Where can I get a good stone for porting aluminum?

[faststkr]

I use the metal carbide bits and stone to do port irons but when I use these on aluminum they cake up on the bit. Whats good for aluminum and where can I get such a porting bit. Anthony.

 

[BadBuick]

Cylinder Head Abrasives

 

[FJM568]

For the metal/carbide burrs, spray some Wd-40 on them...It will keep the aluminum from building up on the edges of the cutter...It may get a little messy, but it should work...Another thing to do is to buy the metal/carbide burrs designed to be used on aluminum...They will have a higher helix angle cutting edge than the ones designed for steel/ferrous metals...You need to go to an industrial tooling supply store and take your current burrs with you and tell them what shapes of cutters you want and that you want the ones for machining aluminum...

That is what we used in the machine shop when machining aluminum...you will need to keep re-spraying every few minutes, but I doubt you are every really going to find a cutter that won't build up with aluminum, including the ones designed for aluminum...

 

[turbodave231]

Dip your carbides in a little pot of grease every 1-2 minutes of grinding. It will sling a little grease around but it keep your carbides from loading up.

When you switch to sandpaper rolls for the final polish, use a drop or two of oil on the roll and you'll get a nicer finish too

Dave

 

[1badTTA]

I prefer cetyl alcohol for my rotary files. It is a cutting tool lube also known as "Boe-Lube" or "Cool-Lube" and is rather common in the aviation industry for everything from drilling steel and titanium to reaming and grinding aluminum. Helps keep the shavings of aluminum from building up in the flutes.
HTH