Filing Rings

Downeaster

Downeaster

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Okay, so I got my jugs back from the machine shop, and I'm gonna put a new set of rings in.

I'm aware that rings usually need to be fitted to get the proper end gap, and last I knew, the way to do that was to file the ends as needed.

My question is, what to file them with. AFAIK, rings are just slightly less hard than diamond, I don't see your average file touching them.

What should I use and where do I get it?
 
you mite look at some sporting goods catalogs for a diamond impregnated knife sharpening hones.id assume you would want a fairly thin, flat one.seems like ive seen some.

a uprite,bench model belt sander mite work but you would have to be mighty carefull.

brownells gun parts and tool catalog mite be another place to look.they used to have all kinds of tools for gunsmithing. some gun metal such as stainless is very hard.
 
Hmmmmm. Diamond hone. I have one of those...

And speaking of rings, are the sets from Mikes any good? If not, what brands and sources are recommended?
 
what i used to do was put my file in a vice horizontily with about 2/3 of it above the vise jaws and carefully draw the rings front to back along it. your file must be fairly thin to not change the square angle of the ring ends. then with a very small file or whetstone take the burrs off the corners.

those ring grinders are nice tho.

i used to rebuild a lot of motors,mostly car and tractors with a bike thrown in occasionally and never really ran into very many rings that needed to be filed.most fell within specs.

just my experience.
 
If your machinist did a good fit of the bores to the pistons your rings will probably be within specs. Check first.
I have filed rings with a hand crank cutter. it worked well. I have also put a file in a vise and pulled the rings along it to adjust gap.
I ran Mike's rings In the 75 as a second over 650. for a few thousand miles and no problems.
I assume others have had good luck with them, haven't heard anything bad about them.
Leo
 
i may be wrong but i assume the ring ends should never touch even when the motor is hot.

say for instance your motor is hot and going along good and then you met a condition that made it hotter, like city traffic. if the ring ends touched it would cause more pressure from them to the cylinder wall and accelerate wear.


if per say that is correct, then a perfectly square ring end may not be that much of a big deal. all though i would strive to keep them as square as possible.

all in all i think the spec tolerance is to keep the ring ends from ever touching.
 
There is a special tool for this (as shown in the link in post #4). You probably won't need to do any filing but do check the end gaps (you never know). Yes, you can file them by hand but it's a royal P.I.T.A. You also run a far greater risk of breaking one (been there, done that). I have the special tool. I use it often because I fit 1st oversize rings into a standard bore if it is still OK and not in need of a re-bore. I do this because, even though the bore may be in spec, new standard rings usually have too big of an end gap (in that used bore). I want my new rings to be at the minimum spec (.008") and this is the only way to get that in a used bore.
 
Yes, it's a touchy thing, even with the filing tool, but so is most internal engine work. I consider it like the operating room in a hospital, no shit. You must be precise, it must be a totally clean environment, thousandths of an inch do make a difference. Frankly, my jaw just drops at some of the shenanigans I see posted here. For instance, that muffin eating English guy who had to rebuild his engine like 3 times before he got it right. With the parts scattered all over his gravel driveway, I expected it would take at least 5 tries, lol.
 
Downeaster said:
...AFAIK, rings are just slightly less hard than diamond, I don't see your average file touching them...
Click to expand...

Standard rings of the period are cast iron. Higher quality rings will have a specialty coating on the edge, like moly, or some mild alloying. They must be able to wear-in to properly seal, so they're not that difficult to file.
 
..... but filing both ends straight by hand, so they squeeze together and mate exactly, that's not easy. That's probably why they make special ring filing tools. I saw mine on one of the hot rod shows on the Nashville Network one Sunday afternoon. I had to have one, lol.
 
Agreed. The hand-crank ring grinder was standard issue in the old school shops, my favorite.

Got a batch of 2" diameter, diamond cutting wheels. Very inexpensive, good quality. Made a precision grinder for my carbide lathe tooling. Plan to make a ring grinder using one of these wheels...
 
Downeaster said:
Okay, so I got my jugs back from the machine shop, and I'm gonna put a new set of rings in.

I'm aware that rings usually need to be fitted to get the proper end gap, and last I knew, the way to do that was to file the ends as needed.

My question is, what to file them with. AFAIK, rings are just slightly less hard than diamond, I don't see your average file touching them.

What should I use and where do I get it?
Click to expand...
......................... hi there,s 4" flat diamond files available if you go to a engining tool shop or maybe a good tool shop will have them regards oldbiker
 
Thanks for all the input, folks. When I get them, I'll square them up in the bore and check the gap. If any serious adjustment is needed, I'll get the ring grinder.

Any excuse for another tool...:bike:
 
Downeaster said:
Okay, so I got my jugs back from the machine shop, and I'm gonna put a new set of rings in.

I'm aware that rings usually need to be fitted to get the proper end gap, and last I knew, the way to do that was to file the ends as needed.

My question is, what to file them with. AFAIK, rings are just slightly less hard than diamond, I don't see your average file touching them.

What should I use and where do I get it?
Click to expand...
I just use a dermal tool with a diamond wheel it works great but be carful and do a little then check your fit it is real easy to take to much so go slow
 

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