Porting tools

I just had a couple questions about porting. Not necesarily on the porting itself, but the tools. Will a dremmel work or do you need a die grinder? Will an electric die grinder work, or will I have to get a pneumatic one? I do have an air compressor, so that doesnt matter. Mike is soon getting an exhaust manifold and we plan on porting it along with the o2 sensor housing. Thanks guys, I appreciate your input.

a Dremel might work but you'd sit there for days

pneumatic for the win!

use a die grinder to get the majority of it and then the dremel to finish that baby off, you'll have her looking like a $1000 port job in no time with just a little effort. just watch and make sure you don't over-port and screw up the head.

The ait powered grinders are the best overall. However, if you don't have a fairly large compressor and tank, you will have to stop a lot to let the compressor catch back up. I have a 6hp 30gallon compressor and it keeps up. I actually just finished porting my 2g head to accept a 1g intake (huge difference). I have pictures I'll try to post in the next day or two.

http://all.dejonpowerhouse.com/edit/A-04.htm

All the way at the bottom.

yeah i had a problem when i ported my head that the bit kept clogging up. just make sure you keep it cool and always wet with some form of cutting oil or fluid, otherwise it'll start to jump around and fuck up the porting job.

Awesome, thanks guys. We'll get his new manifold in about 2 weeks and we'll port the 02 housing and the exhaust manifold first, and then I will buy a head to work on this winter. My compressor is a 35 gal 6 hp, so it should do fine. Would I just use that one bit (from clipsekid's post) or should I get a few of different sizes? So what about the "polish" part of porting and polishing the head? Do you just use a "polishing" bit on the die grinder?

the die grinder will be used to take down the majority of it and then use a dremel with the sandpaper tubes. that's how you smoothen it out. start with like 180 grit and then 220 and then keep going up from there until its where you want it. just be sure that when you port the head...the intake ports don't get polished as much as the exhaust manifold, it helps for better atomization of the air and fuel. but the exhaust ports should shine like a mirror.

Thanks a bunch gthompson97, I really appreciate the advice. I just cashed my last two pay checks and a check from my birthday (not too much, but pretty good considering I can only work weekends due to extracurricular activities) and I think I will take a trip to homedepot this week for the tools, and next check I will get a head and get to work. I kinda wanted a winter project, now that Mike is porting his exhaust manifold, I get a reason to buy a head to rebuild :D Thanks again guys.

http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.shtmCheck out this site. Tons of good information and they sell all the tools you need. You can order the porting kits they make from summit.

http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.shtmCheck out this site. Tons of good information and they sell all the tools you need. You can order the porting kits they make from summit.

i was lookin for that damn site lastnight, i have is saved in favorites on my other computer, that's a good site to follow. but home-depot bits would do perfectly fine and a dremel kit.

They don't sell carbide burs at home-depot do they? I know they sell little ones for dremmels but thats it. If your porting steel you need a carbide bur.

oh i'm not sure, i don't have a home-depot in my home town. i got it at an automotiveparts/engine building shop.

and the head isn't steel, it's aluminum. :smile:

I know, i meant for the exhaust manifold.

The 4g63 is and iron block right?

cast iron block, aluminum head.

I used a Mac tool Porting bit that cost $45, but warrenty for life. Its bad ass.

www.mcmaster.com has a serious selection of carbide burs. I usually use a 3/8th pointed tree and 3/8th or 1/2 inch flat cut cylindrical bit for the majority of the work. I got an egg shaped bit for non-ferrous work (aluminum) either from mcmaster or from dejon tool. I'm not sure mcmaster had the aluminum bits, but take a look. They are about 8-15 dollars each, and they last me at least a dozen port jobs (manifold and o2 housing) before I feel the need to replace them, so quality seems to be fine.

I use a cheap 20 dollar die grinder to do the work, also with a 30 gallon/6 hp compressor. I have an electric one as well, but I really don't like not having control over the speed.

For doing heads I recomend the head porting kits you can get from various retailers made by standard abrasives. I did 3 heads last year and still didn't put a dent in the number of rolls it came with. It was around 50 bucks IIRC.