Last weekend I’d finally collected all of the things I needed to get the piston set in the cylinder: gasket sealant, head gasket copper coat, wood blocks, torque wrench, and hose clamps to compress the piston rings. I’d already had the map gas used to heat the copper head gasket to make it more malleable and the mallet used to gently tap the cylinder down over the piston.
This was a task that I’d been intimidated by for quite a while, but it was actually a lot of fun and went pretty smoothly. Now I wait until the motorcycle is put back together–which is a big hill to climb– to see what happens when I kick over the engine ?.
Below is a gallery of images I took to document for my own reference.
I used some tape on some wood shims to create wood blocks small enough to sit between the studs and provide support for the piston. 
I ended up removing the sleeve portion of the hose clamp set up and used only the hose clamps. The sleeve was too tall. 
Setting in place before torching it, I believe 
This image is from the PDF copy of the BSA B50 Workshop Manual I found online. It proved to be handy, along with one other book. 
This image is from the PDF copy of the BSA B50 Workshop Manual I found online. It proved to be handy, along with one other book. 
This book has been an incredible guide through the engine build and will continue to be exercised throughout the rest of the motorcycle build.
