Question on honing at home?!

[Shadow7874]

I went to the auto parts store and picked up an OEM Adjustable Engine Cylinder Hone Deglazer. It says it works for 51 to 128 mm and it has three 4" grinding stones on it. How exactly do i need to use this thing?! I just need a light hone on my std cyls before i rebuild but im wondering if i need a drill press or can i just put this thing on a cordless drill and spin it a little? a few people have said its not hard to hone at home but i dont wanna ruin anything by just trying it out.

 

[fastony]

Do not use that type of hone on a 2 stroke cyl you are taking a big chance on catching on a port and riping the stones out, what you need to use is a flex hone they work perfect for taking the glaze out. Here is what the look like and you can buy them on ebay or a industrial supply store. When you use it just use a drill and spray the hone with a oil and you just run it in and out real fast to get a cross hatch look to the cyl.
http://www.brushresearch.com/flex-hone-tool.php

 

[5810]

I used both with no Problems, Just dont go crazy with it.

 

[badboyr6]

ive used the 3 stone one with no problem, just go slow and oil it

 

[cdickski]

I have used the 3 stones and the flex and also rigid hones. Watch out for the 3 stone job as you draw it up near the top of the bore or at the bottom that is where they seem to get a little wild and break stones. Regardles of what style you use it is important to get the correct cross hatch pattern. The website fastony posted, http://www.brushresearch.com/flex-hone-tool.php, has a very nice example of the diamond shape crosshatch you are looking for. If you run the drill fast you have to draw the hone up and down in the cylinder rediculously fast usually leading to a screwup where you will end up with a broken stone from extracting to far. Circular rings around the bore are defvinitely NOT what you want and vertical scratches will not do much for seating the rings. My advice is take it slow at a speed you are comfortable. The pattern is more important than what style hone you uses. Use plenty of fluid to lubricat and flush away the grit, (I usually use a mixture of oil and mineral spirits.) And when i am done I always wash the block with detergent and water to get rid of all the grit (does a much better job than oil and solvent). Immediately oil the cylinder walls to prevent rusting.

 

[Shadow7874]

Uhh... if i have the circular rings around the cylinders instead of the cross hatching what will happen?? I already tried honing and i assumed i guess i did it to quick and got the rings and just assumed it was ok and went ahead and installed my cyls and head. I suppose i can remove and rehone if its really a big deal

 

[cdickski]

I am not sure. I have always been told that the correct cross hatch angle is important to get the rings to seat properly. I personally think that the general deglazing and surface roughness is most important for ring seating. I think where the angle really matters is the long term tubrication of the engine. The idea behind the hone hatch pattern is tha the "scratches" hold oil to help lubricate the piston and rings against the cylinder wall. If you had vertical scratches ie. you pulled the hone in and out with rotating it, the piston will act as a pump and the "scratches" will act as a "port" as the piston travels down on a power stoke fuel and oil will be driven back up to the combustion chamber. The idea of an excessively steep angle is that not enough oil wll be retained on the cylinder wall to properly lubricate the piston and ring. The flip side and i believe you case, a flat angle, can cause extra oil to be held in the scratches. In addition to holding more, the oil that is held usually remains longer and builds up more heat. Without sufficient fresh oil transfer you can have premature ring overheating and glazing, meaning you'll have to do the rings again sooner. I have heard of people building short runtime between overhaul race enginesand using a hatch angle as low as 15 degrees the extra oil held lowers the friction between the piston, rings and bore creating a engine with less losses. I have never personally built an engine with a real low hatch angle so I really can advise how big of a problem it is. It is however extremely important to get the cylinder clean, if you didn't was it with soapy water I would pull it apart just to do that.

 

[Waternut]

You'll be fine with the 3 stone hone. I've used them on 3 entirely different engines and all are still going strong. As said before, just be careful when you get near the top of the cylinder because the hone can spring out. Just go up and down slowly. I always used the drill at max speed.

Look at it another way... there are guys on here that don't even hone their cylinders when they change the rings and their rings still seat. Although, I wouldn't personally go this route, I do feel that a cheap hone is better than no hone. Use what you have. You'll be fine.

 

[Waternut]

If you had vertical scratches ie. you pulled the hone in and out with rotating it, the piston will act as a pump and the "scratches" will act as a "port" as the piston travels down on a power stoke fuel and oil will be driven back up to the combustion chamber. The idea of an excessively steep angle is that not enough oil wll be retained on the cylinder wall to properly lubricate the piston and ring. The flip side and i believe you case, a flat angle, can cause extra oil to be held in the scratches. In addition to holding more, the oil that is held usually remains longer and builds up more heat. Without sufficient fresh oil transfer you can have premature ring overheating and glazing, meaning you'll have to do the rings again sooner. I have heard of people building short runtime between overhaul race enginesand using a hatch angle as low as 15 degrees the extra oil held lowers the friction between the piston, rings and bore creating a engine with less losses. I have never personally built an engine with a real low hatch angle so I really can advise how big of a problem it is. It is however extremely important to get the cylinder clean, if you didn't was it with soapy water I would pull it apart just to do that.

I understand what you're saying and although I do completely understand your logic, you're addressing extreme conditions. It's like applying tolerances and science of the space shuttle to your average house fan. It's overkill. I agree it's good practice and if you have the right tools, by all means use them but I disagree with the with the whole concept about the scratches acting as ports. First of all, the scratches on 3 stone hone are more horizontal than vertical and even if they were vertical, the scratches are on a microscopic level. Even if fuel and oil are driven back up to the combustion chamber, you're also talking about an insanely small amount compared to what the carb just pumped into the combustion chamber.

I also disagree with the concept of the scratches holding oil in your average engine. At low rpms, the massive combustion force will help cleanse that excess oil off scratches. In extreme race engines, this needs to be taken into consideration due to the excessive amount of heat generated and the shorter intervals between cycles.