I had been using an old two-arm brake cylinder hone, similar to what Dan describes, for many years, and for the very purpose Dan mentions. However, a few years ago I switched to a "ball" hone on the recommendation of my son, who is an auto mechanic. The ball hone uses lots of little abrasive balls on sort-of flexible springs attached to a center rod, as opposed to the two or three floating "pads" on the other type. It attaches to a drill motor in the same way. A lot more abrasive surface, and very flexible, so it works better and faster. The disadvantage is that the ball hones don't accommodate the range of size as do the hones with the pads on little hinged arms. Rather, they are sold in various sizes. I think I have 1" and 1 1/8", which covers most of the bases. They work great. In fact, I usually do this as general practice when prepping a frame prior to a build. Helps keep stem and seat post scuffing and scratching to a minimum.
Gearing up for Westminster!
Wayne Bingham
Lovettsville VA
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I just last night used a newly purchased Brake Cylinder Hone to clean up
the inside of an old Steel seat tube and fork tube. The cylinder hone
is about 9-10" long mounts to a hand drill, is adjustable starting from
a minimum of 27/32" diameter to whatever, and is made up of three
carborundum ? rectangles at the end of three arms pivoting out from the
center, with an adjustable spring loading. Cost was less than $10 at a
local auto parts store and it does a beautiful job of cleaning up the
rust and old grease and burrs inside a seat or fork tube, allowing a
clean insertion without the zig zag marking that so many posts and stems
seem to get. A few seconds with the hand drill, a little cleanup
afterwards, some fresh grease on the post or stem and Viola! Maybe some
of you out there think this is old hat, but I'm totally new to this one.
What a great tool!
Regards, and happy wrenching. My newly repurchased 30+ year old Woodrup's ready for its shakedown. Life is Good!
Dan Artley in Sunny Parkton, Maryland<<<