Air Die Grinder Tricks

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Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by maxracesoftware »

Air Die Grinder Tricks :

My Air Pressure Regulator recently went bust after many years !
called Parts store i deal with that normaly keeps them in stock ,
says since COVID2019 its going to take at least a week or more before he can get it in :(

i start looking at my Grinder ,
i use an BBC 1.880 Exh Valve with a 0.373" Stem diameter ,
place under the Air Grinder Lever real close next to Grinder Valve
and bend the Lever down ... finally play around bending it until i get the Grinder RPM i want or need

here's a Pic of what i did , but in the Pic is a SBC Valve w/0.342" Stem to recreate what i did earlier :)
20210919_232505_2016x1512_GrinderMODs.jpg
20210919_232520_2016x1512_GrinderMODs2.jpg
20210919_232544_2016x1512_GrinderAirLine1.jpg
 
____________________________________________________________________________


Also in these Pics ... i use 18-Wheeler Plastic Air Brake Lines for all my Air Grinders
as its not constantly weighing you down or pulling on your like Yellow Coiled plastic hoses or heavier regular rubber hoses .
I also buy shortest cheapest Yellow Coiled Plastic Air Hoses and cut them apart to get the very nice steel spring coil protection ends
which i now add to the Plastic Air Brake Lines for all my Air Grinders

_______________________________________________________________________________

the "extended" Air Grinders in the Pics are the very excellent , very long trouble free service ,
Chicago Pneumatics Air Grinders ... was $150.00 USD , now ???
.... i just checked out the Price : now its Web Price $398.50 ea. :shock: :shock:
does not quite look like my older Grinders :)
or $320.40 / EACH :shock:
https://www.grainger.ca/en/product/GRIN ... CNPCP860ES

Master Power :
https://www.pathon.com/mastrpwr.htm

and also in Pic is older Black and Decker or now named Master Power ??
these B & D Grinders were initially hi dollar items in 1980's , in $200+ $250+ range ,
(yes been having plenty of these B&D Grinders since 1980's no problems) ,
but they last forever so far just like Chicago Pneumatics Air Grinders,
but i like the Chicago Pneumatics Air Grinders overall the best !!!
I use Air Grinder with very long shanks both with Egg Alumina Burrs or Sanding Rolls for Porting Intake Manifolds
as if you jam the Burr or Roll or bend the Shank , no problem , you instantly left off the Air Lever,
cannot never do this with the powerful Makita Grinders !
Some of the Shanks i use with Sanding Rolls are sometimes 12" to 14" inches long ,
no problems with using these Chicago Pneumatics Air Grinders
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by maxracesoftware »

Pic of Drawer full of Steel Shanks ... some very long
some with much larger stronger middle diameters
20210919_180006_Shanks.jpg
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by KnightEngines »

I keep a finger under the lever, vary the rpm with finger position so it's held firm but still variable.
Most of the time I don't use full throttle, but I always want it available.
I use relatively cheap basso long snout grinders - I haven't found another grinder with as much grunt.
New snout bearings every 12 months or so & I get 3-4 years out of them.
They're alloy body & snout so they're light, I put some suitable dia radiator hose over the snout to cut vibration.
Can hang on to it (& often do) all day.
I remove the exhaust baffle & run line pressure at 100psi to get more grunt for large fast cut iron burrs (I port a lot of iron). They'll drive a 9/16" dia flame fast cut iron burr hard enough that I can't stall the grinder.
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by BOOT »

I also put a finger under the lever to control throttle when needed, for one grinder I just cut a wedge of wood and electric taped it under. Never used a high end air grinder, I'll try one someday but for now I can have plenty of the cheap ones for the same cost and I'm just a diy hobby porter. Actually atm waiting on a guy that is gonna sell me six more of the grinders that I like, I've only killed one of them so far and have several but 6 more will last me awhile.

I finally put a water separator & reg in my workshop plus switched to a smaller 1/4" rubber air line and should have done it long ago, also have a blow gun on a coiled line permanently so that I don't gotta swap to blow a port out. Here is the vid for any interested https://youtu.be/ZvC6Yd3zk-M
Channel About My diy Projects & Reviews https://www.youtube.com/c/BOOTdiy

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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by maxracesoftware »

another "Trick" for all types of Air or Electric Die Grinders
is to "radius" the ends of the Collet Nut's hex to prevent the sharp hex from knicking Port Entry or other areas
20210921_012557_ColletRadius.jpg
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by maxracesoftware »

Boot ,
on your Video : diy Porting With Compact Makita Die Grinder GD0603
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QlAn0-1-kU
or
https://youtu.be/4QlAn0-1-kU

i have a few of those same Speed Controls ,
some from Goodson brand , some from Lowes as Router Speed Controls ,
they seem to be all the same Company ??

Those Speed Controls do not go as low in RPM control
as the old Lutron 10 AMP constant Torque controls i have :(
i wish i could still find this Lutron Speed Controller !
=======================================================
20210919_175603_2016x1512_Goodson.jpg
20210919_175539_2016x1512_Lutron.jpg
========================================================

the Goodson Speed Control is just visible in these Pics in my Porting Room :
20210919_175934_2016x1512_Room3.jpg
Pic of Cartridge Rolls containers :
20210919_235012_2016x1512_CartridgeRollsContainers.jpg
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by BOOT »

maxracesoftware wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:17 pm Boot ,
on your Video : diy Porting With Compact Makita Die Grinder GD0603
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QlAn0-1-kU
or
https://youtu.be/4QlAn0-1-kU

i have a few of those same Speed Controls ,
some from Goodson brand , some from Lowes as Router Speed Controls ,
they seem to be all the same Company ??

Those Speed Controls do not go as low in RPM control
as the old Lutron 10 AMP constant Torque controls i have :(
i wish i could still find this Lutron Speed Controller !

the Goodson Speed Control is just visible in these Pics in my Porting Room :
20210919_175934_2016x1512_Room3.jpg

Pic of Cartridge Rolls containers :
20210919_235012_2016x1512_CartridgeRollsContainers.jpg

From my other forum post about the Makita Die Grinder
EDC wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:28 pm Two speed controllers wired in series.

Works great.
Spoiler I don't wanna include too many details but I plan to make a short vid just to try that.
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by 1980RS »

maxracesoftware wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:05 pm another "Trick" for all types of Air or Electric Die Grinders
is to "radius" the ends of the Collet Nut's hex to prevent the sharp hex from knicking Port Entry or other areas

20210921_012557_ColletRadius.jpg
That's a great idea. I will use my Worksharp to grind that collar.
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by Schurkey »

1980RS wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 9:04 pm
maxracesoftware wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:05 pm another "Trick" for all types of Air or Electric Die Grinders
is to "radius" the ends of the Collet Nut's hex to prevent the sharp hex from knicking Port Entry or other areas

20210921_012557_ColletRadius.jpg
That's a great idea. I will use my Worksharp to grind that collar.
If I wanted to radius the nut, I'd spin the grinder up as normal, hold the collet against a belt sander or maybe a bench grinder stone. But I don't have good experiences with collet nuts; I've broken one, and seen several others broken. They get over-tightened, or they crack from vibration due to bent rotary files.




I suppose CP and IR and all the other big names manufacture and sell air-powered die grinders that actually work. MY experience with them is that they're underpowered dogs that stall when you need them most, and they were what the company I worked for supplied. I refused to deal with them at work. Lots of RPM, no torque.

I bought a Mac Tools (made by SP Air) 1/2 hp die grinder that after years of hard, daily use, still kicked ass on the brand-new company-supplied CP and IR junk. I've had it for more than two decades, it got used HARD and DAILY for the first five or seven years, and then occasionally after that. It's needed two pair of bearings and no vanes or other repairs except maybe a replacement collet nut.
https://www.amazon.com/SP-Air-Corporati ... 3?dchild=1

Later I got three "free" broken Snap-On die grinders from the local Snap-On rep. I fixed 'em, and they're similar power to the SP Air unit; but with a thermal barrier/plastic coating so they don't freeze my hand in long-term use. They all had cracked collet nuts from over-tightening, along with needing to be assembled properly. (someone had taken them apart, then put them together incorrectly. The motor got bound-up between the bearings and didn't turn freely.) The hard-plastic cover is disintegrating on at least one of them, I'll have to order a replacement or two. Snap-On has updated the part numbers, mine are older versions of this style, but with various angles and nose lengths:
https://shop.snapon.com/product/Die-Gri ... d)/PTGR200

My latest acquisition is a NAPA extra-large, extra-long die grinder. Theoretically 1 hp. Fabulous unit if you have room to use it. I don't think NAPA carries that model any longer. I don't have a photo, and I don't have the part number handy.

Don't be afraid to buy QUALITY tools used from the pawn shop or eBay or whatever. I've had excellent results from used air tools of various sorts (except air ratchets.)
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by Ron Miller »

I use this for a cheap way to reduce the air speed. I bought 10 the last time I was there. Open link on the below
. https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools ... 68220.html
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by MELWAY »

Larry
What brand and grit do you like the best for cartridge rolls?
I find the recent brown ones don’t last very long before
Glazing or falling apart.
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by maxracesoftware »

MELWAY wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:39 pm Larry
What brand and grit do you like the best for cartridge rolls?
I find the recent brown ones don’t last very long before
Glazing or falling apart.
in one of the Pics above the Orange Rolls are Ceramic 3M 747D 60 Grit and the Brown ones are Merit 60 Grit

the Ceramic Orange 3M 747D 60 Grit Rolls blowup or come apart sort of easily sometimes,
but then they are an excellent Flapper Rolls if you want a Flapped Finish .
Also if i want a Flap Finish , i take a GasketScraper and purposely peel away a layer on a new 3M 747D 60 Grit Roll or 80 Grit Roll

and one more thing about Orange 3M 747D 60 Grit Rolls ,
if you Grind at a certain angle for awhile , sometimes a very long time , and with enough firm pressure + at a slower RPM ,
those Rolls start creating an awesome Satin finish where you see no sanding lines or strokes , and the finish is bright white
and you can hear it doing it , and you do all this at a lower RPM , and at a light pressure "after" it starts doing its thing ,
and its sort of hard to get this Roll to this , and on some i can't never get it to do it and grab another Roll and try again ,
but when you do its an awesome finish ... it definetly has to be done with an Elecric Grinder,
i've never been able to make it do that with any Air Grinder .... or any other Company's Rolls like Merit or Norton never do it,
only the Orange 3M 747D 60 Grit does it .

i've switched more to 3M 747D 80 Grit instead of 60 Grit,
they give you a decent finish with Electric Grinder or Air Grinder
and don't come apart nowhere near as often like the 60-Grit versions .

Here's a twist , Polish or finish the Port with 1/2" dia 80-Grit Rolls ,
then if you want very rough Carbide Burr finish you do this "after" the Polish .
Reason : "its the 1.500" long part" of the 1/2" dia x 1.500" long Cartridge Roll that helps keep the Port distance path straighter
and much easier to see your "Shape" you want , then you come back with the nasty rough Carbide Burr finish .

EDIT :
i just thought of another type Roll that gives good results ,
and these Rolls outlast other Rolls 5:1 or 10:1 typically ,
and they are or were named Kay Rolls ... they come with their own built-in shanks .

and the Kay Rolls are now under new name or company ,
i think now its Precision Rolls ??? or Precision Cartridge Rolls ??

i can't remember the Kay Rolls , even 60-Grit ones ever blowing up or coming apart
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by KnightEngines »

For that satin finish I use a slotted 6mm rod with a green scotchbrite flapper & degreaser.
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by BradH »

maxracesoftware wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:05 pm another "Trick" for all types of Air or Electric Die Grinders
is to "radius" the ends of the Collet Nut's hex to prevent the sharp hex from knicking Port Entry or other areas
I'm not sure where I picked up this trick, but you can slide an ignition coil wire distributor-end boot over the collet to keep it from chewing stuff up, too. I keep a bag of a few boots on hand cuz at some point they get loose and start coming off.
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Re: Air Die Grinder Tricks

Post by bentvalves »

adjustable air pressure regulator affixed to a bulkhead.
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