El Grande Bushings. Woodcraft the same as A.S.?

[DaveM]

I bought some El Grande and Churchill kits from A.S., and like an idiot, I ordered the wrong bushings. Luckily, I am two hours from a Woodcraft, so I ran down there and bought the El Grande bushings from them. (Along with many many many pen blanks, a skew, books, finishing items, wood, duck call parts... )

Now, I go to turn these things, and they are wobbling all over the place. I take them off the mandrel, and turn between centers, and they are even worse. I recheck my centers, and they are clean and true. I recheck the ends of my blanks, and they are square and flat... I measure the bushings, and they are way out of round. One of the large end ones has over ten thousanths total runout, giving me a lip of about six thou at the shoulder. Both the cap and barrel have a way out of round bushing, so I am turning these carefully between centers without bushings until I can make up a set of bushings.

Does Woodcraft get their bushings from the same batch as the other Berea resellers? I will toss A.S. an order tonight, if I think that I can get some round bushings, but I would hate to place an order and end up with the same thing I have now. Otherwise, I will arrange some lathe time, and turn a few of my own. They will be round!

Thanks,
Dave

 

[LanceD]

Did you buy a "B" sized mandrel ? Churchill and El Grande kits require a "B" mandrel, not the standard 7mm mandrel needed for the majority of other kits that we turn. I's a larger and beefier shaft which is sometimes needed for turning some of the larger kits.

 

[kirkfranks]

Actually Woodcraft does sell Bushings for this kit for the regular (A) mandrel.
I bought a set once, I have yet to buy the kit...[V]

 

[DaveM]

Mandrel's fine. The bushings are off. The step on the one isn't centered, and the hole on one of the cap bushings is decidedly off center at the outside end. Measured them with a dial caliper, and then double checked them with a mic. About 12 thousanths off center! Less than one thousanth TIR on my drive center, and on my tailstock. I guess I'll do the turning between centers without the bushing trick for these pens. I guess that's part of the pen turning game. Nothing quite fits the way it is supposed to!

I'll buy the other size from A.S., and they should work better...


edited for spelling...

 

[mrcook4570]

I frequently use bushings from WC. They are less expensive than AS and their El Grande bushings fit the A mandrel. I've not had any problems with them. However, it sounds like you got a bad set and would return them to WC. But two hours away, I certainly wouldn't make a special trip for a $3.99 bushing set.

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by DaveM
<br />.....Does Woodcraft get their bushings from the same batch as the other Berea resellers? I will toss A.S. an order tonight, if I think that I can get some round bushings, but I would hate to place an order and end up with the same thing I have now......

The answer to your question is no. I don't know where Woodcraft gets the bushings that normally require an "A" mandrel. But they do have their own special bushings for kits that normally require a "B" mandrel so that they can be turned on an "A" mandrel.

If you buy bushings from AS, they are going to sell you "B" bushings so you will need to purchase a "B" mandrel as well unless you already have one.

 

[DaveM]

I have "B" mandrels. I am ordering the bushings tomorrow. I am glad to hear that the WC bushings are from an unknown source. I have never had problems with the Berea ones, so I am confident that this will solve my problem. I was afraid that this might be a production problem with the only supplier, and I would not be able to get a replacement without the same problem.

Actually, I usually don't even use the mandrels, as I prefer to turn between centers. I like the extra accuracy. I had to make a pen for a customer order today, and I ended up turning it between centers without bushings. (Light pressure on the tailstock, and really light pressure on the tools!) What a way to turn my first El Grande! I was getting worried when I saw how thin the wall was going to be, but the tubes didn't deform, and all of the parts fit snugly. Great looking pen, but ugly colored blank! (The customer is always right...)

Thanks again everybody,
Dave

Edited due to fumble fingered typing.