About Us

Serving our customers for OVER 40 years

 JD Machine is a family owned business, operating in Lake Havasu since 1980 on Aviation Dr.  What started out as a driveline shop back in 1980 quickly grew into a full service machine shop.  Jim Dawson (JD) moved to Lake Havasu in 1979 and was married to his wife Frances for 57 years.  They had two boys (Jim and Mike) and a daughter (Sheryl) together and founded JD machine.  Mike Dawson (his son) left his job in California and relocated his family to Lake Havasu in 1980.  Mike's brother Jim left his job in Washington and relocated his family to Lake Havasu in 1981, joining his father and brother in the family business.

Together the Dawson's had a passion for racing and have been instrumental in helping many racers over the years in the Lake Havasu and surrounding areas.  JD Machine has built stock and custom engines for all sorts of uses including circle track, street rods, off-road, race boats, and land speed racing. We can supply fully machined assemblies for those who like to do their own engine builds as well.  Not only do we have a complete machine shop, we also have a Stuska engine dyno in a separate test cell with the capability of over 1,500 hp.

The original shop had to be moved down the street due to an unfortunate fire in a neighboring business in 2001.  The family felt it was important to remain on Aviation Dr and relocated to an existing 5,000 square foot shop on just a little over an acre of land.

Jim passed away in 2001, his wife Frances passed away in 2010, their daughter Sheryl also passed away in 2010, and Jim Jr passed away in 2011.  Mike and his wife Vickie continued running the shop until 2018.  The new owners are both honored and proud to carry on the Dawsons' legacy.

Our professional experienced staff believes in quality, fair pricing, and providing service right the first time.  We are your full service machine shop.  We have the tools and expertise you need to restore your ride.

Here's a list of some of our equipment with additional CNC machines coming in the near future:  Stuska dynamometer, Sunnen VGS20 head machine, RMC 12v surfacer, Winona engine balancer, Pro-bal drive shaft balancer, Berco boring bar, CK10 Sunnen cylinder hone, Birmingham engine lathe, Peterson twin spindle seat guide machine, US Metal Works cleaning system (oven), Sunnen line hone, Sunnen vr7000 valve refacer, Sunnen pin hone, Kelco glass bead cabinet, Winona seat and guide machine, Hardinge turret lathe, Bridgeport 10x49 mill w/ dro's and power table w/ shaper, Insta-Kleen jet washer, Bridgeport 10x40 mill w/ dro's and power table, Sebastian engine lathe (for drive shafts), Lincoln heli arc (tig) welder, Sunnen valve grinding equipment, Monarch engine lather (polisher), Sunnen rod heater, Powermatic band saw w/ blade welder, Van Norman boring bars, Lincoln wire (mig) welder, Miller Matic wire (mig) welder, oxygen/acetylene torch set, Charlie Cockey block pressure test stand, Boyar Schults 612 surface grinder, Nugier h-40-7 40 ton hydraulic press, Baldor diamond wheel grinder
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