Flex-hone® Flexible Honing Tools

Features | Product Range | How To Select | How To Use

Flex-hone® Ball Hone Flexible Honing Tool

The Flex-Hone® Tool produces a controlled surface condition unobtainable by any other method.

It involves finish, geometry and metallurgical structure.

A high percentage plateau free of cut, torn and folded metal is produced.

The Flex-Hone® is a resilient, flexible honing tool with a soft cutting action.

The abrasive globules each have independent suspension that assures the Flex-Hone® to be self-centering, self-aligning to the bore, and self-compensating for wear.

Flex-Hones® are sometimes called or referred to as Ball Hones, Dingleberry Hones, dingleberry hone, grape hone, bead hone, bottle brush hone, glaze buster/breaker hone, or flexible hone

The Flex-hone® Tool produces a controlled surface finish unobtainable by any other method. A high percentage plateau surface is produced free of cut, torn and folded metal.

Features

Simple and easy to use, powered by an ordinary drill
Available for bores from 5/32 to 36, 4mm to 914mm diameter
Creates a high percentage plateau surface
Deburrs cross holes
Edge blends
Self-centering
Self-aligning to bore
Self-compensating for wear.

If Your Specifications Call For:

A plateaued finish over 50%
A finish free from cut, torn and folded metal and...

If You Want:

Lowered oil consumption
Less blow-by
Less Friction...

FLEX-HONE® TOOLS Product Line

Miniature Flex-Hone®

4mm (.157"), 4.5mm (.177"), 4.75mm (3/16")

Brake Cylinder, Hydraulic, Valve Guide Flex-Hone®

Sizes from (.197") to 3", 5mm to 76mm

Disc Brake Flex-Hone®

Sizes from 1 ½" to 3 1/8" , 38mm to 79mm

Block Cylinder or Liner Flex-Hone®

Sizes from 3" to 8" , 76mm to 203mm

Heavy Duty Flex-Hone®

Sizes from 8 ½" to 36", 203mm to 914mm , shafts sold separately.

Required drive shaft for GBD wood cores.

...

Diamond Flex-Hone® Tools

for finishing carbide, ceramic and hardened tool steel

Flex-Hone® Accessories

Flex-Hone Oil, Cylinder Washing Brush, Pipe Nipple Adaptors, Flex-Shaft

How to Select

1) Size

2) Abrasive Material

3) Grit

STEP 1 - TOOL DIAMETER SELECTION

Tool diameter is determined by the nominal bore size in which the tool is to operate. The FLEX-HONE® Tool is always produced and used in an oversize condition. The degree of oversize creates a soft cutting action. For example, a 1” FLEX-HONE size is ordered if a 1” bore is to be finished and the tool is provided oversized. If the bore size is between standard FLEX-HONE sizes, the next larger standard FLEX-HONE should be selected. For instance, if the nominal bore is 1.093”, then the 1-1⁄8 ” FLEX-HONE is ordered.

STEP 2 - ABRASIVE TYPE SELECTION

Abrasive type is determined by the material you are working with. Refer to the chart for guidance.

IF THE BASE MATERIAL IS:	SUGGESTED ABRASIVE MATERIAL
Mild steel, stainless steel and cast iron	Silicon Carbide (SC)
Aluminum, brass, bronze and softer metals. For deglazing Nikisil cylinders, we suggest 240 AO	Aluminum Oxide (AO)
Low carbon to medium carbon steels, stainless steel and cast iron.	Zirconia Alumina (Z-Grain). Z-Grain is also beneficial when you are looking for longer tool life than SC
Medium to high carbon steels and heat-treated steels to 50 Rc. It is also useful in titanium.	Boron Carbide (BC)
For a final polish on many materials	Levigated Alumina
For carbide, ceramic, hardened tool steel	Diamond

STEP 3 - GRIT SELECTION

The amount of work to be performed and the degree of surface finish improvement required govern grit selection. Coarse finishes may require progressively finer FLEX-HONE® tools to meet final surface finish requirements. In very general terms, final finish will be in the following ranges. This chart is intended to offer a starting point in selecting a grit but the final selection must be verified by actual trial.

Grit	Finish Range
800-LA (2500 MESH)	Ra 3-10 (.05 – .2 Micrometer)
600	Ra 8-12 (.2 – .3 Micrometer)
400 (800 MESH)	Ra 10-20 (.3 – .6 Micrometer)
320	Ra 18-30 (.5 – .7 Micrometer)
240	Ra 24-32 (.6 – .8 Micrometer)
180 (170/200 MESH)	Ra 30-40 (.7 – 1.0 Micrometer)
120	Ra 35-50 (.9 –1.4 Micrometer)
80	Ra 45-64 (1.2 – 1.6 Micrometer)
60	Ra 60-80 (1.5 – 2 Micrometer)
40	Ra 70-125 (1.7 – 3.2 Micrometer)
20	Ra 125-250 (3.2 – 6.3 Micrometer)

How to Use

The flex-hone tool should be securely held in a collet chuck or similar holding device.

It is best to use the shortest shank possible for your application.

The tool can be chucked in a standard 3/8 inch or 1/2 inch drill motor, drill press, milling machine, lathe machine tool collet or any rotating spindle.

The flex hone tool always requires the use of a lubricant or honing oil

RPM and Stroke rate

The Flex-Hone tool is a low RPM tool. Specific RPM is dependent on the diameter of the tool and the application. General speed ranges are given but, again, machine trials are required to verify the parameters.

Hone Dia. RPM
19" to 36" 60-120 RPM
12" to 18" 80 to 350 RPM
8" to 12" 300 to 500 RPM
4" to 8" 400 to 600 RPM
2" to 4" 600 to 800 RPM
½" to 2" 700 to 900 RPM
4mm to ½" 800-1200 RPM

Stroke rate is a function of Flex-Hone diameter, stroke length and cross hatch angle specification, if any. High crosshatch angles require faster stroke rates. The larger diameter tools might feed as slow as 10-12 IPM while the smaller diameter tools with high cross hatch angles might require feed as high as 250 IPM.

The hone can be made to rotate in both directions. Often this is preferable to do on each work piece (i.e. 5 strokes clockwise, 5 strokes counterclockwise)

General Application and Selection of the Flex-Hone® Tool, flexible honing tools

Flex-Hone® Tools in Canada

Newman Tools is a Canadian supplier of Brush Research Flex-Hone® flexible honing tools. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, we supply Flex-Hone tools across Canada and worldwide. Our selection includes miniature, brake-cylinder, hydraulic, valve-guide, block-cylinder, heavy-duty, rotor, disc-brake and specialty Flex-Hone tools.