Building a motor, where to start?

[goodhart]

Ok since I am in sort of the same situation here I'll add/ask something.

What benefits are there to doing a torque plate hone? I know its recommended when boring, but how bout on a hone on a stock bore motor? Or more specifically a stockish rebuild? (2g piston/1g rod motor) Is it really needed? Or would a normal machine hone or even just a bottle hone do the trick? I'm just looking to do things right the first time and be done with it. I am also looking to assemble it myself like brownman is.