Electric die grinders..any good?

[Ron Dame]

I'm going to do some port matching and light porting work. I've got an air powered die grinder, but it sounds like I'm at the dentist, the grinder gets really cold and wet from outside condensation, and the compressor adds too much heat in the shop. It just seems inefficient. I don't see much in the way of a corded die grinder and my Dremmel is just not powerful enough. What's out there?

[Bills R2]

I bought a Dewalt recently, LOVE it. Also bought a cheap rheostat to slow it down when needed.
Only downside is what to do with the old air tool. I have not touched mine in years!

[PackardV8]

Makita makes a good electric for about $125.

When using your air grinder, a pressure regulator and dryer will make it much more pleasant to use.

BTW, to get any meaningful gains from home porting, be prepared to spend many hours and eat a lot of iron dust.

jack vines

[sweetolbob]

Google will quickly show you there is a plethora of electric die grinders. I have one from an old iron worker friend that he used and it will make mince meat of most metal jobs quickly. It would be overkill for porting and other small jobs.

Bottomline - They come in many sizes and capabilities so find one that matches what you want to do with it. IAC, I highly recommend them as they eliminate the issues you described and are much more portable in the end.

BTW, you'll still know it's running.

Bob

[Ron Dame]

Jack, I'm not going to do any real porting since it is a crack-head six, just gasket matching and flash removal. But the intake will get a LOT of work.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Ron -

If you will be using carbide cutters, a "slower rpm" tool is very helpful. Helpful in that...you don't take off too much material, too easily !
If you will be using high speed cutters, a "variable speed" tool will be helpful.
If you will be using "grinding stones", the same variable speed tool will be helpful.
If you will be using "sanding rolls", then a "high speed" tool will work well.

Note - I would stay away from stones. Since they continue to shrink in diameter, and continue to change shape as you work, you will end up with nothing matching, port wise. Each area of each port will be different.
So either "high speed" cutters, or "carbide cutters" are recommended. I use all carbide cutters. There's no changing in shape of hard metal cutters.
Sanding rolls would be second. But they don't remove a lot of material. they are more for the finish work.

This is from doing MANY...years of cylinder head work, on more than just Stude heads.

Mike

[Ron Dame]

Thanks Mike. I've got an odd assortment of cheap carbides and stones from some cheap assed "kit" I bought years ago. I will likely use this crap up on the "test" manifold, and get some good carbides for the real deal. Then I can toss the crap without any guilt.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Agree with all the replies.
And to add...
I have an old Craftsman (all metal) 110v hand (die) grinder. Still works faithfully.
But it gets hot after sustained use. Almost too hot to hold onto.
And also have a 110v H/F plastic cased (die) grinder.
It also gets hot and will thermally cut out with sustained use.
Both tools are useful....for light use or short duration use.
I use a variable speed controller (for routers, etc) to slow things down. Amazon sells them reasonable.
My shop has a refrigerant air dryer and a point of use oiler so air tools are my choice for sustained use.
Even at that, the cheapie H/F air die grinders have a limited lifespan. 110v are even worse.

[Guido]

Spend a little time on a chain saw porting site and you will get all the information you need about grinders. The current go to tool is from Foredom with many folks using the right angle one.

[Corbinstein0]

I had a Harbor Freight electric die grinder and tossed it after about a week. Total POS. No Power and over heated.
My HF air die grinder worked fine, as well as the 4" angle grinder. Go Figure.