Honing head construction

A honing mandrel having six circumferentially spaced work engaging members thereon includes a body portion with a pinion gear 114 rotatably mounted therein, a pair of opposed honing assemblies 82, 84 and a pair of opposed guide assemblies 102, 104 each having rack gear members extendable into transverse body bores for cooperating with the pinion gear, each of the honing assemblies having two circumferentially spaced work engaging honing 94, 96 and 98, 100 members thereon, and each of the guide assemblies having a single work engaging guide member 110, 112 thereon. The honing members on the honing assemblies move on chords of a cylindrical work surface during expansion and contraction thereof, and the guide members on the guide assemblies in one embodiment move on chords of the work surface during expansion and contraction thereof and in another embodiment move on or adjacent to a diameter of the work surface during expansion and contraction thereof. In the embodiment where the guide members move on or adjacent to a diameter of the work surface the invention further includes modifying the rack gear teeth on the rack gears associated with the honing assemblies relative to the rack gear teeth on the rack gears associated with the guide members to maintain the honing members and the guide members on the same cylindrical surface during expansion and contraction thereof.