Ball Hone
- Thread starter tony91
- Start date
marcusgunby
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Jan 9, 2000
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look on www.ericgorr.com
This is what Eric says on honing plated cylinders:
Honing the Cylinder Bore
Many people have emailed me with questions regarding honing cylinder bores. If you want to buy a hone to deglaze bores or polish off small scratches, then a ball-hone is the best choice. Ball hones are manufactured by Brush Research in Los Angeles, under the brand name Flex-Hone. These hones are available under different labels and they are most easily available from auto parts stores. Buy a size that is 10% smaller than the actual bore size. These hones are available in several different materials and grits but the profile that bests suits both steel and plated cylinders is aluminum oxide 240 grit. A ball hone cannot remove material from the cylinder bore, especially on the hard nickel plated bores. However a ball hone can polish down the peaks of the original hone scratches and increase the bearing ratio. In other words the piston will be touching a greater percentage of the bore. Sometimes that makes the piston wear quicker but if you have to ball hone the bore to remove scratches, it's a compromise. The one type of hone that you should never use on a two-stroke cylinder is a spring-loaded finger hone. The sharp edges of the stone will snag the port edges and most likely damage the hone and the cylinder.
Honing the Cylinder Bore
Many people have emailed me with questions regarding honing cylinder bores. If you want to buy a hone to deglaze bores or polish off small scratches, then a ball-hone is the best choice. Ball hones are manufactured by Brush Research in Los Angeles, under the brand name Flex-Hone. These hones are available under different labels and they are most easily available from auto parts stores. Buy a size that is 10% smaller than the actual bore size. These hones are available in several different materials and grits but the profile that bests suits both steel and plated cylinders is aluminum oxide 240 grit. A ball hone cannot remove material from the cylinder bore, especially on the hard nickel plated bores. However a ball hone can polish down the peaks of the original hone scratches and increase the bearing ratio. In other words the piston will be touching a greater percentage of the bore. Sometimes that makes the piston wear quicker but if you have to ball hone the bore to remove scratches, it's a compromise. The one type of hone that you should never use on a two-stroke cylinder is a spring-loaded finger hone. The sharp edges of the stone will snag the port edges and most likely damage the hone and the cylinder.
I use a hand drill with a 240 grit Aluminum Oxide ball hone.
The cross-hatch pattern is a matter of drill rotation speed and how fast you go up & down in the cylinder. After a couple of times doing it you'll get the hang of drill speed and motion.
Be sure the hone is spinning while inserting the hone into and out of the cylinder. Don't put the hone into the cylinder and then start the drill.
I use lots of oil on the hone and cylinder walls while using the hone.
Make sure you wash the cylindr out when you are finished like the others have said.
Here is a link to Brush Research - Flex Hone web site.
Hope this helps!
The cross-hatch pattern is a matter of drill rotation speed and how fast you go up & down in the cylinder. After a couple of times doing it you'll get the hang of drill speed and motion.
Be sure the hone is spinning while inserting the hone into and out of the cylinder. Don't put the hone into the cylinder and then start the drill.
I use lots of oil on the hone and cylinder walls while using the hone.
Make sure you wash the cylindr out when you are finished like the others have said.
Here is a link to Brush Research - Flex Hone web site.
Hope this helps!
