I've never had issues tapping stock bolts into rods with a small hammer. (But I have not done every rod in the world either, nor did I ever think or bother to check the roundness afterwards.) So I would suspect it'll be fine with the pistons on. I don't get wild, just take my time and gently tap them in place. You can see here how much force it takes to remove some at about 3:00 minutes in:
Recon is another matter. If they don't need much, AND the parting line is perpendicular to the rod axis, then only the cap is ground. But I have found a rod or 2 where the parting line was a bit angled to the rod axis, and both halves might need grinding in that case. But whether the honing machine can work with the piston on, IDK.
And of course reconditioning shortens the rods a bit. So that is a question... there was a set someone wanted to sell me, and some of them looked like rebuild-house reconditioned rods; the lengths varied by .019" across the set! 0.2 to 0.3 points of compression difference..... OK for 'runnin' around' I 'spose, but not for a blueprinted build. Of course I declined the purchase LOL
