Nick Müller wrote:

Peter DiVergilio wrote:

It compresses the valve springs on flathead engines.

Oh, a hammer would do that too!
This tool is so dammned crude, that it might work for a huge engine. But
no one having a bit of brain would work on a 4-stroke with that thing.

Let's take a closer look at it:
- teeth on the outside: Would anybody like to ruin the surface with
them? Do you want to wedge it between the spring and the case? And if,
it's quite a stupid way to go.
- teet again: If it is to compress (and it only can compress something),
what are the teeth good for?
- The slot. Well, a valve stem would go in there, but could you reach
the keys that hold the valve spring retainer? Think about where the
retainer contacts the tool. Not a good contact surface _and_ it _must_
be parallel, or the retainer will tilt and lock on the stem.

All the valve-spring compressors I have seen look more like a C-clamp
with _parallel_ surfaces.

I really can't believe that.

Nick

Well you better believe it because he is right.
Strictly speaking though, last century, such devices were called
valve lifters, the term valve spring compressor, is a relatively
modern term.

I've posted a pic to the dropbox:

Tom