Guys,

I am getting wildly varying opinions. Can you successfully port and work to shape aluminum with good double cut burrs for cast iron? no major work, just some horn flare shaping and radius ing in some plate aluminum. Do you lube with WD 40, or not?

thanks
rock
'64d100

Don't think it will hurt to try........

I believe the problem is that the iron burrs clog up with the aluminum.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I remember getting this tip from Doc once. I think it was in reference to grinding wheels but it should work the same with a burr - hit the burr with wax first (old candles, stick from hardware store, doesn't have to be anything special) before taking it to the aluminum. You will have to do this often but it beats hitting the burr with a wire wheel or steel brush to clean it out.

I have used them and they do clog with aluminum. It can be cleaned out, but not so easy - the wax trick sounds nice.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I had to use this trick when 'shaping' my Hpak manifold for installation...it works good, but takes longer since you do some work, then clean, recoat, grind some more... I'm wondering on the next one whether I should try petroleum jelly or even that Mig Welder's 'no slag' spray to see if that works better...

Good luck,

-D.Idiot

I use WD 40 when working on aluminium and it works great.

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Juan Ignacio Caino

Please use e-mail button istead of PM'ing. I do log in sometimes but I'll be answering quicker thru e-mail.

Well,

Thanks guys!. I assumed it might clog the burr so that is what prompted my checking around but you all are the first to have a possible clogging solution. I have a paraffin block so will fire it up and let you know how it goes!

When working on Vws.. ( THE cheapest people in Motorsports( we used wax, soap, WD40 and believe it or not , PAM in the cooking aisle, or mom.s kithchen... Also I have meant top try that burn out tire residue prevenitive ... PAM is cheap and not as messy as WD40 or ATF

The RPM really needs to be slowed down to use normal burrs on aluminum. That really is your best bet, and some kind of wax as pointed out. Once the burr gets hot it is going to clog no matter what. You just have to work slower than with cast iron. There are burs made for aluminum that work at high rpm but they are very aggressive and can be hard to control. One slip and and they can do a huge amount of damage. They call them "clog free" but they will still clog too.