Machine Shops in Calvert County

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steppinthrax

Active Member
I have a Onan P218 (John Deere 2-cyl tractor engine). I pulled it apart, it needs cylinder honing, crank journals reground and valve seats grinding. Anybody know any good machine shops in the area. If it's too expensive it's better off getting new parts!!!

Thanks
 
dave1959

dave1959

Active Member
Your choices are very limited... My recomendation is Advance Automotive in Waldorf..(behind the MVA).. 301-645-6400..
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

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PREMO Member
Automotive machine shops in southern MD (there was once quite a few) went the way of the dinosaur, I'm afraid. There is Butch Mattingly's small shop over in Compton. He does excellent cylinder, head and crank work. Fairly long drive from Calvert though...
 
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nutz

Well-Known Member
steppinthrax said:
I have a Onan P218 (John Deere 2-cyl tractor engine). I pulled it apart, it needs cylinder honing, crank journals reground and valve seats grinding. Anybody know any good machine shops in the area. If it's too expensive it's better off getting new parts!!!

Thanks
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Not near Calvert, couple of Amish shops....Ben's repair off Rte.6 in Charlotte Hall or Backwood's small engines on Ryceville Rd. Stauffer's out near Budd's Creek
 
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nutz

Well-Known Member
Gilligan said:
Automotive machine shops in southern MD (there was once quite a few) went the way of the dinosaur, I'm afraid. There is Butch Mattingly's small shop over in Compton. He does excellent cylinder, head and crank work. Fairly long drive from Calvert though...
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Yep, very few. Sonny's in Marshall Hall, NAPA store on Old Branch Avenue in Clinton plus the ones in Mechanicsville area are about all that's left.
 
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steppinthrax

Active Member
dave1959 said:
Your choices are very limited... My recomendation is Advance Automotive in Waldorf..(behind the MVA).. 301-645-6400..
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Wow,

Thanks, I've been calling all over google maps this whole morning and no one was answering their phone. I finally found someone in college park and he's giving me this bull#### I need to see it before I give you a price deal. I called him and he was solid on a price $250 for everything.
 
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steppinthrax

Active Member
Gilligan said:
Automotive machine shops in southern MD (there was once quite a few) went the way of the dinosaur, I'm afraid. There is Butch Mattingly's small shop over in Compton. He does excellent cylinder, head and crank work. Fairly long drive from Calvert though...
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I found a law office in Compton (John A Mattingly Jr) but no Butch Mattingly's.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

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nutz said:
the ones in Mechanicsville area are about all that's left.
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Who's left in Mechanicsville area? Now that Pete has finally closed his shop for good (California) I don't have any good places to get engine blocks cleaned the best way.
 
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steppinthrax

Active Member
nutz said:
Yep, very few. Sonny's in Marshall Hall, NAPA store on Old Branch Avenue in Clinton plus the ones in Mechanicsville area are about all that's left.
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Thanks, I called NAPA on old branch and they refereed me to Clinton Machine Shop (301-868-9730). They are available and gave me a price.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

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steppinthrax said:
Why are all the shops going away????
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No money in that any more and not enough business to go around. Fewer and fewer individuals and repair shops rebuild engines and the most modern engines are very difficult to rebuild.

Guy that does some of the specialty engine block work for me has been at a very long time...and he has crammed what is left of his machines in to a tiny space to continue in business. M & O Machine
4818 Upshur St
Bladensburg, MD 20710
 
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nutz

Well-Known Member
Gilligan said:
Who's left in Mechanicsville area? Now that Pete has finally closed his shop for good (California) I don't have any good places to get engine blocks cleaned the best way.
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Automotive wise, dunno. I was referring to machine shops in general.
There is a guy over on Colton Point Road, supposed to do cars and boats that I've heard talk of, Maryland Auto Marine, 301-997-3797


I don't have any good places to get engine blocks cleaned the best way.
Hot water washer? Buddy (Daredevil machine) left town before I could talk him out of his hot water machine. Don't know anybody around that has one of those .
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NorthBeachPerso

NorthBeachPerso

Honorary SMIB
steppinthrax said:
Why are all the shops going away????
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Gilligan said:
No money in that any more and not enough business to go around. Fewer and fewer individuals and repair shops rebuild engines and the most modern engines are very difficult to rebuild...............................
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The above. And because people moved in from somewhere else, like Montgomery and Baltimore Counties, and did nothing but bitch and complain about how the businesses weren't "classy" enough. They also filed lawsuit after lawsuit against them as well as filing false reports about illegal activities (like gunrunning). The owners got tired of the bull#### and closed.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

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nutz said:
Automotive wise, dunno. I was referring to machine shops in general.
.
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There is a surprisingly big difference between the two..very few machines in common, actually, between a general machine shop and an automotive machine shop. I've worked in both types of shops since 1982 and my own machine shop is unusual because it has some automotive-specific machine tools in it while being mostly a general machine/fab/welding shop. There are some excellent general machine shops in the southern Maryland area: Ship Point, Triton, Harry Langleys in Lusby, Joe Gardner in Piney Point, Stauffers in Mechanicsville...But not one of those does much of anything for automotive/engine/small engine machining.
 
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Gilligan

Gilligan

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NorthBeachPerso said:
The owners got tired of the bull#### and closed.
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Hayden's shop closed due to lack of business and their inability to hire and retain the skilled staff the shop required. Chicken versus egg on that one. Pete Mesmer closed his ( AM & PM) because he had to retire...eventually. He fought it off pretty hard though...LOL. The guy that owned and operated the automotive machine shop on Buck Redman Lane shut it down to go make more money working for a base contractor. And so on....
 
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