As the Flex-Hone is turned in the bore, the individual abrasive balls wear down.

Okay, so how do you use the Flex-Hone? Begin by securing your barrel in a padded vise. Make sure there's a trashcan under the muzzle because you'll have oil dripping out of it. If your barrel has a screw-in choke tube or is ported, place the Flex-Hone along side the barrel so that the bristle end of the brush is just behind the end of the choke tube or the beginning of the porting. Take a piece of masking tape and secure it around the shank of the Flex-Hone even with the barrel breech. This tape warning flag will serve as your indicator as to the location of the Flex-Hone bristles. As long as the tape does not go into the chamber or barrel breech, you're okay!

Now pull the Flex-Hone back and position the rear of the bristles right ahead of the chamber. Place another strip of masking tape around the shaft even with the end of the breech. You don't want to pull the Flex-Hone so far back as to get beyond this marker because you would then be in the chamber. The bore-diameter Flex-Hones are not really large enough in diameter to do the best job of polishing the chamber. There are Flex-Hones specifically designed for that job.

Now it's just a matter of applying some of the Flex-Hone Oil to the bore. Although you could use any good-quality cutting or honing oil, I strongly recommend using the Flex-Hone Oil. It enhances the polishing action of the abrasive, and it makes the Flex-Hone last a lot longer.

Secure the end of the Flex-Hone shaft in your electric hand drill. You'll want to strip about an inch of the rubber coating off the wire shank so your drill can get a good grip on the shank. Slowly turn the Flex-Hone as you insert it into the barrel and then, and only then, increase the rpm of the drill. If you speed up the drill before you insert the Flex-Hone in the barrel, a couple of things can happen. If the bristles have a good coating of oil, you'll spray it all over the room! The Flex-Hone shaft can also bend and do some pretty serious damage to anything within reach.

Attach the Flex-Hone to a hand drill and place it in the barrel. Running at a moderate speed, work it back and forth with a smooth even motion for a couple of minutes. Carefully remove it from the barrel, add more oil, and continue polishing.

Once you have the Flex-Hone in the barrel running at a moderate speed, work it back and forth with a smooth, even motion. Let it run for a couple of minutes then carefully remove it from the barrel. Add a bit more oil and do some more polishing. Don't clean out the oil or slurry that has formed in the barrel. This slurry is important and helps in the polishing. Once you have finished with the medium grit, thoroughly clean the barrel. Inspect it and polish more if necessary. If it looks good, repeat the process with the fine grit Flex-Hone. Again, clean thoroughly to remove all traces of abrasive when you have finished.

If you do this properly, you will see the difference, and most importantly you will notice the difference, when you clean your shotgun's barrel after shooting. You should see less fouling both from carbon as well as from the plastic wads. The Flex-Hone is really a great tool for the hobbyist as well as for the professional gunsmith.

Until next time, good luck and good gunsmithing!