Old Bushings, New Trick

[Jim in Oakville]

Hi,

I had a little moment of discovery last night in the shop (doesn't happen often).

I had a pen on the mandrel that need some extra sanding help. I was concerned about sanding onto the bushings, I have done that before and undersized them, found out later when pressing other pens together and feeling the hardware proud of the wood....yeah I know...DAMHIKT.[:0]

Anyway, I hardly ever throw things away including old undersized bushings...(Light Bulb Moment)....yes, I pulled the good set off the lathe, put the old set back on with the blanks and sanded with out a worry for the bushings... I am sure some of you already do this, I just figured it out last night, maybe it will help some one else.

Take care,
Jim

 

[JimGo]

The harder part for me is remembering to throw those old bushings back on. I get too excited about making the pen...

 

[ctEaglesc]

I make spacer out of bottle caps.Sandwich them on the mandrel between the bushing and the blank.They are thick and soft enough to tak abuse and thin enough not to alter the dia of the pen.

 

[bob393]

Yeah: I can't remember anything. What we we talking about, oh yah, great idea.[]

 

[Rifleman1776]

I'll put them between a dead center and a live center then sand....carefully.

Edit: P.S. I always throw away my old bushings. Have ruined pens a couple times by grabbing old, worn down bushings. They are disposable items IMHO.

 

[JimGo]

I don't know Frank...I think that's part of the conspiracy.

 

[LanceD]

I have been switching my bushings for about 5 months now to sand. To be able to tell which are the good ones and to keep from getting them mixed up, I take a black permanent marker and color my good bushings to tell them apart. Even while turning you can still take the original paint off by hitting them with your tool. Usually with every order I place for kits I always order a couple of extra sets of bushings to keep on hand.