larger bushing

[fxst00]

Hello all,
I have a dumb question. I order some bushings for some cushion grip pens and they are loose on my mandrel as well as the tube. Should they be tight so they don't drift while turning or is their different shafts or something.
Thanks
Jeff

 

[Petricore]

it sounds like you got bushings for a B mandrel and you have an A mandrel. They should be a good fit so they dont slip while you turn, and you dont want to have to tighten the thumbscrew too tight or you could warp it.
my .02

 

[fxst00]

ok I think I ordered b bushing. what is the most common, I have a Jet 1236 and got the most common one. I thought it was b.
Jeff

 

[RONB]

The less play on the mandrel the better the fit on the pen parts. Sounds like B bushings on an A mandrel I'll agree.

 

[fxst00]

thanks again guys which one is the most common and which one is the old style.
Jeff

 

[drayman]

i think that the a mandral is the common one, regards colin.

 

[Rmartin]

Most kits use an "A" madrel. Some from Berea use a "B" mandrel. some kits can use either. You can buy bushings for the cigar which fit either "A" or "B". The "B" mandrel isn't expensive and it will work in your same "A" mandrel set up.

That being said, either way, the bushing should not be loose in the tube. A or B will fit the tube the same. Sounds like something else is wrong.

Rmartin

 

[George7]

Berea makes a kit called a "Cushion Grip". It uses the "B" mandrel. They don't offer bushings for the "A" mandrel. Woodcraft carries the same kit. Their bushings are probably for the "A" mandrel. I personally like the "B" mandrel for its added stiffness. I don't worry if I need to tighten the mandrel nut firmly to keep the bank from spinning.

 

[Randy_]

The correct bushing set for the Berea Cushion Grip kit is the 15B and a "B" mandrel is required. If you already have an "A" mandrel and arbor from Berea you can just spend another $7 and buy a "B" mandrel. It will screw into the Berea arbor. (It may or may not fit arbors from other manufacturers.) If you have the High Precision System from Berea, you may have to purchase both the driver and the "B" mandrel. I'm not sure if you can use the same driver with both mandrels. You would have check with Berea.

As to the bushings being loose in the tubes, that is a separate issue. Berea has had QC problems at times and quite a few people have reported having loose bushings at one time or another. I, myself, got a loose bushing from them. I emailed them about the problem and they said they would check into it; but I never heard from them again. It was easier to "engineer" a fix that waste a bunch of time hassling with them. I put a single thickness wrap of Scotch tape around the bushing and it fit the tube perfectly. If you do something like that, be sure to "NOT OVERLAP" the ends of the wrap or you will have a different thickness of wrap and the bushing will not be centered in the tube.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Of course, you could always ditch the mandrel all togather and start turning between ceneter with the bushings and get rid every bit of slop in the bushings, flex or warpage in the mandrel ect....[]

 

[fxst00]

Well after a five minute discussion with a guy at Woodcraft I called Berawoods and the tech support guy was real helpful and knowledgable unlike the WC guy. He is sending me out a #2 MT b mandrel free of charge. From what the tech guy said Arizona sil and Berawoods are the main companies that have a b amndrel. Although WC sells the Berea woods cushion grip pen and the b bushings I could not convince the guy at woodcraft that they are different. He wanted me to take my mandrel up there and show him. [!]

Thanks again guys
Jeff