New Gas Cap for 1931 John Deere Model E 1-1/2hp Engine

John Deere model E engines have a special oil fill cap and gas cap. The two caps are identical and are basically a 3/4" pipe thread plug with a spade type handle instead of a square drive end. Below is what an original JD cap looks like (photo taken from Flywheel Supply website).

Below is a new cap, also sold by Flywheel Supply. The above cap is $20 and the one below is about $18. Those prices are before tax and shipping, which I'm guessing would add another $10-$15 to the cost. Apologies to Flywheel Supply if I'm way off on those guesses.

I figured, hey, I have a quasi-milling machine in the basement. Maybe I can come up with something that will work. I took a pipe plug, tightened it into a coupling, then clamped the coupling into the lathe vise. I then started milling away at the sides of the plug.

Below is the finished product. Well, almost finished.

Now it's finished. I deburred the sharp edges with a file. It's so satisfying to be able to just whip out a simple project like this when needed. My Smithy lathe/mill combo isn't great at heavy cutting jobs but is perfect for these jobs.

Maybe I need to slap a little paint on the new cap...