General welding questions that dont fit in TIG, MIG, Stick, or Certification etc.
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J_68
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    Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:28 pm

hello,
i purchsed a set of harley heads from a guy that said they were ported and all this good stuff and after i
had recieved them i looked them over real good and whoever did the job undercut the head
where the valve seat is, to anyone that knows anything about motors knows this creates big problems.
i was wondering if anyone on here has welded aluminum heads in this area before, if so, what process did you use and
how hard was it ?
would you be willing to weld mine ? and how much
i need a nice job but nothing special on the clean up part because i will have them ported and polished after the welding is done
thanks
gurew
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    Thu May 06, 2010 2:54 pm

tig weld is the plan of attack. its a pita to weld old used cast aluminum stuff since its always dirty no matter what you do....but if you can port off the bad stuff after the fact its not too big a deal...i would weld it for free if you brought it to me but im sure you arent exactly close to me
J_68
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    Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:28 pm

i might not be close (mn)
but the guys in the brown trucks could be
gurew
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    Thu May 06, 2010 2:54 pm

very true, can you post pics of what you need welded so i can have a better idea?
J_68
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    Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:28 pm

ill work on that for ya,
do you know anything about car heads or motorcycle heads ?
there is a steel ring (valve seat) that is where the valve rests when its in the closed position.
when you port a set of heads you remove material just below, right up to the valve seat for smooth,fast flow
but if you remove too much material from below the valve seat you get what is called undercut which cause turbulance in the air so you lose the velocity of the air.
so the area just under the valve seat needs to be built up and then re ported.
id guess the bead would be 1/8 to 3/16 wide and 1/32 maybe just a hair more tall.
but a hair more on either number isnt a huge prob since i have to re port anyways
gurew
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    Thu May 06, 2010 2:54 pm

:) you are talking to an MMI graduate and i live in az and work for 1 of the top aftermarket car shops in az and the usa for that matter i just want to see how bad they undercut and how much weld id need to put, how dirty it is yada yada
J_68
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    Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:28 pm

so howd i do on the explanation part of the deal to a "professional" :)
well since you had to mention your an MMI man, maybe you could help me out a little
oh, i could have the heads hot tanked for ya before i ship them if you want.
iv got an 01 sportster (1200) and im so so close to ordering the 88" kit from nhrs
but something keeps bringing back the 1250 kit. (no clue why)
anyways, iv got the thunderstorm heads and gonna be putting bigger valves
already have good springs, hopped up clutch pack
iv got adj pushrods, crane coil, dyna ignition, black ops lifters
mikuni hsr carb (42/45). big sucker air cleaner, thunderheader exhaust
question is, se 536 se 575 or redshift 630/585 camshaft
carb and intake have been matched plan to match heads to intake
also in question is to upgrade the rockers or not.
if going with either bore kit would you change the rear sprocket to a 1200 since its currently 883
i would only drive this max of 200 miles from home and not all in one shot either.
on a 1-4 scale reliablility is number 3
1 kick ass ground pounder
2 stump pulling torq
4 i dont wana lose torq down low/mid to make more top end
if i can do 120 in a heartbeat im happy but at the same time i dont wana be cruzing 70 mph at 6000 r's
i know thats allot to take in, any and all imput would be great
how do you feel about amsoil products in bikes ?
thanks
gurew
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    Thu May 06, 2010 2:54 pm

building bikes are fun eh? not sure what rear i would do. i personally like shitloads of torque and only ride around town, i hardly hop on the highway with the bike anymore...seems like 80% of my friends that have died have all been on the highway... but im sure thats just their dumb luck...

me..id go with torque..lots of it :)


yes get it hot tanked if you decide to ship it my way. i cant promise it will weld pretty though....cast engine aluminum is horrible stuff to weld on, but ill give it a shot...
J_68
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    Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:28 pm

im with ya on the torq
i could care less if it only does 120 but i wana be there yesterday
iv always loved torq
id like to hear your input on the cams and upgrades that i mentioned in the last post
visually its not undercut allot but enough that i lost like 30 on the flow bench
im just thinking to make the valves bigger than the undercut so that way have to port more to match it
rather than weld it then port it, i gotta see how big of valves i can put in it.
you like worken on cars better than bikes ?
any projects your worken on, car or truck ?
im into muscle cars and early trucks as well
gurew
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    Thu May 06, 2010 2:54 pm

not sure where i stand on the cams, ill ponder the idea and give you my opinion.

cars pay more than bikes...there are way more types of cars vs bikes....i dont wanna say who i work for but i make good money, making stuff for ferrari, porche, lambo ontop of the sti, evo, etc stuff. lately ive been doing TONS of aluminum work, intake suction and charge pipes, manifold parts, throttle body parts...just tons of aluminum...everytime i close my eyes i see an aluminum puddle....
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