I actually didn't. I took it to my friend Freddie right down the road, because I SUCK using a hand grinder. He's a master with one. I've had him do two for me and one for someone else. He does a really nice job. This one is 2 1/4", but the one I am running now he got out to 2 1/2". I never would have thought there was that much meat in the manifold in that area, but it turns out it's a lot thicker than it appears.