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Your cart is empty.The FLEX-HONE® tool was originally created by Brush Research Manufacturing to deglaze cylinder walls in automotive applications. Brush Research embraced the benefits of a plateau finish and pioneered the concept of plateau honing culminating in the introduction of the FLEX-HONE tool in 1972. The FLEX-HONE has gained many nicknames over the years and including ball hone, ball style hone, flexihone, dingleberry hone, bead brush, glaze breaker and glaze buster. Flexible honing with the FLEX-HONE tool produces an oil holding cross hatch pattern and a true plateau finish free of cut, torn and folded metal. Any type or size of cylinder can benefit from the FLEX-HONE®. These abrasive bead style brushes are produced in standard diameters from 4mm to 36 inches. Nine abrasive types are offered including Silicon Carbide, Aluminum Oxide, Boron Carbide, Z-Grain, Leviagted Alumina, CBN and Diamond allowing the tool to be tailored to finish any base material. A choice of 11 different grit selections are available for precise control of finish parameters. The elimination of peaks results in rapid ring seating, better oil control, reduced seepage in hydraulic and pneumatic applications and provides better seal performance and longer seal life. Successful applications include firearm chambers, shotgun barrels, musical instruments, combustion chambers, air compressors, pumps, valve bodies, valve guides, brake cylinders, wheel cylinders and the list goes on and on. FLEX-HONE® tools are also very effective for deburring cross drilled holes, port radiusing and edge blending. Because of its unique construction, the FLEX-HONE is self-centering, self-aligning, and self-compensating for wear so it does not require an elaborate set-up or special training. Deburring can be effectively automated and combined in the machining process to allow a complete cylinder finish in one operation or it can be employed as a secondary operation with equal results.
J M B
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2025
Worked great.
Robert
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2025
It's a fine little brush.
dahank
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2025
This hone performed great! Rebuilding a few small engines and used this to cross hatch cylinder walls.
KCisco
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2024
I decided to rebuild my snowmobile motors as preventative maintenance, and was replacing pistons and rings. The piston suppliers all recommend cylinder prep with these type of ball hones. I bought two hones, one for my 500 cc sleds and one for my 800 cc sled. There are many grits and compounds available, but for Nickasil cylinders these 320 grit Aluminum Oxide versions are recommended. They worked perfectly for de-glazing and refreshing the crosshatch to help in proper cylinder oiling and piston and ring break-in. Choose the ball hone size you need based on the actual cylinder bore diameter. If you buy the hone that matches your diameter it is actually slightly oversized to create just the right amount of pressure to the cylinder wall for effective honing. Using these ball hones takes a bit of technique, but in a home shop environment I found doing the honing in a 5 gallon bucket worked to contain the lube oil from flinging all over the shop, I also made a short spacer to place under the bottom of the cylinder edge inside the bucket to lift the cylinder just enough off the bottom to allow the hone to effectively reach through the cylinder with a full stroke, but not protrude too far through and allow the balls to wrap the lip and bind. Holding the cylinder solid in the bucket also helped to keep the hone centered within the cylinder as cocking it at any angle while holding the cylinder by hand tended to end up with the hone hooking a port or the lip and stopping the process (my first attempts were a bit of a learning curve). Once I figured out how to hold the cylinder and limit the travel properly the remaining cylinders were easy to complete. If you do bind the hone and twist some of the ball fingers, they are very forgiving, and easy to re-set the fingers, straighten them out, and continue on, being more careful about your process. These hones should last forever if you're only using them periodically in a home shop. Using them per the included instructions left a beautiful surface with correctly angled cross-hatch, and made for a perfect top-end rebuild. These are far better than the old spring loaded stone-hones of old, especially for nickasil. These also have a far less likelihood of catching a port if you keep it centered. And if it does catch one due to your (My) own mistakes, it will simply bend around itself but not cause any damage, unlike the potential damage that could be caused if a stone catches a port with the old style hones. Highly recommend this product and the seller.
Matt
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2024
I uploaded a before/after picture. I’ll let that speak for itself.Also, this works wonders on nikasil without removing the material. Borer size is identical before and after honing. Do it!
motorhead
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2024
DID GREAT FOR LIFT BORE. IN A 5.3 LS.
Anthony G Roberts
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2024
It done a really great job honing my chainsaw cylinder. Good product.
L-Con
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023
I needed a flex hone to clean up the inside of a Moen Positemp shower valve, when replacing a leaking cartridge. This worked perfectly to clean the corrosion and scale from the inside of the valve body, and left a pristine surface for the new cartridge to seal against. I’ve used these for years on engine cylinders, so I had no doubt it would do the job needed. These are a bit pricey, but it was less expensive than replacing the entire faucet assembly in my shower.
Customer
Reviewed in Canada on September 4, 2018
Zero issues, will be buying other sizes.
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