Small hones... for seat tubes

[yoothgeye]

Just wondering if anyone has seen any small hones or made something to help clean bad welds or rust out of a seat tube. I remember one member buying a drill bit to drill out an old seat post, and though that would do what I'm asking about, it could too easily get out of hand.

I've just noticed that some frames I am working with have a bad weld in the seat tube that makes the seat post stick.

 

[socal_jack]

Flex-hones come in about any size have used them to clean out tubes before, they also come in different levels of grits and abrasiveness

http://www.brushresearch.com/brushes.php?c1=1

 

[mikeeebikey]

Due to the cost I always use a die grinder, carbide burr, be real careful, grind away only enough weld for the post to pass.

A hone will pretty much follows in shape that's given to it, meaning your hole won't be perfectly round, or true.
a drill will likely oblique or oblong the hole. besides how big a drill will you need to turn a 7/8 drill bit or larger, Plus who is going to hold it?

 

[terohxr7]

I have used a wheel cylinder hone to clean up the inside of a seat tube. If it's not too bad I have also used red scotchbrite and a piece of heavy wire, like a coat hanger. Bend the wire in half around the scotchbrite and twist it a few times then chuck it in the drill.

 

[Onewheelsqueel]

For rust use a long drill bit with steel wool on the end and a liberal dose of wd40 or such. Use enough steel wool to have a tight fit. Works well on wheel chairs when we need it to.

 

[Gizmo]

A cheap alternative can be made by duct taping and wrapping a length of emory cloth or other fabric based sandpaper (pieces of an old belt sander belt) to a length of 3/8 or 1/2 tube. Chuck it up in a drill motor and use it as you would a hone. Do pay attention to the wrap direction and the rotation of your drill.

Gizmo

 

[slowriderz]

I have always used Reamers. They can be found much cheaper than in the link below but they are worth every penny in my opinion.

http://www.mscdirect.com/browse/Holemak ... rm=13%2F16

 

[Toeslider]

I too use a wheel cylinder/brake cylinder hone to clean up rust in a seat tube. Don't know if its strong enough to clean up a bad weld, but I would think so if you use it long enough. They are spring loaded and expand to the size of the tube.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-1-8-eigh ... 97163.html

 

[yoothgeye]

Yeah, not something to completely change the seat tube, but just make it a smoother fit. Some bikes I come across have a seat post that almost feels stuck, and once I get it out I see that the factory weld is the culprit, not impossibly stuck, but something I'd like to smooth out a little and usually far enough down that it's hard to work with.

 

[highship]

how about a round file?

 

[Danimal]

Wheel cyl hone works awesome. Harbor freight sells them dirt cheap.

 

[Tater]

I make flap hones similar to Gizmo's method, but with a slot cut in the rod to hold the sandpaper. A hone like this will allow you to apply substantial pressure on the problem spot.

 

[yoothgeye]

I like that idea, and if you backed it with a stiff but flexible piece of plastic (like cut from the top of a plastic tote) it might work more evenly.