LOL.. its funny you use a screwdriver on the stand
just like I do

X2

Alot of machining steps involved but the main ones are:
Make sure decks are 100% square and parallel to the corrected crank center, bush lifter bores to make sure they're correctly positioned and aligned with the cam lobes, make sure the crank throws are indexed correctly and the journals have proper radius and clearances, bore and hone with torque plates and main caps installed (ideally at operating temp).

When you clean up after machining make sure you remove ALL galley plugs and thoroughly scrub all passages with strong detergent and rinse with hot water then blown dry with compressed air - repeat until brushes come out clean and no debris is blown out.

And somehow they can't drill the hole so the engine sets straight up!

mine is actually a 1/4 drive screwdriver but the ball bearing fell out years ago so the sockets don't stay on it. but it recycles real nice in this job. many a time i've thought about cutting it down but i never seem to get around to it.

You can never go too far. All the above mentioned plus any sharp edge in the block and caps should be rounded off to prevent stress points

One other thing I do is to glue screen into the
intake valley.. that way it keeps any top end
parts from getting down to the bottom.. I use
JB weld to glue it in.. then I paint the valley
area.. I cover the screen when painting

1 step ahead of you Mr P. I've made a couple of these in the past but I'm going to reallocate this one from the dead block it resides in.

Looks nice

Have the block sonic checked before doing anything else.

Personally - I like a old block baked then shot blasted - versus the old method of chemical hot tank. But regardless in the end it has to be washed clean - then cleaned again with brushes and all the thread chased clean. New or old makes no difference cleaning is the same - the more you clean it the better it will be! painting the inside is a personal preference - I go with unpainted.

I clean them with really strong degreaser like red-hot or bleach-white for cleaning brake dust off wheels and tires, let it soak but don't let it dry, then I hit it with hot watter from my pressure washer, a couple times of this and it is ready to check out and machine if it checks out OK, dirll 1/8th drainback holes in lifter valley to drain oil puddles right onto cam lobes (all 16 if possible), then wash it same way a couple more times when back from machine shop, then test fit everything, adjust grind where needed dissasemble it and clean a couple more times and set up a big heater under the block to help it dry quickly, then mask it off and paint then assemble.