Peg grinders and serdi micro

[superbike]

Hi all

I have had a quote for a Peg 10 orbital grinder that comes in around 2800 pounds . Also I quite like the Peg fm1 head machine wich cuts all 3 angles at once , lets you cut single angles , lets you grind the throats out and also lets you remove valve seats and bore them out to fit bigger seats . It has its own little wall bracket all for around 3800 pounds.

I am just fed up of using Neway there ok for a clean up but to fit 2mm oversize valves you are there forever then at the last minute you find the seat has not cut concentric and have to lap for 30 minutes which is not really professional.

My business has not taken off yet but i know i will need something good at some point soon.

thanks guys ..

Oh forgot to mention has anyone used a Serdi micro which looks identical to the Peg fm1 ?

[Guy Croft]

I was in a similar position 5 years when I started my new firm. Neway are great for the DIY and I myself still use them for roughing out and development ops but I know about the concentricity problem - mainly a result of being hand driven. The Peg 10 grinder
( see http://www.pegrk.com/e/products.html )
is fantastically accurate and I like the expanding pilot system and I would not trade it for anything, but I still have to bore some ops like true parallel throat because you can only grind angles with it. That said I can grind throats to 85-87 deg which is nearly close enough to parallel in most cases.
Seat inserts are still a milling machine or Serdi op. As a development tool it is unmatched - you cannot do seat development work with fixed 3 angle cutters, and with Peg ground seats they lap, well, in seconds, every time.

If you want my advice maybe buy the Peg 10 straightaway and if you can find a good FER reconditioner who is skilled with Serdi for the things you cannot do. I would not recommend a system like Peg FM1 at all, far too much risk of lateral movement driving by hand - as you know from Neway. You'd be better buying a second-hand Bridgeport mill with digital positioning - or even a new generation Sealey mill drill; you don't need a 2 ton monster for doing heads. I don't do my own seat inserting these days, don't have time although I did it hundreds of times in Kent on a mill. It's perfectly straighforward to learn, you just set up and centre, bore. The use nitrogen and an oven for shrink fitting. A milling machine is quite simply the most useful tool an engine builder can buy. Sure reconditioners like Serdi because it's very quick, but a good one (not worn out) is quite a big investment - and it does restrict you to seat ops.

Now, if you buy Peg - do yourself a big favour and buy from the appointed UK agents for Rossi & Kramer - Fondera in Wallingord, Oxon, I cannot recommend them highly enough - they are old friends of mine and their product support is excellent and very quick - for pilots, diamonds, stones etc. You will need these things routinely. If you buy via any other source and the thing needs overhaul you're in real trouble. Plus they will keep you up to speed on the very latest engine overhaul tools.



GC

[superbike]

Yes I spoke to Fondera today.

They say with the Fm1 i can choose my 3 angle blades selecting the width of the 45 degree as 1mm etc and also for seat development i can buy separate blades at all individual angles.

They also assure me that even though it's hand operated the seats end up concentric as the tool is very sturdy design with a strong lock.

I am also assured that the tool is accurate for counterboring the seat to fit larger so for me this sounds dandy.

Its only ‚£500 more than the Peg 10 i still don¢ž¢t know what to go for but i have been invited to bring one of my scrap heads up for a demo. For this i will choose a Ducati 916 head ask them to demonstrate fitting the larger insert and then recut the new seat. I guess if it¢ž¢s all accurate and concentric i will buy - if not the Peg 10 will suffice.