Alternate uses for bushings?

[cjester]

Cleaning up I found some old bushings with no identification. I've got good bushings for the kits I like, and am not confident I could accurately identify these. This is a creative community, so before I pitch them in the recycling bin I figured I'd ask here - anybody have clever ways to repurpose old bushings?

 

[JimB]

I don't have a suggestion but I wouldn't toss them either. They take up virtually no space and you never know what you may be able to use them for in the future.

BTW, all you need to do is measure them with digital calipers to get the measurements and then match them to the kits you do using the bushing chart available on here or the app.

 

[magpens]

..... or measure the bushing diameters and state them on here .... someone may be able to tell what kit(s) they are for.

 

[penicillin]

Buy digital calipers if you don't own one. They have so many uses beyond measuring bushings. You can use them to measure the actual pieces in the kit and then compare them with the bushings and the actual turned pen blank. I use them frequently.

As others have recommended, measure the bushings and use the app (IAP app) on your Android or Apple smartphone to identify the matching pen kits.

 

[mark james]

Ammo for a slingshot, ear lobe piercings, key chain ornaments... (I'd keep them and eventually sort by dimensions).

I have a LOT of misc bushings, but use them frequently. I prefer to measure my kit components and use calipers for final size - not the bushings. Actually bushings that are just under OD are great for my purposes.

 

[dogcatcher]

Randomly stack them on tubes and cast over them. It would make for a heavy pen, but it would be pretty unique.

 

[Charlie_W]

And don't forget that the outer diameter can be turned (filed) down to make custom bushings as long as the smaller diameter fits your tubes.

 

[cjester]

OK, I'll hang on to them. Some interesting ideas in this thread, thanks! Particularly the idea of filing them down to useful custom sizes. Obvious in hindsight, but I hadn't thought about it.

I have and use a few different calipers and dividers. I've got cheap HF digital calipers which are fine for transferring measurements physically, but I don't trust the digital readout.

 

[Rick_G]

I use the old ones with my rotary jig on my NEJE engraver to match the blank size.