What type of grinders do pros use air/elec.? etc. Brands, etc. What rocks, burs, papers do you prefer? I have my own preferences just checking to see if I am in line with others.
I use air now but an condsidering a new electric unit.

Anyone use the makita GE0600 or the Dewalt or Milwaukee units?


Modified by SpeedDreamz.com at 7:55 PM 3/13/2005

 

I have the electric dewault! Cant say anything bad about it!

 

http://www.goodson.com/

get one of their porting and polish kits they rock. i think they are like $50 and include a ton of usefull sanding and polishing rolls in different sizes.

i also use a carbide burr to remove big amounts of material and to port exhaust mani's. i buy these at grainger for like $15 each.

for an actual porting tool i use a campbell hautsfield air operated die grinder.

 

We use the IR Cyclone industrial die grinders.. They are very spendy ... somewhere around $500+ new. The CA200 angle we got for around $200 off of ebay, but I can't remember the model # of the straight but it was like $600 new from a dealer. The staight is like 3/4HP and the angle is like 1/2 or something.

These are the only die grinders we've found that could stand up to heavy duty stainless removal with mounted carbide burrs and flap wheels. When you've got someone who ports stainless headers & cylinder heads ALL DAY LONG this is must. We were breaking everything else on a weekly basis. Angle die grinders were lasting 2 days max.

For supplies, we buy 1/2" and 1" 60 grit flap wheels in quantities of 1000 to get the price below a buck a piece as we go through them like crazy. Our carbide burrs, we use a couple different ones, but they are around $8 a piece for us.

 

For the price, Florida Pneumatics makes some great air die grinders. I worked in a plant that would not allow oiling of air tools. This was because it was high vacuum production work...and one little speck of oil could be more costly than a new grinder.

ANyway, I used their die grinders and they would typically last over a year of daily usage with no oil at all...and they're only about $50!!!

And when you buy your abrasives, keep in mind that you get what you pay for. The little tapered cartridge rolls aren't worth ****. They just throw particles of themselves everywhere. I like flapperwheels. THey last longer and don't throw as many strings and stuff everywhere. ALso, if you like the rolled abrasives, look into the Kay rolls. They last longer than the cheapo rolls.

 

Yes the flapper style wheels are much better than the abrasive wheels that come with the cheap "Do it yourself" porting kits. I also like the single and double cut carbide burs for removing material.

 

This place has great pricing on single and double cut carbide burs. I dont personally know if they are good quality though. Anyone tried them?

http://www.american-carbide.com/

 

I have a question for you guys that use Carbide burs. I have noticed when using the carbide burs that the aluminum get's stuck in the bits and they stop working efficiently. Is there a way to clean them? Or maybe I'm using them at a incorrect speed? (I'm using air at about 70-80 psi)

 

There are a couple different flute sizes you can get. For aluminum, you can get a burr bit with large flutes. They won't get clogged, but they will tear thru aluminum quickly. I don't think I would try to port a head with one of the big flute burrs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 99_GS-T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There are a couple different flute sizes you can get. For aluminum, you can get a burr bit with large flutes. They won't get clogged, but they will tear thru aluminum quickly. I don't think I would try to port a head with one of the big flute burrs.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not the head. I'm just trying to open up a H22 manifold for a larger throttle body. There is a fair amount of metal (about 4mm all the way around) that I need to remove. I have flap wheels and other small sanding wheels to clean it up after I get it opened up. I think the burs I have maybe a little to fine....

 

Yep, a burr bit for Non-Ferrous metals is what you want. It will have that manifold opened up in no time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 99_GS-T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yep, a burr bit for Non-Ferrous metals is what you want. It will have that manifold opened up in no time.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll see if I can get one of those. Thanks for yuour help.

 

try spraying some wd-40 on the burr and area you are removing material to help it from cloggin up the burr.

 

If you use a burr designed for soft metals like aluminum (usually have widely spaced blades) and a good lubricant, then it won't load up. I can't even remember the last time I had a bit get clogged with aluminum.

When you buy the better quality bits, they usually come in two styles - one for ferrous metals and one for aluminum. With the aggressive bits, I use an electric motor and flex shaft with a foot control and I have not problem being fairly precise with them. You will need to clean it up with some sort of abrasive roll, but it will do most of the work just fine.

 

Use stickwax to prevent your burs from clogging.

 

I haven't been using any type of lubricant or wax ..... It sounds like that's issue. The burs I bought are carbide and were about $12-15 each so I don't think they are cheap bits. These two bit's are pretty much garbage now because they are clogged so I'll go buy some new ones and lubricate them this time.

Thanks for the help guys......gotta get the car together for the event this weekend

 

http://www.ruffstuff.com
That's where I get all of my tools and materials. I use the variable speed Suhner grinder and I love it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by enginetiks &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">http://www.ruffstuff.com
That's where I get all of my tools and materials. I use the variable speed Suhner grinder and I love it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, I found these guys a couple weeks ago (local yellow pages). I know that will be an expensive "visit" for me....lol

 

ok this is a little OT but i was wondering where everyone was educated or leanred how to do porting and polishing? was it trial and erro jsut get a spare head and manifolds and go to town or did u go to school for it? Thanks

David

 

as far as your bits being clogged goes if you really have carbide then the easiest way to clean them up is to put a piece of steel in a vise and run the cutter onit until it cleans up use a little bit wd 40 crc56 or almost any type of oil

 

I bought some new bit's last night and went to town on the manifold using some wd40 and it made a huge difference. The bit held up very well and didn't get clogged.

Thanks for the help guys.