I love how realistic uncle Tony is. He knows that a lot of home builders aren’t interested in 900HP twin turbo super cars. We just want to drive and enjoy our cars.

Long time mechanic here.... got a call once where 3 guys had just installed new rings in a 58 Vette... and they couldn't get it to crank over... not even by hand! it was locked up tight. I found they had not removed the carbon in the piston ring grooves (didn't even know they had to) before beating the pistons back into the block. I'm mentioning this because those uninitiated to the process might like (need) to see a video relating to using a ring groove cleaner. In the old days we just broke a used ring and then used the edge of it as a scraper to do the job.

It's awesome that someone with so many years of experience dedicates his KZfaq channel to helping keep alive the thrill of building the older cars. I've never watched one of his videos that I didn't learn something. Thanks Tony and keep up the great videos.

I worked at an engine revision shop back in the early 80's. For honing cylinders we used a device which looked like a piston with 4 stones coming out of the sides which could be extended outwards by turning a nut on a threaded bar. It was driven by an electric motor with two solid grips on either sides so you could counter the force when spinning the device in the cylinder. You had to move it in and out through the cylinder whille trying not to lose your balance (these things were pretty powerful) Unfortunately I couldnt find any pictures of it online, guess no one uses it anymore, but if you had the experience (that took a while to get) you could get really great results in terms of final dimensions and roundness on the cylinder. We also used to taper the cylinders very slightly, a bit wider towards the bottom, smaller to the top. Reasoning was the faster heat up of the top thus slightly advanced expansion there. In that machine shop we did everything the old fashioned way, manual labor considering every block a unique project. I chose a different carreer path once I realized this trade was going the way of the dodo. They did manage to stay in business catering for the really high end racing or classic cars but the demand was too low to have a future. What I've done ever since has nothing to do with engines, nor even cars but I do feel privileged having learned such a specific trade using such old school technology, machinery and tools.

I love how some get on a guys channel to try and beat him down for sharing info that has worked for him and has worked for thousands of others. Love this channel

Uncle Tony you are the realest most relatable car guy for the average person working on their car at home. Thank you for that!

Too bad KZfaq and Uncle Tony's channel wasn't available 40-50 years ago when I rebuilt the engine in my 1969 Javelin.

I understand your point but at the dealership when we actually rebuilt engines long ago I preferred the ball hone because I wasn’t working on old stuff that laid around for years open to environment and it always worked great for me. Using the fixed stone you need to be careful not to make the cylinder oversized for the rings you’re using

A machine shop uses a 4 "fingered" hone, a 3 stone hone will follow and out of round bore. A 4 position portable hone is what you should be using, I have found a Lisle one to be very good for this, not expensive either. You are spot on about the flex hone, I have many of these and they are perfect for what they are intended for, breaking glaze and putting a fine finish over an already good bore.

Yes Tony, ball hones are just basically glaze breakers, basically makes the cylinder look good, that’s it!!👍

I've always used a three-legged Stone hone on all my rebuilds and never had a problem as long as the cylinders are in decent shape to begin with! my last build was a sbf 302 HO roller and the cylinders were slightly out of round so I went crazy with the honing brought them back to damn near perfectly round! ordered some file to fit rings, I used some stock used pistons out of a different block and piston to wall clearance is definitely excessive and ring gap is probably set up for more of a forced induction build but haven't had any issues with the engine at all! no piston slap, makes great power and compression is about 175 on every cylinder which is better than stock! so I'm going to have to agree with everything unc said In this one! dingleberry hones are for something you know is completely round! if your rebuilding a block with 175,000 mi on it just use a three-leg hone! make sure not to go too far down in the cylinder or you will hit the webbing and break the stones, if that happens replace all three stones! also replace the stones every time you use the hone! do not use the same stones on three different blocks! even though it can probably be done definitely ain't the best idea!

I couldn’t agree more Tony!!! I have worked about five years in a smal workshop in Croatia...compaired to the Netherlands (where I’m from) labour is cheap and parts are expensive and/or hard to find... You will not believe the ‘Balkan System’ solutions in order to keep old equipment going....the main store was tons of scrap gathered over the years...we worked on anything with an engine;chainsaw to 20liter boat engines....average I’ld say we did around 2 engines a week...we would give 1 year of full waranty!! And have had hardly any trouble... Keeping old sh*t going,to me,is topnotch job....no waste,grateful customers and a huge addition to my mechanical skills. People with too much money can be so hard to please...fixing a chainsaw for a few bugs for some poor sod that invites you for dinner is soo much more rewarding....

Tony, don't you dare, EVER, die on us! That level of "in the trenches" wisdom and knowledge MUST live on! FOREVER!

Excellent and informative video! I appreciate the fact you're focusing on the average person who is on a budget and doesn't need crazy horsepower. I am that guy.

I use a lisle cylinder hone to flatten out the bores. Take my measurements and finish with a ball hone. A ball hone leaves such a nice finish. Never liked those spring loaded ones. I use atf as a lubricant.

Love your philosophy of engine reconditioning. Tired of "pros" saying you can't do this, you can't do that... but the rest of us have to live in the real world! Thanks Tony.

I'm a DIY guy but I leave block prep to the machine shop. I've never spent more than $500 for a build-ready block.

This is why I look up to UTG states his choice backs up his reason iv learned (there's more than one way to skin a cat) by a old ass mechanic but UTG don't spit out his choice without reason that's why this dude's badass

Uncle Tony, you are a real positive force for us do-it-yourselfers. You understand that we operate in the real world with real constraints. We all have to make concessions. You don't talk down to us and you show us how to do real stuff. Thank you for what you do. Keep up the great work!

I think it is good to keep goals and expectations aligned with budgets and processes. I built a bunch of engines using basic tools and a cylinder hone. These old engines can be quite forgiving and run great without having to build to extreme specs, as long as you keep them clean and use good quality parts. Thanks for the education Uncle Tony and keep it coming!

back in the day we called them "glaze busters." how they ever got flipped over into cylinder hones ill never know...

If a machine shop is using a 3 finger hone to finish your cylinders, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN. They should be using a rigid hone set up. 2 stones and 2 wipers. 3 cylinder hones are NOT RIGID, they have a pivot in the middle. Making it impossible to be rigid.

I've been doing that for years, for that exact reason. My machinist buddies always give me a hard time. Nice to hear another pro back it up. Well said Tony.

I would classify both those who hones you showed as "glaze breakers" neither one of them really restores roundness and removes taper. For my budget ring bearings and valves kind of rebuilds, I use a Lisle 15000 cylinder hone. One of them or an equivalent will restore cylinder roundness, and remove any taper. You can actually feel when it restores roundness and straightness when the pull on the drill become smooth.

Great video as always! Home built engines are what started the hot rodding and racing scene, it was just a guy and some old parts, and he’d put it all together and try to make some power then run it at the track, some applications you would wanna take it to a shop but for a guy at home it’s not needed as long as you have a decent engine to start with.

You'd think it'd be obvious to people that ball hones are not for boring, but sadly lots of people just don't know better. I was told once that only "dingleberries" use a "dingleberry" hone. LOL Tony's absolutely right, they're great for their purpose, but that purpose is very specific... removing scuffs from a cylinder that isn't worn, or machine shops use them to crosshatch the cylinders after boring with a machine since the cutting blade doesn't do that.

I used to work in a machine shop, and the honing machine was $30,000+, we used various grit stones, parallel guides on the hone head, absolutely flooded the cylinders with oil, we could measure the load while honing. We would careful set the stroke speed and length to set the cross hatch angles.. it was all very technical. We would bolt on a torque plate with a gasket to simulate the distortion that torqued head bolts impose, and at the end of the day, we only charged $160 to hone a V8 engine! It was the best bargain out there! Who knew we could have just used a Leslie auto parts hone with a squirt of WD40 and saved all that money and floor space!

My 455 olds had been overheated badly multiple times in its life the rings touched or something and left massive scores down the walls. I used the triple stone hone on all the cylinders until I couldn’t see the scoring threw in a new set of rings and let her rip. Took like 7 sets of stones lol. I’ve got something like 30k miles out of it since then. Still dailying it. 🤘

Thank you Tony. I've never considered the "individual flexability" of each ball. I've used them several times on different engines, albeit a quicky rebuild. If I find myself getting any boring done, I'll buy the right hone.👍

Thank you Tony. I come by often just to get my fix of sanity and reason. Too many I know insist the only way to build an engine, even for a daily driver, is to go the whole hog, acid clean, crack test, sonic test for wall thickness, then bore it to the maximum size possible. Refreshing to know I'm not the only one who will just hone, check, and if it's close enough, reassemble to get another 100,000 trouble free miles out of it.

This is great advice, on home honing for cylinder bores. I've been using flat stones since I screwed up one engine using just a ball hone and my old boss gave me a hard time about it haha. Lessons learned, thanks for being the better part of the KZfaq Automotive channels.

Ball-hones were not designed for honing at all. They were actually designed to deburr cross-holes in manufacturing. They kind of migrated to cylinder hones because they actually work really well in plated two-cycle cylinders for de-glazing. And, the purpose of whatever solvent you chose to use while honing is not to lubricate at all. Its only real purpose is to flush swarf out from under the stone and off the cylinder so the stone can cut. The more you can flow in the cylinder you are honing, the better. Gasoline is actually just about the perfect tool for the job.

Thanks Tony. My sons and I have lots of home builds in the years to come. I find a lot of blocks dont need going .030 either. I'd rather be on the loose side of skirt clearance than tight side. I've seen a few engines that would barely crank over at operating temperature after being re-bored and scuffing piston skirts.

As a veteran 20 year machinist. This was a perfect video to explain why you stone hone. Same concept as to why you block sand flat panels with solid blocks and not contour/flex blocks

It's going back a long time, but the way I learned was to start out with the piston at the bottom of the stroke, stuff rags and then use a ridge-reamer before ever removing each piston. Then run a dial-indicating bore gauge down the length of the cylinder to get an idea of what you're dealing with. Love your content Tony! Bought my first car for $100 from my eldest brother when I was in the 5th grade (1972). It was one of the last production years and had the Chevrolet 283, powerglide and posi-rear. Good times back then.

UTG/ you have surpassed every expectation when I get on KZfaq to watch random videos. I’m glad I’m subscribed to you. You keep it real and teach exactly what I’m looking to learn as that home DIY car guy. Thank you! Never change your motive!

I'll tell you what I've used for years is just a large phillips screwdriver with the tip chucked up in a hand held drill. I'd wrap a rag or small towel around the handle then take emery paper, fold it in half and wrap it around the rag. You need to make it large enough that it's plenty snug in the bore, then just use it like a hone. Swap it out when needed. You can use different grit paper as needed, and if you wrap everything carefully it comes out just a smooth as a hone. That's some practice.

That goes counter to what I was taught. Always use a ball hone on an engine that will simply have new rings installed on the existing pistons.The reasoning being that a traditional hone will tend to straighten the bore, enlarging the diameter at the bottom, which you do'nt want.

The most realistic and down to earth video by the great Uncle Tony. I grew up exactly the way you explain about car stuff. That's being as real as you can. I had enough or am quite tired with the big guns who actually do not understand real world man of the street scenarios. Great stuff, keep up the great work. I'm always watching your vids and sharing them with other senior players in the same game. Cheers mate

UT- I have seen very few negative comments about your videos and think you do a wonderful job explaining whatever topic you are covering. If there are 'know-it-alls' criticizing you, please ignore them. The vast majority of your viewers (my opinion) think you're great. Please keep up the good work!

This and keeping everything as clean and lubricated as necessary during reassembly and maintaining proper RA and flatness on deck and head surfaces is a must. A great must know tip from UTG!

I used to put rings on old pistons & not even measure the cylinders. I do ofcourse now. But people would be amazed at well those engines would run. Yes they would have alittle blow by. But it wasn't really excessive. And they ran well . Has power, ran smooth. Sure they were not 100k mile engines, but they were good enuf for a good amount of time.

Great info Tony, I've always used the flat stone hones that's what the parts store had when I bought one about 10 years ago but never knew that they were better or worse. I learned something new today thanks!

I still have Dads honing stones. Both a cylinder hone and a wheel cylinder hone Never had a need for a ball hone

Thank you for another straight from the hip video! Hope this inspires the young guys out there to not be scared to do there own work,This way more engines will be saved and running and not be on hold because of a low budget. Great job again ,Tony!

Some shops still use those. My dad used that style of stone hone in his machine shop, it wasnt a cheap set though. He used mostly older machines. You explained this pretty well, there is no replacement for stone hones.

Thank you!!!! I built handful of engines like this over the years. my favorite example of this video is "parent bore" diesel engines aka throw away engines. build few 3116,3126,C7 caterpillar engines with a rehone and go, caterpillar even had specs for this! if the cylinder was with in X" of the factory bore for a ball hone and a larger X" for a straight hone.

Have always used a stone hone for the last 40+ years. It figures that people in Cali would recommend a "dingle ball" hone.

Thank you for the review of Hones.When I was @ Cal Poly ,I took both Block and Head rebuilding classes which were for the purpose of training auto shop high school teachers. The prof who had a doctorate in education, made us use a portable boring bar and then finish the bores with a RIGID hone. This looks a bit like your glaze buster in that it has similar stones but they were not spring loaded. A lot of smaller shops did things this way. I had a small shop rebuilding or overhauling dumptruck engines and drivelines at the time and argued incessantly with the prof that I would prefer my motor for his class, a 225 cid slant 6 , be done in a shop with a Sunnen CK10 to finish the bores. I am glad he made me learn this method ,you can do an excellant job if you are careful. But an automatic machine tool like the Sunnen will consistently do a perfect job a lot easier...... If you can afford it. I learned about shortcomings of the dingle ball hone today that I did not know. I got into using them in the early 70's as I seemed to get chatter from the straight stone type of glazebuster, due to it's springiness and lack of rigidity.

Just found your channel and your videos are beyond priceless. I've recently gotten into building small engines and I can't thank you enough for all the help you've provided.

These videos are so great. I'm rebuilding a supercharged 3800 V6 to shoehorn into my fiero. you cover everything I've been wondering when it comes to rebuilding it and it's so appreciated.

I always measure the cylinders to check for out of round before using a ball Hone. If it is within spec it gets the ball hone otherwise I take it to my local guy. I haven't had any issues with doing it this way. Which is pretty much what you mentioned in the video(only use ball hone in round cylinders)

Love the content and all the knowledge thanks uncle Tony!

This is a brilliant video. I've always dreamt of building an engine for something but have never committed to it (mainly because I never keep a car long enough to warrant the investment). I've watched a lot of shows and videos and NO ONE has covered this. I've seen anyone even hint at garage honing tool comparisons. This is the realest video I've ever seen about a DIYer doing DIY things, and probably the most helpful info I've seen. I don't anyone doing their first engine would know enough to even think to ask about this. Awesome!

My best mate built a 351 cleavland out of bits he scavenged together years ago and it was the most powerful engine he ever built. Now he is a qualified mechanic and has spent a fortune on block reconditioning performance pistons and so on without being able to replicate those results from when he was poor but hungry for power!

Hi Tony. I'm only rebuilding my V-twin riding mower (gotta start somewhere), but when searching for a video for honing cylinders I found this and know I can trust your guidance for the DIY'er. Thanks for all your videos and for always being real!

On a related subject...everyone says you have to use a torque plate to get the best hone job. I just bolt on heads, flip the block upside down, and hone from the bottom. How do you think they honed Offys with no detachable cylinder heads?

You do not hear about buttons put on/into the pistons to often, Unless your really deep into racing. A friend and I had it done to a shovel head drag bike that ran on nitro. Then we changed to a blower and alcohol. Good times, figuring it out with out blowing your self up.

I was always taught that ball hones are glaze breakers, I have only used one in school. I am an atv mechanic and will only use the stone hones and only if the bore doesn’t look too bad, if it does look bad it goes straight to the machine shop.

Back when they took lead out of gas the cheap unleaded was lower octane and it would make your engine clatter .

Always used A stone hone with different grits depending on ring type.

Great time spent learning this golden nugget on honing. I’m going to freshen up a Mercury 150hp outboard and this information probably saved me from making a big mistake. Thank you very much!

Thank you!!! It makes me crazy when people poo poo doing economical home projects. For most of us it's the difference between doing them or not doing them at all! We don't have bank accounts like Jay Leno!

The 4 stone micrometer head hones are the best to use by far. They will actually straighten out bore taper and out of roundness. The ball hones, as you said, only restore a cross hatch pattern. The 3 stone spring loaded hones are better, but don't do anything about out of roundness or taper. A machine shop uses the 4 stone hard hones with a micrometer head. Not the 3 stone spring loaded hones.

Tony, great content, really. But… First, if the home gamer thinks he is an engine “builder”, he should run an inexpensive dial bore gauge down every cylinder. If they are round to spec then sure, run your favorite flavor of glaze breaker down them and roll. If there is taper, get a cheap “rigid” Lisle or Sunnen hone and fix it as long as it keeps the piston to wall clearance in spec. Not trying to rant but in my youth I was bit by trying to cheap out. Never again. None of the required tools for this are brutally expensive if purchased used.

This is old school information, I am glad there are old schoolers out there making videos. I don't even use ball hones when I rebuild brake cylinder's. Thanks for taking the time and sharing this important information.

Uncle Tony is the best because he understands that not everybody is going to be able to or wants to have an engine built by a pro shop.

What grit stones and what type rings work best when doing this type of rebuild?

Some of that "wear pattern" would look different if the bores were honed with deck plates torqued on to the block.

Another good video. Our local machinist (before he passed) was an ex drag racer and was very good at his work. He told me the first time i went to his shop that he doesn't finish his cylinders with a "china berry limb". Glad to see the reasoning behind it. Makes perfect sense..

Good info here, this is exactly what I did when I rebuilt my 351 Cleveland in 1997 and it's still going strong today

a 3 stone spring loaded hone is also a "Glazebreaker" A Machine shop does not use one of these in a machine as UT states. A "Rigid" hone is used, both in stationary machine and sometimes by hand. Rigid hone uses 2 stones (usually) and 2 "wipers" or shoes to keep hone square to bore. This type of hone will actually straighten out a tapered or out of round hole. Anyone who thinks they are correcting anything with a $30 spring loaded glazebreaker has never used a dial bore gauge. Believe it or not machine shops arent always out to steal from you.

This is all amazing info cant wait for the in depth video about measuring, i've got a core block im really hoping to keep out of the machine shop. Do you have any tips on checking how squre the decks are to the crank?

I'm glad that I found this video. I have been debating which hone to use, and was leaning toward the ball hone, because I've seen so many videos with guys using them. Thanks for the heads up and lesson!

Good timing for this video! I’m gonna attempt my first rebuild ever soon on my family’s ‘92 Camry. The motor overheated and blew the head gasket but the bottom ends been whining some off and on for a while. I was planning on using a ball hone bc the ease appealed to me. Think I’ll go the extra mile and invest in telescoping guages and a flat stone hone after seeing this. I want the motor to last as long as possible after I build it again.

That would be an interesting comparison, identical motors, one hand honed, the other, machine shop fresh, heads prepared the same, dyno both. Compare results. My guess is negligible difference, although the honed block may spin more freely due to looser tolerances

Thank u Uncle Tony 👍

Thank you, I am gonna be honing a 40 yr old z1000 , at home, never done it before , so appreciate the simple way you put it all.

A machine shop isn't going to use a 3 leg floppy hone. They might occasionally use one that expands the stones parallel to the bore ( Ammco 3800 ) . What they will actually be using is a Lisle 15000 or similar. This type of hone has 2 stones and 2 wipers that are adjusted with a bolt.

You hone them cam bearings after you tried to pound in that cam shaft lol???

I use a ball hone and never had a issue. If there is wear and the cylinder has a ridge then I will not use one but I have used the ball hone lot's of times at home and never once had a issue

I really appreciate the video. I am currently working myself up to order some parts for my 351w I tore down. Came out of my F250 dump, going into a 64.5 Mustang for the wife. I have never rebuilt an engine before, and figured I may as well give it ago since the radiator blew up on this engine, and overheated it something fierce. I haven't given honing a shot yet, but I will definitely be using your advice here to check the block over

Wish you had been around 50 years ago, as little as I knew, my engines always ran rather well. Lucky I guess. Great info as usual.

I love Uncle Tony but I disagree with him on this one. The stone hone isn't going to correct cylinder defects either. I've used a ball hone on hundreds of yard built engines with excellent results and no issues. I also use a ridge reamer before removing pistons.

I remember when ceramic coated piston rings came out and it was recommended to only use ball hones to hone the cylinders for them.

I learn something new every time I watch something on your channel. This was such a good tutorial. I would never have known about the unevenness in the cylinder walls and how to check for it. Thank you!

Very useful advice, thanks. I particularly liked the perspective of who the video is aimed at, reminds me of a favorite saying at work: 'progress, not perfection.'

Im a ball honer. Only when going with new rings

Ball hones have their place for establishing cross hatching after honing with a stone. I wouldn't want to hone without finishing with one but I'm sure it doesn't prevent a ton of wear, to me every bit counts though. Holding a little more oil on the walls is good enough for me to spend the little bit of money and a quick minute or two.

Good for cleaning and deburring only, otherwise kick up the money and invest in a Lisle or other micrometer feed hone. NOT a spring loaded three leg glaze breaker,they will egg your cylinders.

Thank you so much for this video. I'm getting ready to start a frame up rebuild of an old 77 jeep and the motor is in rough shape (lots of abuse and not much maintenance). I'm probably better off replacing it, but I really want to keep as much of the jeep's factory parts as possible. I haven't done an engine in over 25 years and I've only done a couple with a lot of assistance from people who aren't around any more. While I'm still not confident that I should do the engine or transmission myself, videos like this really help.

That hone you claim better than the other isn’t. You are assuming the stones are still finished and flat. You have a machine shop using a stone hone like that you better find a better shop. I know I don’t have one on my sunnen.

The Shut up and Listen Corner from Uncle Tony's Garage.. @Ø Oi oi oi

Great advice I'm gonna use on my 283 that I found out it was already at .060 over but the bores are still usable with a little honing. I've got a fresh turned crank,new bearings and oil pump so I'm gonna put it back together and see how it goes. Fun to do it yourself too!

Subscribed. I rebuild an engine only about once a year, and still have a lot to learn. Great channel!

Great information for the beginners! I would have cut the ridge so the hone wouldn't lift away from the rest of the cylinder. This method would give a much better assessment of the cylinder's condition. Why didn't you do this procedure?

Get a rigid sunnen hone if you want a good hone job. Those three pedal spring loaded hones are far better than a ball hone but they wont do a very good job of removing taper like a rigid hone.

Rebuilding my first engine out of my truck right now after it blew, helping me learn a lot with your videos. Have both hones available to me just wasn’t sure which one to use

Doing my first engine build right now and starting the prep on the block in the coming weeks. Thanks for saving me about $50 on one of these ball hones.

I don't understand UT's irrational fear of going to a qualified machine shop. Nothing can equal a rigid hone like a Sunnen CK-10 with a skilled machinist at the controls. Everything in this video is a bandaid.