Aftermarket Cylinder Quality

[farminkarman]

"Techrician say, okay to run."

I have built several 350/346 saws with OEM top ends, and I have done a couple with a Duke's 346 top end. I honestly can't tell the difference in performance between the two (that is of course both being ported with the same timing numbers) If the OEM 346xp versions become unobtainable, I would recommend the Duke's 346 p&c combo.

 

[NateSaw]

"Techrician say, okay to run."

Technician name Arec Ballryn.

 

[Ketchup]

I used to like Hyway and Meteor better than the mainland stuff. After fighting just as many casting problems and far more difficult plating, I prefer the El Cheapo for porting. For bolt on performance, its still a gamble with bad odds.

@Duke Thieroff thanks for sharing your experience and opinion. I would love to hear how you’ve managed to convince the manufacturers to work up “premium” cylinders. More premium big bores would be the cats meow.

 

[Spike60]

Well, you can't really expect that they are shooting for measured performance with those those AM kits. The goal is simply to make the saw run, and in most cases they deliver on that. How long and how well is not always certain.

The plating issues? I suspect they are more problematic when grinding on them. I think once you "open a wound" it's more likely to start peeling.

There is a place for these kits, but being a starting point for high end port work isn't one of them. For getting a dead saw up and running for just a few bucks, they do OK.

 

[Stump Shot]

I agree and understand what Duke and Bob are saying above. i just don’t see why it would be so much more difficult to change the mold on the transfer tunnels towards something that approximates the oem shapes.

Some of my ignorance may be playing a role in my question. Maybe the intake hump requires a 2 piece mold vs the straight AM transfer tunnels we typically see with the AM jugs.

The transfers on a closed port cylinder require them to be made in such a way as to be attached to the inner mold(bore) much like the ears of a Mr. Potato Head. So each caster has to make these from thin air, so it's up to their interpretation of just what that is and where it's placed. Which is why some say screw it and just make 'em open ports instead, it's a lot easier.

 

[Stump Shot]

Here's a Dukey Doo 372xp cylinder that I have here waiting for a saw to go on. I would give this cylinder a go at porting from what I can see with no problems that I can foresee. Plating is already exposed at the port edge so peeling will not be an issue. port shapes appear normal, bore has been honed to finish size. Should be okay to run... ported!




Edit: P.S. Anyone have a junk 372 chassis I can use as a cheap builder for this experiment let me know.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Its pretty ridiculous that I buy alot of stuff from the Dukes shop considering that I'm 5 states away and grew up in Pennsylvania.
I'm pretty pleased with the pistons I've got from him.

 

[Ketchup]

Its pretty ridiculous that I buy alot of stuff from the Dukes shop considering that I'm 5 states away and grew up in Pennsylvania.
I'm pretty pleased with the pistons I've got from him.

Tell me about it. I’m even farther and those 10% off cards have become my go-to stock for setting port height. Glad the Duke is in business!

 

[isaaccarlson]

I have bought stuff from hl supply in the past and they pissed me off. The bearings and seals were never going to go together with the bearings being almost .010" bigger than the seals. The first cylinder I got was buggered up by a grinder, so I requested one that was untouched. Still never got a reply on the bearings or a refund, so I scratched yhem off my list of suppliers. Mostly oem now, even when it costs more, because poor customer service and *s-wordty quality are things I don't mess with.

There were other parts I ordered from them that sort of worked and some that didn't. I use the pain of that as a reminder that oem is the way to go. Buy once cry once. The ringing clutch drum in my 350 is a daily reminder that cheap is over rated.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Strangely enough I too recently had a customer service issue with Hlsupply. Got a part that didn't work straight out of the box, and emailed them, 10 f-'ckin emails in I told the rep to stop emailing me if they weren't go to resolve the issue.
Not cool.

 

[Stump Shot]

Here's a Dukey Doo 372xp cylinder that I have here waiting for a saw to go on. I would give this cylinder a go at porting from what I can see with no problems that I can foresee. Plating is already exposed at the port edge so peeling will not be an issue. port shapes appear normal, bore has been honed to finish size. Should be okay to run... ported!

View attachment 380564


Edit: P.S. Anyone have a junk 372 chassis I can use as a cheap builder for this experiment let me know.

Well, I finally found a victim to put this cylinder in, and while it was not a port job, I was curios to know just how the plating would react to being cut, so I lowered the cylinder extension notch by the lower transfers a little bit with a carbide burr bit followed by beveling and all went well just like it should. Here's it running in some pine. @Duke Thieroff

 

[qurotro]

Here's a Dukey Doo 372xp cylinder that I have here waiting for a saw to go on. I would give this cylinder a go at porting from what I can see with no problems that I can foresee. Plating is already exposed at the port edge so peeling will not be an issue. port shapes appear normal, bore has been honed to finish size. Should be okay to run... ported!

View attachment 380564


Edit: P.S. Anyone have a junk 372 chassis I can use as a cheap builder for this experiment let me know.

It seems the transfers are WAY smaller than the OEM

 

[Duke Thieroff]

Hi @Stump Shot

Are you buried up to your knees yet in snow up there?

 

[Stump Shot]

Hi @Stump Shot

Are you buried up to your knees yet in snow up there?

I can tell by that, you didn't watch the vid. Lol
No snow here at all.

 

[Stump Shot]

It seems the transfers are WAY smaller than the OEM

Maybe next time, I'll have more of a guinea pig project to see what can be had from one of these. I never even timed this one.

 

[Duke Thieroff]

I can tell by that, you didn't watch the vid. Lol
No snow here at all.

Anything could have happened between filiming time and Dukey time.

 

[slackinoff]

@Stump Shot - I was actually just wondering a few days ago if you ever found a saw to test that cylinder on. Nice! Will watch the video later today.

 

[Stump Shot]

Anything could have happened between filiming time and Dukey time.

Just a matter of hours, I like 'em fresh. Lol

 

[Duke Thieroff]

Just a matter of hours, I like 'em fresh. Lol

Fresh dookie

 

[Absolution]

I tried a hyway cylinder on my 661 and where the plating started pealing was no where near where I messed with the exhaust and the lip of the port felt fine. Still bummed out because I ran that cylinder throughout the day and it was running really well. I only noticed the damage as when I got home I pulled the jug. After that I went back to the used oem cylinder that I was using to replace the original that was on the saw and decided to go a head and port that one.

Which So far seemed to be a good decision at least with the cookies I cut today. But I know there's more in it. I need to get a squish band mandrel....