bushing sizes

[bitshird]

Now I'm not trying to be <s>cheep </s>err aah Cheap, just thrifty[:I] howsum ever I have at my disposal many tupes of tool steel and most tools necessary to make and precision grind any and every thing I will need to turn pens, and yes to my shame and future scorn will be doing this on engine lathes and probably at least roughing out the blanks on CNC turning centers( on my salary I cant afford a wood lathe and besides those long scary sharp gouges frighten me[)]I do have a set of three store bought slimline bushings plus 8 more I made when I made 3 .2495 mandrels which I hardned and ground. I have to hang around class fromk 2:30 untill 4:30 with one high school kid that's a Co-Op student, so sinceI made some segmented blanks, I kind of wanted to make some bushings for the Euro pens and the Cigar pens, any one have the dimensions they would be willing to share??
Thanke
Ken Ferrell

 

[EeyorIs21]

why not just buy 1 kit of each and measure the pen parts?

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by EeyorIs21
<br />why not just buy 1 kit of each and measure the pen parts?

He already told you he is thrifty!!

 

[Randy_]

From information posted on the Internet or submitted to me for the PRC Chart plus measurements from a pen in my inventory:

.......................Me...........CSUSA.........Berea.........WC
Finial........…..0.478".... 0.476".... ......0.472".... 0.470"
CB-upper.... 0.577".... 0.577".... ........0.570".... 0.565"
CB-lower…. 0.505".... <b>0.528"(?)*</b>.... 0.511".... ..0.507" *Very questionable value.
Nib.........….. 0.457".... 0.460".... ........0.460".... 0.455"

Whether the measurements posted represent actual differences in bushings from different manufacturers or just variations in the accuracy of the measurements, I can't say.

All of the sources seems to agree that the dia. of the step that fits inside the tube should be 0.359".

If you want to make up some bushings to have on hand, you could use the max. figures listed above and then sand the wood down to whatever hardware you have using a caliper to determine final dimensions.

If it were me, I would select a manufacturer and then turn my bushings to fit the hardware of that manufacturer. Even that won't always guarantee a perfect fit as there will be some variation in hardware size in different batches of the same manufacturers kits.

 

[Texatdurango]

Originally posted by Randy_
<br />...From information posted on the Internet or submitted to me for the PRC Chart plus measurements from a pen in my inventory:

Are you compiling some sort of a master bushing size chart to be published on the IAP?

I have a spreadsheet of all the kits I have showing the following sizes for each kit:

Drill(s)
brass diameters and length for each tube in kit
bushing diameters for each tube in kit
bushing diameters for finale, nib, center band, clip end
Actual part diameters for finale, nib, center band, clip end

I was going to keep expanding the list in hopes of eventually putting it online making a meaningful list for everyone to use but if that is what you are already doing, no sense in duplicating the effort, I'll be glad to give you what I have if you need it.

George

 

[IPD_Mrs]

George & Randy,
Would you two mind sharing this little bit of valuable info??????[^]

Mike

 

[Randy_]

George: Short answer---yes. Maybe you haven't been around long enough to have seen the original discussion?? It is tough to keep up with everyone. I will email you this evening.

Pen Reference Chart

Mike: I am planning to post something publicly soon. Didn't want to put it out until there was a reasonable amount of information to make it worthwhile and I wanted to have vetted the info as best I could for accuracy.

 

[johnnycnc]

Ken,having made some tool steel bushings myself,
and used them with good results,here are some #'s to get you going.
CIGAR (my kits are from Berea)
clip= Ø.474
upper center band= Ø.575
lower center band= Ø.525
nib= Ø.459
shoulder to fit in tube for all (4) cigar= Ø.360
I'm guessing the European you mention is the standard
7mm (my kits are from CSUSA).if so here are #'s for that;
upper at clip= Ø.406
upper at center band fit=Ø.540
upper at center band tenon=Ø.403
lower at center band=Ø.420
lower at nib=Ø.357
You will,of course,need to match YOUR kits,since you will
see a small variation from different suppliers.
In the end,however,I would suggest you order a
bushing set from(CSUSA)for each kit;
at ?3.99 per set,you will have something to get you started,
and you can use them for a reference to make your own bushings.
Learn to question premade bushing sizes by checking your
parts and I think you will find you can make better fitting ones.
Have a great day![]

Originally posted by bitshird
<br />SNIP
I kind of wanted to make some bushings for the Euro pens and the Cigar pens, any one have the dimensions they would be willing to share??
Thanke
Ken Ferrell

 

[Rifleman1776]

In addition to all the advice given so far, here's another: read the instructions.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

FWIW... I have been making some "between centers" bushings that have just the 60 degree center bore in the end. I do, however, need to turn kinda backwards. I use the live center to hold the counter bore hole and turn normaly to get my outside dimension (towards the tailstock) and then I "scoop" the material from left to right. Not the best way to do it, but I know they center hole is perfect. My metal lathe does not have the percision that I like to trust holding the center hole end in the chuck. If my hole was off a hair, I want the steel to be trued up on the lathe based off that hole. There is not enough room to hole the bushing between centers with a face plate and a dog so I guess this is the next best thing.

I would recomend you buy the kits, maybe a couple, and measure yourself for refrence. You might think about truning between centers too. I am able to achieve much better results this way.

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by Rifleman1776
<br />In addition to all the advice given so far, here's another: read the instructions.

I think that will only help if you trade with CSUSA. Some of their instructions have partial information on bushing sizes. It used to be that only the newer kits had instructions with bushing size information published. Certainly, the cigar pen is not a new kit so maybe they are revising all of their kit instructions? I will have to check.

As far as I know other manufacturers don't publish any bushing size information, whatsoever.

According to the CSUSA web site, the cigar pen bushing measurements are:

0.476"
0.575"
0.530"
0.459"

I believe there is a legitimate reason for the CSUSA lower CB bushing being "seemingly" out of line with the other manufacturers; but it is more than I want to get into right now. Suffice it to say, I think most people who look CLOSELY will prefer that end blank to be more in line with what the other manufacturers are calling for; but it may not be a concern to some.

 

[gketell]

The lower cigar bushing is a "bull-nose" style; like an upside down U. Most of the measurements are for having the blank meet up with the top of the curve rather than at the base and this causes you to have a V groove between the blank and the top of the bushing. 0.511 is what one of the manufacturers used to list and what I use and seems to have the blank meet the bushing right where the curve becomes straight.

GK

 

[Randy_]

Thanks, Greg. Excellent explanation. I was having some trouble finding the correct words so I decided to put it off. Now I don't have to mess with it!![]