The process of honing is used to break the glaze that is created on the cylinder walls after the piston rings have seated. Hand honing can be accomplished with either a stone type hone or a berry ball hone. A stone type hone is more aggressive for removing the glaze. A berry ball hone is used to produce that 45 degree cross hatch pattern. The final product should have cross hatch marks at a 45 degree angle. The process of hand honing is to break the cylinder wall glaze, NOT to true the cylinder walls.
Pretty much the process includes you using WD-40 or equivalent to lubricate and aid the hone cutting the cylinder walls. So get spraying the cylinder walls and your hone with the lubricant. Be sure that you are using a slow speed drill and use it at the slowest speed possible so you have the control to achieve the 45 degree pattern. Keep the walls wet for the most part and move up and down while keeping the drill strait and equal pressure on all sides of the cylinder wall.
It is easier to get the correct pattern with a berry ball hone, so finish honing will be done with the berry ball hone. In fact, just use it start to finish unless you know what you are doing.
Professional high horsepower engine block preparationsrequire a finished machine honed surface to seat the rings, not hand honing. This is because alot of high horsepower engines use chrome rings which require 100% strait cylinder wall to seal on, opposed to cast rings.
Have someone do the first cylinder if you want, but the berry ball hone hardly removes any material so you can learn.
This is a picture of a berry ball hone and the 45 degree cross hatch pattern.
Knowledge is power ppl. Read a book.
