A while back I was reading a thread I think GB replied to and he mentioned a tool he made to turn the engine with the flywheel. Kida got me thinking on how I could make such a specialty tool. I have a junk starter I got with my donor cab/misc. parts endeavor. After a little brain storming and quite a few brainfarts I'm to this point. I took the end cap that has the shaft running through it and knocked out the bushings. This was so the shaft from an old grinder I had would fit through it. Fits perfectly. Now I'm ready to attach the starter's drive gear to it but have a few questions. First is how much clearance do you suppose I would need to maintain between the drive gear and the ring gear? And secondly would the aluminum cap off the old starter be strong enough to hold the shaft in place good enough to turn the motor? I plan on cutting the drive gear parts down so that only the drive gear and some of the piece it rides on are on the end of the new shaft. Here's a couple pics of what I have so far.I think I'll switch the gear around so that I can push it up to the ringgear. Probably have a nut of some sort on the other end of the shaft to turn with. So what do you think?

 

Clever idea! Sure, the starter endplate should be strong enough, as long as you bolt it up to the BH. What will you turn it with, a socket wrench on a nut?

 

I was thinking of welding the nut from the grinder shaft to it and turning it with a ratchet and socket. GB had mentioned he even used an impact on his. I hope it works. I tried turning the motor with the crank bolt and it seemed like I was just tightening it instead of turning the motor. Kind of worried I might have a stuck valve or something of the sort.

 

With the extreme low gear ratio this will give you, you could easily punch a stuck valve thru its lifter. Be careful!

 

I'm with Ross. I definitely would not use a large impact air wrench.

 

I think you should lower the blade on the table saw below the table when you are working around it when not in use . A little FYI from a life time wood worker. May prevent an accidental cut or damage to a tooth . Just saying .

 

I hear yuh. Been at it with wood a long time too. Don't always remember such things though. But I do remember to use push blocks when cutting. Nipped the right side of my right thumb off a few years back. That stuff don't grow back. Wish I would have been paying attention then.