Larry,
You mentioned cutting down the long crank and threading it. Man, that would be so VERY handy if I could mod a couple brand new long shafts I have to use on a crazy twin project I'm gonna build this Winter. I really would prefer to have a shorter shaft so nothing has to hang out in front of the engine much either ahead of the prop or behind it. I may be able to hoogie-doogie something with spinners and leave the shaft out in front of the prop but I'd really rather not. You said you did "single point threading." Can threads be cut on these cranks by hand with a regular die or does it require a lathe or other fancy equipment to get it done? I guess I just always assumed crank materialwould be way too hard to thread by hand. Please let me know. Sounds like you have lots of knowledge in the machining department...

Thank you,
Pete