The Surface Finishing and Deburring Solution

Flex-Hone® tools are flexible, resilient honing tools for inner diameter (ID) surface-finishing. Originally designed to deglaze cylinder walls, these glaze breaker hones are also great for cross-hole deburring, port radiusing, edge blending, and surface improvement.  Flexible honing tools remove burrs and improve surface finish at the same time. They mount in handheld power tools and production equipment, and require no special training to use.  Versatile and reliable, BRM cylinder hones are the standard against which all other deburring tools are compared.

For Cylinders

Finish and deburring any type or size of cylinder. The applications are endless!

For Rotors

Eliminate brake noise by putting the proper non-directional finish on rotors and flywheels in minutes!

For Firearms

Improve firearm performance. Finish and polish cylinders, barrels and chambers!

Tool Features and Benefits

Flex-Hone® tools are available for any type and size of cylinder. They are always used in an oversized condition (larger than the bore) and come in standard diameters ranging from 4mm to 36”. Custom Flex-Hone® tools are also available, and include tapered, stepped, and multi-diameter hones.

Flex-Hone® technology features abrasive globules that are permanently laminated to flexible nylon filaments. As these abrasive globules wear, fresh cutting particles are exposed. Flex-Hone® tools have significantly greater amounts of abrasive content than other deburring tools, and therefore support more efficient cutting and surface finishing.

Flex-Hone® users can choose from 8 standard abrasive types and 11 grit sizes, as well as two specialty abrasives that are available upon request. Aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and boron carbide are suitable for most base materials, but diamond abrasives are recommended for harder materials such as aerospace alloys.

Flexible hones are not designed for heavy-duty material removal. They do not correct bore geometry or shape either. Instead, Flex-Hone® tools improve surface finish. Used in garages, machine shops, and manufacturing facilities, the Flex-Hone® does not require rigid, elaborate setups. Deburring and surface improvement are achieved at the same time, whether on a workbench or in a machining center. In addition to handheld power tools, the Flex-Hone® mounts in drill presses and robotic arms.

Additional benefits include greater oil control, better seal performance, and longer oil life. In hydraulic and pneumatic applications, flexible honing helps to reduce seepage. Cylinder honing also promotes piston ring seating and sealing.

Deburring is important for quality, aesthetics, functionality and smooth operation of working parts. It is also important for safety. Even a small notch can cause moving parts to catch, creating the potential for accident, injury or unnecessary delay in production. Rough edges can also cause injury when individuals are required to handle blanks. Each of these preventable problems can cost companies a great deal of money.

Flex-Hone® tools are also very effective for cross hole deburring, port radiusing and edge blending. Deburring with ball hones 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.

Flex-Hone® tools are designed for deglazing cylinder walls, deburring cross-holes, radiusing ports, blending edges, and imparting a plateau finish with consistent peaks and valleys. They are not meant for cylinder resizing, geometry correction, heavy-duty stock removal, or initial honing (such as in OEM engine manufacturing).  Plateau finishing was pioneered by BRM founder Steve Rands, and optimizes lubrication and friction while reducing wear.

During plateau honing, the Flex-Hone® removes the tops of peaks so that raised areas because plateaus of the same height. BRM cylinder hones also produce evenly-spaced grooves or valleys with the same cross-hatch angle. Self-centering, self-aligning to the bore, and self-compensating for wear, plateau hones reduces Ra, Rpk, and Rvk values with increased bearing area. By eliminating peaks, plateau finishing also promotes piston ring seating and sealing while reducing seepage in hydraulic and pneumatic applications.

Applications for Flex-Hone® tools include musical instruments, combustion chambers, air compressors, pumps, valve bodies, valve guides, brake cylinders, and wheel cylinders. The Flex-Hone® for Rotors is specially designed to produces the ideal surface finish on brake rotors, fly wheels, and clutch plates. The Flex-Hone® for Firearms is trusted by gunsmiths, gun owners, and the firearms industry.