Anyone use digital calipers instead of bushings?

[micah]

I'm sick and tired of CA on my bushing. Even tore up some nice blanks that were finished but didn't get them separated from the bushing correctly...
Thinking of getting a descent set of DC's and going that route. Anyone else do this?
Any good DC's you would suggest?
Thanks!

 

[PenMan1]

I DON'T NEED good digital calipers, I NEED cheap digital calipers. I am really hard on calipers and to add speed I use 4 sets of calipers at the time. My father and mentor used to say I was the only person he ever met that could break an anvil!

One good fall from the lathe stand can ruin even the most precise and most well built calipers. When I broke my first $150 digital caliper, I decided that my shop needed "throw away" calipers. I opt for the $15-20 versions and replace them often.

 

[jd99]

Use your bushings to turn to then take the tubes and put them between centers to apply the CA, thats what I do, works fine, and after the CA has cured over night I put the tube back on the centers to sand and polish. No stuck bushing becaues they aren't used in the CA application.

 

[Monty]

I use both, bushings to get close, then remove and turn between centers (you'll be surprised as to how OOR or off center your bushings are) and measure with HF calipers. When I get to the size I need, I apply my CA finish.

 

[leehljp]

Calipers: Short answer - Yes!

I would say the vast majority of people who have been turning pens for more than a year, and All that sell in high end markets use calipers for determining the size, fit and finish. Commercially available bushings are too unreliable to use as a gauge for fine fit. - exception is the custom made ones.

One of the many advantages of Turning Between Centers (TBC) is that it eliminates the need for finishing to the size of a bushing - which diminishes in size every time a piece of sandpaper touches it while turning, or the chisel touches it while turning to size. It has long been known by the pros that bushings are "consumables" on the mandrel for these very reasons.

AS to TBC, finish sizing is done without bushings and only with calipers, and then the finish is also applied without the bushings, sooo . . . no sticky bushings.

Other problems eliminated by not using the bushings after getting to near size are "Off Center" bushings, bent mandrels, tail stock too tight, and other problems eliminated. Less is better!

Hey Micah, I was in Searcy this past weekend. My daughter, SIL and 5 grandkids live very near there in Augusta. I go there about every other month at least!

 

[mredburn]

If your going to get serious digital calipers are a must. Not that it cant be done with a dial set, it can. But a digital set lets you switch back and fourth between mm and inch measurements. I have a set of mats at the lathe just to keep the calipers from hitting the floor should I drop them. I use the expensive set, most of the cheap ones will measure just as well as the good ones, start with a cheap set.

 

[srf1114]

HF has a set of digital calipers for $19.99, However a simple internet search will yield you a coupon that will knock $10.00 of that price. And you can buy up to to 7 calipers with the same coupon. I keep stocked up on them this way.

 

[Justturnin]

I picked up 4 HF 6" Digi Calipers for $9.99 each with a coupon. I have two unopened just waiting. Switching form Dial to Digital saves ohhhh so much time. I just started Turning Between Centers and the forst 2 pens I made were w/ no bushings. I dont think I will stay that route but I didnt have the correct bushing and using standard bushings yielded out of round results. So for now I am Calipers only but once I get some bushings made I will be back to Calipers and Bushings and then Delrin Finish Bushings......

 

[leehljp]

. . . but I didnt have the correct bushing and using standard bushings yielded out of round results.

What most people don't realize is that standard bushings are like that. I used to order at least 2 sets and often 3 sets of bushings for a particular pen line just to get one set of good ones. Then I found TBC!

Take your calipers and the "standard" bushings and measure the hole to the outside edge at different points around the bushing. Do this on each bushing and on both ends of the bushing. It will probably surprise you if you haven't done this before.

 

[PTsideshow]

Also do an Amazon search for the replacement batteries, I bought a package of 100 for about .25¢ each lots cheaper The SR44 type have about 100 or more assorted numbers. Cheaper than buying each or 10 at a time.
:clown:

 

[toddlajoie]

I use both, bushings to get close, then remove and turn between centers (you'll be surprised as to how OOR or off center your bushings are) and measure with HF calipers. When I get to the size I need, I apply my CA finish.

Big Ditto!!! (on the OOR issue also, this really surprised me, even with some of the better aftermarket TBC Bushings...)

 

[Lenny]

I CAN'T imagine turning pens without digital calipers!
I use mine to record info on new kits when I get them, such as tube lengths, bushings (measured when new) etc.
Even with digital calipers to check the components, the trick is to figure out how much undersized you have to sand to in order for the 15-20 coats of CA to come out to the size you want to finish at!!! :wink::biggrin:

 

[micah]

Went and picked me up a pair at Lowes today. I'm going to try them on some pens real soon!

 

[TerryDowning]

Once you get the hang of it you won't go back to bushings.
Calipers will pay for themselves shortly by no longer purchasing bushings.

 

[MarkD]

the trick is to figure out how much undersized you have to sand to in order for the 15-20 coats of CA to come out to the size you want to finish at!!! :wink::biggrin:

Let us know when you come up with a good solution to this!

 

[thewishman]

I used to use digital calipers instead of bushings, but the calipers kept hitting the tool rest. It really stings if you get your finger pinched in between.

 

[TerryDowning]

Never ever measure while the lathe is spinning. Even the cheap digital calipers are too expensive to abuse in this manner. Wait for the lathe to stop and take at least 2 measurements 90 degrees apart to check for out of round.

I do have a really cheap set of HF plastic calipers that I use to get close, those I'll use while the lathe is spinning. If they get tossed, no big deal, I don't consider them a precision tool anyways (I believe accurate to 1/32 or so?) where as my DCs measure in thousandths.

 

[toddlajoie]

Also, with any of the digital calipers I've seen, they are metal and have sharp points and can/will grab/dent/ding/chip/gouge/and all other sorts of nasty things to your blanks if you try to measure while spinning, and I really doubt you would get any accurate sort of measurement while spinning. Also, since if you're using these, you're dealing with .001 to .005 varaiances depending on your likes, and it is hard enough to be sure you are measuring right on the edge of the tube when it isn't moving....

As for measurements, I typically finish woods down to about .003 to .005 undersized, then build up CA to .005 oversize (maybe a bit more if there is heavy grain texture or voids that may sink...) and finish down from there, typically ending up about dead on to .003 over. I never bother counting how many coats it takes, since it seems to vary for me depending on material and temperature (unheated garage work area in New England...) and sometimes needing to put on VERY light coats in the cold weather so it doesn't take 20 minutes to dry...

 

[PenPal]

Morning here,

Reading with interest all the comments and theories, practices.

Make a simple go,no go guage they can be small and real quick.

What is a go no go guage well it is simply brass or somesuch gapped object to slip over the section to give yes or no answers.

I have many of everything tend to overtighten my digitral calipers, find the battery left on , the small battery cover in the sawdust, drop them occasionally.

make a plan stick to a method that works for you and have fun, I do.

If we search for the ideal in everything we would never buy a woodlathe after using a metal lathe for metalwork for years accuracy in manufacture is a lesson to learn. Try for example measuring your drills across the lands get a shock. I buy drills with calipers in hand and end up getting strange looks from the dealers, I then buy for my mandrel slip fit method of turning drills a smidgeon either way sometimes two under and buy top quality fixed reamers. This is anal but satisfies me.

Horses for courses, let your best interest reign, share with others, make up your own mind.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[ctubbs]

Oddball out time, I have a few sets of old "calipers", the kind with the legs that bow into a bit of a circle with a screw adjustment to hold the legs at a set dimension. I set them to the dimension of the pen part by feel and then turn the blank to fit the gap between points. These calipers can be still bought in sets usually of inside and outside pairs. this way there is no miss-reading the display, WHEN they are dropped, they just bounce if you don't step on them before being picked up, (DAMHIKT). For a klutz like myself, being rugged is a good point. Yes, I absolutely have a set of Digital Calipers also. I just try to avoid using them while the lathe is turning. The points are very hard on the final finish of the blank, Groves man, Groves!

Charles