...like oil on glass.

Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:41 am

Assuming you don't have a machine shop.. I'd suggest taking the bar and guides to a good machine shop and having them make new bearings and install them for you. I would not trust that bearing to cut correctly. :?