[quote=451Mopar]The threaded aluminum plugs are pretty easy to find and drill.
aluminum works, but i have found over the years working with aluminum recessed hex plugs, that all hex wrenches are not created equal. and when the wrench doesn't fit EXACT, the hex strips, or rounds out, causing me lots of grief removing them after the fact. i prefer steel or brass for just this reason alone. stainless plugs are good, but you have to make sure the threads are coated with something that will prevent galling. if you don't, same grief applys. just my experience and preference.
All good points. And the port must be drilled and taped. So why go to all that trouble when you can just tap in the core plug? Pipe plugs are a lot more trouble to install, can be a problem to remove, and do not any better job.
If I went the core plug route, what do you recommend tapping it in with to tap it in even? Do I drill the 3/32 hole before or after the core plug is in place?
i would drill the hole first. reason being it's possible to get a chip or two behind the core plug you would not be able to get out. then it's possible they would migrate at some point to places you would not want them to be, causing problems. to tap it in even, i would use a punch of the appropriate size to get it almost flush, then finish it off with a flat piece of material that would lightly contact the surface of the case. and a side note to those that think brass is "easy" to drill. while brass is not really difficult to drill, the problem lies in the "breakthru" of the bit. at that time, it is super easy to have the bit "catch", and when doing so, the bit, because it is on the small side, will almost always break. another caveat with hardware store brass plugs is the alloy used can vary from super hard/VERY difficult to drill, to super soft/very gummy, also difficult to drill. this is just my 42 years as a machinist working with almost every material except titanium.
