E-Z Bore Inc.

12/12/2019

After recently updating and cleaning up online information, I have been totally blown away by the number of people who have reach out to me.

What a great time of the year to hear from old friends. The greatest blessings of this life, are the people we meet and have the privileged to call friends. Thanks so very much !

May God Bless you and your family this season.

Merry Christmas,
John

07/22/2016

This YouTube video shows how to measure a cylinder bore using a dial bore gauge – the same style tool that we sell at E-Z Bore. These instructions will teach you how to determine a bore size (diameter) and determine if there is wear or an out-of-round condition.

This is a must-have tool for anyone honing a cylinder bore for a couple of reasons:

1) You know what you are trying to correct before honing the cylinder. If a cylinder is larger at the top than the bottom, you want to work the bottom portion of the cylinder first and then work your way up as the diameters become closer to the same size.

2) Many times during the honing process, you can create a taper in the cylinder with the honing tool. This can happen by staying in one area too long or having stones worn with a taper, which will put the exact same taper in a straight cylinder bore. The dial bore gauge will allow you to check that the bore is measuring straight from the top to bottom.

Please Note:

The Video is demonstrating a .0001 gauge. The dial indicator is more precise with each increment representing 1/10 of a thousandth. There is a substantial difference in cost for this unit.

Shop our product here: http://www.ezbore.net/Dial-Bore-Gauge-p/mic-3001.htm

The link below is for a .0005 dial bore gauge. Each increment on the dial represents 1/2 of a thousandth. This unit is equally as accurate, except the dial indicator readings are not broken down to the finer increments.

Shop our product here:http://www.ezbore.net/Dial-Bore-Gauge-p/mic-3005.htm

How to measure a cylinder using a dial bore gauge (measuring taper and out-of-round)

07/07/2016

We've shared a few posts about how to do a cylinder leak down test, and want to focus on its racing application.

This test is an excellent way to diagnose a “down on power condition” or if an engine needs to be freshened/rebuilt. This tool will quickly pay for itself simply by reducing unnecessary engine rebuilds. Basically, if an engine is sealed tight it's better not to disrupt the rings as they have naturally lapped themselves in and are providing optimum ring seal.

In newly rebuilt/refreshed racing applications, a good engine should typically read close to 2% leakage. Sometimes the engine may read 3% to 4% after replacing rings until after a short break-in period, and then that same test should drop down closer to 2%.

For race applications, we offer the OTC Brand Leak Tester (http://www.ezbore.net/OTC-5609-Cylinder-Leak-Tester-p/5609.htm) which is a professional quality unit from a national company known for diagnostic equipment.

We also offer a crankshaft locking tool (http://www.ezbore.net/Crank-Lock-p/ept99049.htm) to position the piston at top-dead center of the bore and lock the crankshaft from turning during testing. [IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: It Is CRITICAL to LOCK your engines crankshaft so that the engine cannot turn over during the test. The ingoing air pressure will cause the engine to turn over and can cause personal injury or equipment damage.]

You can shop both tools from our shop - we've included pictures of each tool below.

07/05/2016

This week we're following up on Thursday's post about how to do a cylinder leak down test.

Once the air pressure has been applied to the cylinder, if there is any type of internal wear or problem it can easily be diagnosed by the air pressure leakage. For example, a fair amount of air heard coming from the exhaust system would be a good indication that there is an exhaust valve leaking. Air coming from the crankcase vent/ breather system indicates worn rings or valve guides.

Sometimes you can take this test a step further and find that the percentage of leak down is high at the top of the cylinder bore, but the percentage gets better (lower) in the bottom portion of the bore. This would represent possibly an engine with a worn cylinder. Cylinder wear often time will occur more at the top of the cylinder than at the bottom due to the ignition firing and compression found at the top during operation. Leak testers can also be helpful in locating oil leaks from head gasket, crankcase, or possibly even a block crack by spraying those areas with a water and soap solution.

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: It is CRITICAL to LOCK your engine's crankshaft so that the engine cannot turn over during the test. The in-going air pressure will cause the engine to turn over and can cause personal injury or equipment damage.

06/30/2016

The next few posts we share will detail how to do a cylinder leak down test, and share some tools we have that can help.

Cylinder leak down testing is a very simply process that will help diagnose an engine’s general condition. The simplest way to explain a leak tester is that there are two gages. One gage monitors air pressure coming in from your line source (air compressor). The second gage monitors the amount of air pressure going into the engine through the spark plug hole to determine how much air pressure the engine will hold. During this test the piston would need to be secured at the top dead center position (piston at the top of bore and both valves closed). This procedure is also called a differential pressure test.

Example: You have 100 psi coming from the compressor and once applied to the engine it holds 100 psi - this would represent 0% leakage. If the first gauge showed 100 psi and the second gage showed 90 psi, you have 10% leak down.

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: It is CRITICAL to LOCK your engine's crankshaft so that the engine cannot turn over during the test. The in-going air pressure will cause the engine to turn over and can cause personal injury or equipment damage.

05/06/2016

Below are some images of the Lisle 23500 Hone, available in the shop here: http://www.ezbore.net/Expandable-Cylinder-Hone-p/lis23500.htm

05/06/2016

The last style of hone, the Lisle Corporation #23500, has been available for many years and is used for servicing cylinders bores and smaller sizes used on other applications such as automotive brake service.

This hone uses stones similar to the rigid style hones. It has a wide range of bore diameters (2.00 to 7.00”) it can service, so at a very economical price you can use a tool with minimal required equipment.

This hone is often used for the same tasks as the rigid hone and because of the stone design and spring loaded pressure, a couple thousands (.002) of material could easily be removed much like the rigid hone. There is one large exception - if you examine the stone mounting on each arm, you can see that the stones are pinned in the center and have the ability to move in or out from the cylinder wall at the top or bottom of the pivot. What happens during extended periods of honing with this tool is that the top and the bottom of the bore become larger. Basically, if you could look at the bore from the side it would have the same shape as an hour glass.

This occurs naturally for a couple of reasons. While moving the hone up and down in the cylinder, the pivot points allow the stones to apply more pressure to the top or bottom. As the stones rise out of the bore they pivot and form a cone instead of lying flat as they would in the center of the bore. Secondly, there is a momentary pause or delay at each end of the bore while changing up and down directions that allows the hone to remove a little additional material in those areas.

For two-cycle applications with port openings in the cylinder, this hone could be a nightmare because the stone can pivot into the port opening and actually damage the cylinder beyond use.

It is possible to use this type of hone for adding additional clearance or removing a minor cylinder wall scratch, but the hone would need to stay entirely in the bore. Keeping the hone in the bore will most likely not provide a 45-degree crosshatch and producing a bore with minimal run out will be much tougher.

In addition to the standard replacement stones Lisle Corporation offers a couple different grit packages.

You can shop this hone, along with other Lisle products, using these links:

Lisle 23500 Hone - http://www.ezbore.net/Expandable-Cylinder-Hone-p/lis23500.htm
Lisle 15000 Hone -- http://www.ezbore.net/Medium-Bore-Cylinder-Hone-p/lis15000.htm
Lisle 16000 Hone - http://www.ezbore.net/Small-Bore-Cylinder-Hone-p/lis16000.htm

Expandable Cylinder Hone

05/04/2016

Below are some examples of the Flex-Hone products available in our shop: http://www.ezbore.net/Flex-Hones-s/1839.htm

04/28/2016

The next two styles of hone that we are going to discuss are designed for cylinder final finish - the Flex Hone Cylinder Tool and the Lisle Corporation #23500 Cylinder Hone.

We see a lot of misinformation about these two hones. Basically, both of these hones are for cylinder wall prep conditions that occur from normal ring wear or after cylinder machine work. Theses hones are often used as a cylinder “glaze breaker,” which is the shiny, smooth surface on a cylinder bore after running a long period. Literally, the rings polish the cylinder finish over time.

If the bore is in good condition (straight with minimal wear and no scoring/heavy scratches), then deglazing will remove the shiny finish and replace it with a crosshatch pattern as previously discussed. To pe*****te and change the surface finish, you usually must remove approximately (.0002) 2/10ths of .001”.

Next week we'll share more information about each of these hones.

04/08/2016

One of the key differences between the Sunnen Products and Lisle Corporation hones is the stone and wiper sets. The Sunnen equipment uses an aluminum wiper or guide to stabilize the honing bar in the cylinder bore. The Lisle equipment uses a felt-style wiper and requires a little extra care to make sure side pressure isn’t applied to the honing bar during operation. Basically, the felt wiper will have a more side-to-side movement than aluminum guides.

Both manufacturers offer a range of stone and wipers sets. Typically, these sets feature different grits - coarser material for more aggressive material removal or a finer grit for a smoother crosshatch finish. Lisle offers stones sets for Nikasil cylinders commonly found on motorcycle and two-stroke applications

The main mandrel stone holder has smaller fine adjustments, but larger-size bore diameter changes are made by the thickness of the stones and wipers. The smaller bore will require a thinner/shorter set of stones. The larger bore diameters will have a thicker/taller set of stones and spacers, used to increase the overall diameter. The Lisle hone requires a greater number of stone set to cover different applications than the Sunnen hone. The Sunnen AN-112 Portable hone mandrel operates exactly like a much bigger industrial horizontal machine.

Sunnen Products specializes in industrial honing equipment for all industries and offers more variations of stone abrasive grits, types, and styles. However, these features and quality of product will place you at the high end on the cost spectrum.

04/05/2016

A “rigid” - also referred to as a fixed stone - mandrel-type hone usually consists of two opposing stones and two opposing guides or wipers. Two of the most popular manufacturers for this type of portable hone are Sunnen Products (Sunnen AN-112) and Lisle Corporation (Lisle 16000 and 15000).

The hones pictured use stones and wiper blades mounted to a mandrel (holder), designed to be adjusted during part of the honing operation. Each hone has an adjustment k**b, allowing you to adjust the stones outward or increase pressure for removing additional material.

For most performance or small engine service applications, this will be the hone required to remove cylinder bore material for oversize pistons or add additional bore clearance. This same process will also correct worn cylinder bores (out of round/tapered) during the honing operation to enlarge the bore to the next oversize.

If a cylinder bore has been machined (performed by a machine shop or with boring equipment) the final tool finish still requires honing. It is usually to achieve the final piston-to-cylinder wall clearance, but more importantly it is to achieve the correct crosshatch finish needed for ring seal.

The pictures below have more descriptions included.

04/01/2016

In these next few posts, we want to help clear up questions that we frequently get about honing small engine blocks and cylinders. Our primary focus will be for PORTABLE honing equipment used in the small engine service industry and small engine performance application.

We will review three basic designs and their features, discuss when and how to use hones, give some helpful tips for usage, and present some different options and accessories to help with this process.

First, let’s start with the end/final results or the purpose of using any of these hones.

In simple terms, a crosshatch finish (also referred to as plateau finish) is a fine, controlled scratching/grooving of the cylinder finish. This finish needs to be in a crossover pattern at a 45-degree angle to the top and bottom of the bore.

The purpose of the crosshatch pattern is to create a surface for engine oil to cling to the cylinder wall and provide lubrication to the cylinder bore and rings during the early start-up period after assembling an engine. This finish plays a key role in how well the ring seals, the required time for maximum sealing, and more importantly the longevity of the rings and their sealing ability. The final crosshatch is control by a number of factors such as honing RPMs, abrasive materials, and the type of equipment used.