Originally posted by rherrell
Originally posted by leehljp
Originally posted by rherrell
This is exactly my point. If the problem is THAT imperceptible than IN MY BOOK there is no problem, ergo, no need for custom bushings.
Sorry for missing your point. Since you were mentioning your Beall and Mandrel, I thought you were comparing it to that. I have a Beall and use it on some things. I even the full set of in-between collets.
Overall, most bushings are good, but when it comes to perfection and making a $250.00+ pen, you don't want to feel any difference in the fit between the blank and the fitting.
The problem with the "imperceptibility" is that it is only imperceptible while it is on the lathe and mandrel. But when it comes to fit, Fingers can "feel" differences of an 1/500th of an inch and even smaller. When the bushing is out of round by .005, you can move a $250 pen to $50 or $75.
That is why I quit using the bushings to size a blank and why I moved away from mandrels. The bushing is required on the mandrell all the way through on the process. On the mandrel-less method, once the blank is down to sanding size, you can take the bushing off. But with a custom bushing, you can be assured of much better than a .005 tolerance, which to me is worth it.
This was a process in discovery for me , and I discovered only as I got more experience. I am not saying that other people have as bad luck on bushings as I have, but my experience with bushings has barely been acceptable - 75%. And with my own testing, I discovered it was the store bought bushings, not the lathe.
Some bushings are great, some are not. I personally prefer one custom guaranteed set than taking my chance with having to send a store bought bushing back - with the postage from Japan being the price of 2 sets of ordinary bushings.
