TOOLING UP: Precision Deburring: Novoflex Honing Tools for Modern Manufacturing

In this episode of MSC’s Tooling Up, host Toni Neary sits down with Sadler Kleve, National Account Representative at Osborn, to uncover how advanced honing tools are revolutionizing precision deburring in manufacturing.

Watch time: 8:38 minutes

Supplier: Osborn

Posted date: Sep 09, 2025

Video series: Tooling Up , Season 5

Looking for full transcript of video? Read now

In this episode of MSC’s Tooling Up, host Toni Neary sits down with Sadler Kleve, National Account Representative at Osborn, to uncover how advanced honing tools are revolutionizing precision deburring in manufacturing. Sadler shares how Osborn’s Novoflex honing tools deliver consistent, self-centering performance, creating the perfect crosshatch patterns for oil retention in hydraulic and engine cylinders.

Sadler provides details on how Osborn has expanded its product line over the past two years, turning custom solutions into standard offerings and providing a variety of grit types and sizes to handle materials like aluminum, steel, cast iron, and Inconel. Toni and Sadler also highlight the importance of Osborn’s hands-on field experts, who collaborate directly with customers to design tailored solutions that improve efficiency, save costs, and ensure consistent quality on the shop floor.

This episode highlights how Osborn’s innovative honing technology not only boosts precision and consistency but also helps aerospace, automotive, and medical manufacturers stay ahead of evolving industry demands. Whether you’re looking to reduce wear on tools, improve finishes, or optimize your production process, this conversation offers valuable insights into the practical benefits of Osborn’s honing solutions.

Don’t miss this deep dive into advanced deburring, efficiency, and precision manufacturing.

To learn more about Osborn’s honing solutions, visit mscdirect.com.

For even more metalworking insights and expertise check out MSC's Knowledge Center.

For more Tooling Up videos, check our MSC Tooling Up playlist. And subscribe to our channel.

Video Transcript

SADLER KLEVE: We offer our honing tool products in a number of different grit types as well as grit sizes. And then we make these grit sizes from anywhere from 60 up to, you know, 500 to 1000 grit in some cases. So these virtually can be used on any type of material to accommodate to any customer needs.

Narrator: This video is brought to you by Osborn. We help you to finish, first. If you're looking for real-world insights, tips from leading industry experts, the latest trends in products and technology, you've come to the right place. From MSC Industrial Supply, this is Tooling Up.

TONI NEARY: Hello and welcome to Tooling Up. I'm your host, Toni Neary, and I'm so glad that you've joined us today. Before we get to our guest, let's go ahead and click those like and subscribe buttons. And that way you will never miss an amazing episode, just like the one you're about to see today. All right, everybody subscribed? Great. I am excited we have a returning guest today, and we're talking once again about deburring with Sadler Kleve, the national account representative at Osborn. Sadler, welcome back, and thanks for joining us again on Tooling Up.

SADLER KLEVE: Thanks. Glad to be back.

TONI NEARY: So it's good to have you back here again. For viewers who have missed our last conversation, you can check that out with a link in the description. But let's just go ahead and jump in. Last time you were here, we took a broad look at automating the deburring process, and today we're taking a deeper dive. Or should I say we're honing in on a specific subsection of that...honing tools.

Why is this an area that you wanted to come back and talk with us about?

SADLER KLEVE: Our honing tools are a key part of our core deburring offering, and we run into it a lot, where a lot of our existing brush customers don't actually know that we produce these types of honing products. So that's why we wanted to highlight it in this episode, and we wanted to just touch on the fact that we have significantly expanded our offering in this product line over the last 24 months.

TONI NEARY: And I think the way you've grown the product line is something that we have to touch on. So over the last two years, you've added a significant number of products to this line. And where does that come from?

SADLER KLEVE: Yeah. So a lot of the time our, what we call our custom solutions, end up just being a slightly different size. Or maybe it's just a slightly different grit than maybe an already existing product. So a lot of the time, we'll just take those custom solutions and end up turning them into a standard item and expand our offering with that.

TONI NEARY: That's fantastic. So let's start with the basics and hone in, if you will. What exactly are honing tools used for?

SADLER KLEVE: They can be used for a number of different applications, whether it be cylinder cleanup, putting cross-hatching on the inside of hydraulic cylinders or engine cylinders.

TONI NEARY: And I think it's really important that we're talking about this is creating a really smooth and precise finish when you're using these products. Is that correct?

SADLER KLEVE: Yes. That's kind of the nice part about this tool. These are self-centering tools. So they can be used, you know, manually and in an automated fashion. It ensures that you get an even finish across the entire cylinder wall. With the nylon filaments that are stiff but yet still flexible, allows that brush to center inside the cylinder or hole and provide that, you know, precise, even finish all the way across the cylinder.

TONI NEARY: And precision is critical, especially when you're looking at applications for your customers in aerospace, automotive and medical. So how do your Novoflex honing tools achieve that high level of precision?

SADLER KLEVE: So with that self-centering design that's kind of the key with those type of tools. It takes a lot of the human error out of it, where you could have inconsistencies in the finish if you were doing it by hand, whereas you could get inconsistent wear on a filament-style brush. The hones they create, like I talked about earlier, the cross-hatching pattern, which is crucial for oil and lubrication, retention on the cylinder walls.

TONI NEARY: And knowing that precision is key, especially with the applications and the customers that you're working with in aerospace, automotive, and medical, how do your Novoflex honing tools really achieve that level of precision that your customers need?

SADLER KLEVE: Yeah. So the main thing with our honing tools would be the self-centering design. It ensures that the finish is even and consistent over the entire length of the cylinder walls, which is crucial for oil retention and lubrication inside the hydraulic or engine cylinders.

TONI NEARY: And that's where that crosshatching comes into play right. Is making sure that the oil, the lubrication, everything's right on track for where it needs to be.

SADLER KLEVE: Yep. That would be correct. The way the brush is designed it creates a, you know, when ran at the correct speeds and feed rates, creates an even crosshatch pattern on the inside of the cylinder wall.

TONI NEARY: And anybody on the floor knows that no two jobs are ever the same. So how do you go about tailoring all of these different tools, dealing with different materials, different jobs, different customers? How do you make that work?

SADLER KLEVE: We offer our honing tool products in a number of different grit types as well as grit sizes. So our grit types, the common ones are going to be silicon carbide and aluminum oxide. But we also have a few other grit-type options. And then we make these grit sizes from anywhere from 60 up to, you know, 500 to 1000 grit in some cases.

So, these virtually can be used on any type of material, whether it be aluminum, steel, cast iron, Inconel, a variety of different base materials these can be used on. And we really have made strides in being able to provide that custom grit type or size to accommodate to any customer needs.

TONI NEARY: And I love that as we're seeing industries evolve, like automotive and aerospace, and their parts are evolving, Osborn's committed to making sure that you keep up to fill those gaps for them as well.

SADLER KLEVE: Yes, absolutely. It seems like every generation, a new generation of, you know, whether it be, you know, automotive engines or different medical devices, aerospace, it seems like every generation of those comes in a different size or a different base material, where it might not be that much different, but it needs to be three inches longer or a slightly different grit, to accommodate for a harder base material.

So we have tried to adjust our offering as things change.

TONI NEARY: And then I think one of the most important things here is that you have people that are out in the field, because I can imagine that that's great for both addressing industry needs, but also being on site to see what are the solutions that your customers need.

SADLER KLEVE: Yeah, without a doubt. We have a highly trained sales team that, you know, these type of applications where customization is needed. It's not something that can be done virtually. You have to be, you know, at the spindle to really understand the application and exactly what that customer needs. So our highly trained sales team, they, they know all the ins and outs of these types of applications and, help develop these custom brushes every day.

TONI NEARY: And you're not just making the process more efficient, but you're ultimately saving money and time for the customer, which is huge.

SADLER KLEVE: Yes, absolutely. Whether it be, you know, quality issues that are being very costly to the customer or, you know, saving money on using the hones versus tearing up a bunch of filament-style brushes. We're always looking to provide the cost savings to those end-user customers.

TONI NEARY: Sadler, I cannot thank you enough for your time. I feel like I learned something every time we chat and you're just so knowledgeable in this area. Thank you for coming in and chatting with us again.

SADLER KLEVE: Thanks for having me.

TONI NEARY: It was great hanging out with Sadler again today, and if you enjoyed our conversation as much as I did and want to make sure you don't miss more discussions just like this one, please subscribe to our channel. To find out more about their honing solutions, visit www.mscdirect.com/products/osborn-honing. Thanks, and we'll see you next time on Tooling Up.

Narrator: What more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the Tooling Up video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level, and subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.