LABOR DAY FOR THE LOSS. No where is open. And i live in Alaska so we dont have as many auto shops either. Schucks sells Honers, but their the straight grinding stone type honer...and i KNOW i need the ball honer. I've heard horror stories about the stone version. Anyway, is it possible to use the stone version and get by or should i kick my shins and wait till tomorrow to hit napa and get the ball honer?

 

Wait till napa opens lol. Well its just what i would do.

 

wait. ive ruined too many things by not waiting so take our advice and wait until you can do it right, not twice.

 

Okay, im waiting, but heres another problem. Ill never hone cylinders again after this, and the flex bead hones are like 90 dollars at Napa..any options? Shucks doesnt have them for me to rent either...and no one keeps them in stock in town...heeeeeelpppppp....


Can i use the rock stone honer? or should i most def go with a bead hone?

 

stone hones are the best way to do it but the ball / bead hones are best for newbs, basically because the contact surfaces (between the beads and the cylinder walls) are smaller with the beads so you don't cut as much.

optimally, you want an approximate 60 degree crosshatch on the cylinder walls which is more precisely attainable with the stones but if you mess up with the stones, you could end up cutting enough off the walls to require larger rings and/or pistons.

 

yeah im a newb...so..crash course on the stone honers?? haha..cuzzz i dont have 90 dollars to spend and i can easily rent the stone honer that schucks has...

I would be really nervous using the stone if its easy to take off too much, but if i have to, ill do it knowing how long to do each cylinder...a 60% shouldnt be too hard to get.. i hope?

 

not 60%- 60 degrees.
When you hone, you move the drill up and down the cylinder and the stones will leave scratch marks in the cylinder wall. You want those scratch marks to be slanted near 60 degrees. So you have to correlate moving the drill up and down the bore with the speed of the drill so you leave scratches in the cylinder wall at a 60 degree from vertical angle (30 degrees from horizontal). Make sense?

 

yeah, ive honed before with the balls..was really easy.. and yeah i meant 60 degrees not % lol..

so basically just go slow enough to ensure the right degrees? how will i know whe to stop lol cuz i def dont want to over do it

 

I've read that anywhere from 20-60 degrees is considered acceptable.

I always use the replaceable 3 stone one I inherited from my step-dad. I learned how do the job right with it. It isn't too difficult really, if you pay attention(stay in the bore with the stones) and know how to use the drill you've got pretty well.

Have fun!


Oh yeah, when to stop? Check to see if the pattern is consistent from top to bottom after every 10-12 strokes with the hone. Keep going untill it looks evenly honed all the way up and down the cylinder wall between and/or just slightly past, both, the upper and lower ring ridges (if present, if not, then where the ring ridges would be). It may only take the first 10-12 strokes.