Occasionally, we will see some pieces of grit that can wiggle it's way to
the bottom of the hole and wedge itself in between the spark plug and the
head - defying all efforts, it would seem, of removal. However, a
conscientious worker can remove even the most difficult pieces with common
sense and patience.

The usual process (for me, at least).... Blow the top of the engine clear of
dust and grit. Remove the COPs and blow out the holes and inspect. Any that
have debris, back the plug out one turn and blow again. If there is anything
left, I use a piece of thinwall tubing that fits down the spark plug well -
serations are cut in the end of the tube so it resembles a very deep hole
saw... done deal...

Now, a few side notes.... I don't know why it is, but the moment we start
discussing automotive service techs, so many people "expect" that there is
an abject lack of integrity. When I need to spend extra time clearing the
plug wells of debris, I expect to get paid for my time.... but I will be
regarded as a thieving a.shole because another shop would have done the job
cheaper. OK, so I don't clean the debris out of the plug well (bacuase
someone wont pay the extra time), I am now a careless, thieving a.shole 
because, I suppose, the shop down the street wouldn't have found the dirt
that I did (amazing how that works).

There are three main reasons why dirt and grit can migrate into the plug
holes... In our area, the top of a work vehicle engine often resembles a
swamp as dirt and water are forced up on to the top of the engine. As the
engine cools, dirty water is drawn into the plug well. A second way involves
the careless use of a pressure washer which can drive the dirt into the plug
well and the third is failing to practice good housekeeping at the beginning
of the job.

I don't think a tech is any more likely to ignore the presence of debris in
the plug well than a DIYer.

FWIW, if some small debris does escape the watchful eye, it isn't going to
cause any more damage than the errant pieces of carbon that pass through our
cylinders every day.... from pieces that flake off the piston and valve
stems, to those pieces that are carried through during times of EGR flow....
This is no reason to ignore the pieces that we do see, but it adds balance
to those pieces that we don't....

Yup.  I blew the hell out of them.  Also sprayed brake cleaner into
the hole and blew them out a second time.

Michael is quite right... when I first entered this trade, the spark plugs
would come out of a car pretty much twice a year.... along with points and
condenser. We would clean and regap the plugs but, more often than not,
replace the points and condenser... though I've filed more sets of points
than I care to remember.

These days, it is rare for our shop to change points (this is SuperDuty
diesel land, up here).... It's been about three years since I last had plugs
out of a motor in the shop....

One thing worth mentioning, when it comes to Ford cylinder heads, at least,
is the importance of torquing the plugs on installation.... This is a sore
point with me since I am positive that too many "professional" techs aren't
doing this. Spark plug torque valus are listed as 13 ft/lb for the 4.6/2V,
11ft/lb for the 4V engines and (I'm a little leery of this since it seems
uncharacteristically high) 25 ft/lb for the 3V engines. Proper torque is
essntial if we are to avoid splark plug insert or cylinder head concerns.

In the end, with a variety of extensions to choose from (3", 6", and
10") and the u-bolt articulated thingy, I was able to get all the
plugs out without removing anything other than the air duct.

Of course, I did indeed scrape each and every knuckle, but I did get
it done, and feel bad for having saved a few bucks. Also changed the
wires (nice, no tools) and changed the serpentine belt (which I had
thought would be more difficult than the plugs, but with the breaker
bar took about 5 minutes.)

Good luck with all your updates!

-- dave j