Yeah, I can't find any small engine valve spring compressors in my town either. A buddy is loaning my his so I can lap the valves in the 124 before I put the head back on.
Did you flatten the heads by sanding it down to eliminate any waves in the mating surface? I'm in the process of that with mine now. I only have a short time to work on it each day and it takes a while with what I've got. Next door neighbor's buddy works in a glass shop and he brought me a 13" square piece of 1/4" plate glass and I taped a sheet of sand paper to it. I put the head on the sand paper and pressing lightly rub in a circular motion to even the head out. I did this with my K161 in the loader Cub and it works great. I've seen this suggested on several forums over the years.
I like the trick with the zip ties. Sometimes you just gotta use what you've got in hand!
__________________
I like pie
|