Laps.—This is a tool which is very useful, particularly for grinding and truing up the cylinders of internal combustion engines, as well as for all kinds of bores of refractory material which cannot be handled with the cutting tool of the lathe.
It is made up of a mandrel or rod of copper, with lead cast about it, and then turned up true, so that it is but the merest trifle larger than the hole it is to true up.
Using the Lap.—The roller thus made is turned rapidly in a lathe, and the cylinder to be trued is brought up to it and the roller supplied freely with emery powder and oil. As rapidly as possible the cylinder is worked over on the roller, without forcing it, and also turned, so as to prevent even the weight from grinding it unduly on one side.
More or less of the emery will embed itself in the lead, and thus act as an abrasive. The process is called "lapping."
Surface Gages.—Frequently, in laying out, it is necessary to scribe lines at a given distance from some part of the work; or, the conditions are such that a rule, a caliper, or dividers will not permit accurate measurement to be made.
For such purposes, what is called a surface gage was devised. This is merely a heavy base, provided [p. 46] with a pivoted upright on which is mounted a scribe that is held by a clamp so it may be turned to any angle.
Surface Gage.—The clamp holding the scriber is vertically movable on the pivoted upright. By resting the base of the surface gage on the line to be measured from, and swinging one point of the scriber to the place where the work is to be done, accuracy is assured. One end of the scriber is bent, so it can be adapted to enter recesses, or such places as could not be reached by the straight end