Couldn't you just use a thinner gasket? I'm thinking about getting a Fred head myself.
Gaskets of varying thickness are not exactly growing on trees for this thing. Most are around 0.025".
The results you achieved are exactly as I would suspect.
The combustion chamber volume is similar to a stock head, so if you don't mill the head, your compression stays the same.
The gap at its narrowest point you reported was just over 0.060"
(the squish gap is tapered in the engines, as the curve of the squish band is a greater radius than the curve of the piston dome. So it will be narrowest at the edge of the cylinder, and progressively gets wider as it gets closer to the center of the head)
This means the squish band is having no effect at all.
So it makes perfect sense that performance has not changed, but it runs cooler.
The advantages of the squish band go alot farther than just improving performance:
It makes the combustion process much more efficient, giving you better fuel economy.
It keeps the combustion event contained in the center of the cylinder. When the squish gap is set properly, the gasses in-between the gap cannot be ignitied so they help cool the cylinder wall and the piston dome, improving piston and cylinder longevity, and helps to prevent piston siezure.
The dynamics of the squish event effectively "squishes" all the gasses into the center of the combustion chamber so they are closer to the spark plug, and can ignite more completely. Rouge patches of unburnt gasses in the cylinder that don't get ignited with the main charge lead to detonation. (Effectively, the rouge patch of gasses ignites late, and the expanding flame front it creates colides with the expanding flame front of the initial ignition event. This is known as "detonation" and is incredibly destructive to engine components)
And on top of all that, it's just free power, everywhere in the power band.
Trust me, you won't ruin your cylinder trying to deck it without accurate cutting tools.
I have done 4 cylinders with the piece of glass figure 8 method. One I removed 0.050" and it took a while, but it turned out great.
Basically:
Materials needed:
1x Flat Surface (reasonably flat table, work bench, concrete floor, etc.)
1x 12" by 12" Flat Piece of Glass (I used the top of a glass table, works awesome because it is so thick. Glass from a picture frame will work as long as it is not super thin)
Multiple Grits of Sandpaper:
120 grit
300/400 grit
600 grit
1200 grit
1x Brush (for sweeping the aluminum shaving off your piece of Sandpaper. As long as you keep the Sandpaper swept off with the brush it will cut surprising well, and won't gal. You run into a problem when aluminum shavings start getting balled up and embedded into the sandpaper, then they start galling -leaving deep gouges- the surface you are trying to sand. Sweep the shavings off the sandpaper before they build up and start getting stuck in the sandpaper)
Now that you have your materials:
Lay the glass onto the flat surface (duh).
If your piece is thick enough that it won't distort, put something rubber underneath it so it won't slide while your trying to sand on it.
If not, tape it down to the surface.
Next, tape the 120 grit sandpaper to the piece of glass to begin.
If you are confident in your ability to measure the small change in height you are going to make (@ 0.0625 your going to need to remove about 0.030" to achieve 0.032", right in the middle of the range) then you can make a few passes, and measure your progress.
If you are not confident in your ability to make this measurement, then you will need to make a few passes (say 10 passes) then re-do the solder crush test. Continue to do passes, and re-measure with the solder crush test until the desired measurement is achieved.
Here is how to do a "pass":
Place the head top down onto the sandpaper (duh)
Note witch part of the head is facing you (exhaust port, intake port, transfer port). I usually start with the exhaust or intake port as it is easier to remember than witch side transfer port.
Lets say you start with the exhaust port facing you.
Take the head in your hands and while maintaining even pressure sweep a figure 8 motion over the sandpaper.
Do a set number of figure 8's, and do that number every time.
I do 10 figure 8's.
Once you do 10 with the exhaust port facing you, rotate the head 90 degrees so one of the transfer ports is now facing you, and do another 10.
Rotate 90 degrees so now the intake port is facing you, do another 10 figure 8's.
Rotate 90 degrees so now the other transfer port is facing you, do another 10 figure 8's.
Rotate 90 degrees so now the exhaust port is facing you again.
YOU JUST DID 1 PASS!!!!!
YYYYAAAAAAYYYYYY
Now do 9 more passes and then measure your progress.
Repeat this process until you achieve your desired measurement.
Once you achieve your desired measurement do 1 pass each at 300/400 grit, 600 grit, then 1200 grit.
NOW YOU HAVE JUST DECKED YOUR CYLINDER!!!
WOOOOOOT!!!
The beauty of the figure 8's, while rotating the cylinder around a 360 as you do them helps to keep everything true, square, and flat.
It just takes a lot more time than a fly cutter on an end mill:
I have faith in you my friend!
If you have any questions let me know.
