I wasn't sure how to word this. I remember from some post once upon a time someone mentioning you shouldn't be grinding aluminum anyway. I didn't understand what they meant. I've got an EFI intake I am using and I do not plan to use the injector bosses or the rest of the nubs and nobs sticking out. I was just going to grind or cut them off with my angle grinder and do an overall clean up of the appearance filling in holes and such. Is there a better way or a certain disk that works better than others that might not get clogged as much? I have used some carbide bits before but they really loaded up too. Any tips are appreciated.
Use a paper backed disc and throw it out when it gets loaded. If you grind aluminum or any non-ferrous metal with a stone or wheel it (the wheel) will load up with material and become plugged. When the pores in the stone get plugged the stone can't breathe. It needs to breathe to keep cool, if it can't cool properly it can explode. Using the right tool sure beats a facefull of grinding stone. Shawn
There's what amounts to a stick of rubber sorta like crepe shoe sole rubber that you dress the disc with when it loads up, hitting the grinder with an old wax candle before grinding helps too for a back yard fix. Ro remove chunks use a rotary cutting burr, and if you want a flat surface you can file it down with a Vixen body file faster than you can drive to a machinr shop to have it milled.
they do make an aluminum grinding disk , i picked up a few at my local welding supply. they work fairly well alltho they really make a ton of dust
Kerosen also works on carbide bures, Keeps them from loading up. Dont use to much just wet the wheel.
Personally, I prefer Jelly. on a more serious note, transmission fluid works really well, too. just be prepared to know what it tastes like for a while to come.
The best and neatest way to do it is to take it to somebody with a mill and have them cut all the warts off with an end mill. I've seen an old timer use hard beeswax on his grinding wheel to keep it from loading up when he works on aluminum. Seemed to work for him. -Bigchief.
I fab aluminum all day long at my day job. Bar soap, a stick of that saw blade pookie, or even WD-40 will keep the bit, blade, or disc from loading up. I prefer the bar soap because it washes off with water easily and smells nice too, haha. PS, to get that textured look on the intake where you did the grinding etc, sand blast it with walnut shells. It's worked for me on aluminum intakes and ends up looking original. You can cover up minor imperfections in the 'grain' by spray bombing it with ALUMA-BLAST aluminum paint.
beeswax is the way to go, we use it all day long on aircraft sheetmetal repairs. also works good on bandsaw blades.
Parafin wax...real cheap works just fine... or get some microcrystaline wax and mix it with mineral spirits and make a thin paste with it and use that... Anything that will act as a lubricant but will still allow the grit to do its business will work fine... you are just trying to keep the aluminum from loading up between the particles in the stone and getting hot and expanding...if they expand to much and to fast the rock will explode... thats no fun...
I like to use WD40 but lots of stuff will help. However, when the wheel does become loaded up with aluminum just grind on a piece of scrap steel. I always keep a piece handy, it will clean a loaded wheel very quickly.
I have the stuff you want. One Pound Grease Sticks, Use for cutting, drilling, preventing load up of grinding discs, Works great with aluminum & steel. Put wood screws in it and sink them fast and easy. $2.50/ stick, $22/case of 12 plus shipping.
The least expensive way for carbide bits is to take a cap off of spray paint (one w/o a hole) and fill it with enough varsol or kerosene out of the parts washer to dip your tip. Once it gaulds up, you can grind a tad on a piece of steel to clean it, then dip. NEVER grind aluminum with a stone like a bench grinder. Heat builds up due to aluminum build up and the stone WILL explode. If using ruby stones on a die grinder to "semi polish" , any fluid like mentioned will work with light pressure and slower speeds. It's messy as hell with stones though. It's about the best way to "flatten" a port before using sanding rolls. When using a cut off tool (aka angle grinder) the flapper finishing wheels with the laps of sandpaper don't need anything, but don't use the meshed wheels for meat removal. Just my two cents worth and I use carbide burrs for a living. POTTER
I worked for many years on aircraft parts and we used sanding disks, barrel sanders, and belt sanders for aluminum. Then you can finish it off with fine files and many different compounds to make your part look nice and shiny. Good luck, Rags
i didnt read all the posts so don't slam me here WAX like the stuff you put on a saw blade i guess a candle would work tk
The Jalopy Journal
