Cleaning bushings

[Rangertrek]

Newby here.
I have noticed a grey haze on the bushings as I turn a blank. The grey material gets on the blank. This is usually while I am doing a finish.
Any guidelines on cleaning the bushings and mandrel.

 

[fiferb]

What finish are you using? If CA, you can put in a small container with acetone. Another thing that may help is when you are sanding, sand from the center of the blank toward the ends. Be careful not to pull the metal dust back onto the blank.

 

[shull]

Acetone will clean off CA quite nicely. Othere finishes can usually be cut with laquer thinner. As far as the staining of the blank goes, that is usually caused by sanding the bushing and "pulling" the metal into the blank during the process. To prevent this from happening you can sand from the center to the side making sure that the area of sandpaper you place back into the center has not been contaminated by the bushings. Another method is to replace the bushings with non-metalic spacers during the finishing process.

If the blank has been stained, I have found that wiping with DNA will help clean it up.

 

[leehljp]

The coloring is coming from the bushing as you and other noted. Cleaning the bushing will not help, but keeping the sandpaper from the bushing will.

I used to get a butter container lid, or PET bottle type of plastic and make a washer the size of the blank and put it on the bushings. This gave a small "space" which I could go over the end of the blank and not touch the bushing with the sandpaper.

AH, a thought just came - Try a small "O"-ring as a spacer between the bushing and blank.


Now for another idea, and the one that I use to prevent the same situation. I use the No-mandrel or mandrel-less method. When going to the final sanding and finishing stage, I remove the bushings altogether.

http://www.penturners.org/photos/images/940/1_Dead_drive_1.jpg

The link shows the first dead drive that I used - and I made it because I couldn't find one over here.

 

[Rangertrek]

Thanks for the tips. The obvious reason went right past me.