Has this ever happened to you?

[Herb G]

Or am I the only one?
I bought some kits, picked out a blank, bought a drill bit to boot.
I go to make the pen, only to find out I have the wrong bushings.
I bought some Classic Twist kits, got some nice wood to make them with too. Problem is, I got the bushings for the Classic Rollerball by mistake.

Oh well, on the wish list they go, and I have to move on to a different kit now. At least I have the bushings for the rollerball if I ever turn any of them.

 

[Mortalis]

This is the process I go through when I either forgot to order the bushings or I ordered the incorrect set of bushings .....

#1 > Do the bushings fit into the brass tube?
...#1a >If yes, Measure the larger outer diameter of the bushings. Measure the kit parts that will fit up to the finished wood/acrylic blank. Are they the same size?
...#1b > If yes, your good to go!
...#1c > If no, then your screwed......not really see last paragraph

#2 > If the bushings fit the tube but are smaller than the kit parts then I've built up the matching diameter on the bushing with painter's tape until they matched and then was good to go!

#3 > If the bushings fit the tube but are larger than the kit arts, you can still start to turn the pieces. You will just need to stop when you get to the bushing diameter and either continue turning between centers which I prefer to do any more or find some bushings from a past kit that fit the tube and are smaller than the kit parts.

Have you tried turning between centers? I started out with a mandrel. It works for getting started but I would find that the kit pieces were almost always off center from the turned blank. Turning between centers opens up a whole new reality and quite a few options for when things dont go exactly as planned.