Cigar pen bushings

[dale]

Ok the last 2 cigars Ive made will not line up with the pen parts.
I thought it was my mandrel so I purchased a new one.
All the other pens I turn are true.
So could this be a problem with my bushings?
the short tube of the cigar will line up. But the lower part after I have placed the wood or what ever im turning on it and turn it down to the bushings it is off center when I goto press it together.
so after changing everything except it is my thought my bushings are crap.

So what do you all think?
could it be the bushings?
thanks
dale

 

[ed4copies]

yep, BTDT!

 

[dale]

THANKS

That was the only thing I could figure
dale

 

[Monty]

You need to start turning between centers with good bushings from Johnny. This will eliminate the problem.

 

[Steve Busey]

Dale,

My latest "lesson learned" is that it might not be the bushings, but rather whether your blanks are trimmed square properly - square to the tube, not the blank. If they're not trimmed square to the tube, you can get an out-of-round situation and the blanks won't match up with the kits (one side will be thicker than the opposite). DAMHIKT :frown:

 

[Rmartin]

I'm not sure what BTDT is, but you do need to change your bushings regularly. If you have one that is slightly out of round and you sand the blank to the bushing, it will also sand one side of the bushing, making it worse. A lot of people recommend using calipers.

 

[dow]

Ditto Monty's advice on turning between centers. Also, get yourself a good set of calipers (dial, digital, metric or standard... it doesn't matter as long as they're accurate) and turn your blanks down to the diameter of the hardware (nib, center ring, etc.) That will make a HUGE difference. If you're using CA, you may want to turn the tiniest bit under size (.001-.002" or so) to make room for the finish, depending on how much you build up your CA finish.

HTH,

dow

 

[Monty]

I'm not sure what BTDT is, ....

Been there, done that.

 

[dale]

Ordered some bushings from Wood-n-whinsies today
Will double check on the squareness before turning next pen

Dale