johnnycnc's Euro bushings

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Steve Busey

Steve Busey

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
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1,143
Location
Marietta, GA.
Each time I'd go to make a Euro pen, I'd have to pull out the calipers to figure out which of Johnny's five bushings to use (hmmm, is this one the .406 or the .403 or the .420??).

After getting them confused at least (mumble mumble) times, I found a solution. I tried marking the sides of the bushings, but that would disappear with little effort. Finally hit on a Sharpie on the inner end, and a simple chart on my ref sheet:

P_01 (Large).jpg

It would be great if Johnny had the time or ability to use laser etching to label them, but until I win the lottery & get my own laser, I'll stick with my Sharpie!
 
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Steve, I don't have a pic of it, but another possible is: I drew a diagram like you did for the profile of the pen on a piece of scrap 3/4" plywood, and drilled (5) 7mm holes in the proper alignment beside the diagram. I placed each bushing into each hole by its pilot shaft. I have not done all of my pen kit bushings yet, but as I do them, I label each scrap for that particular pen style kit. Just a thought; works for me.
 
Steve Busey said:
Each time I'd go to make a Euro pen, I'd have to pull out the calipers to figure out which of Johnny's five bushings to use (hmmm, is this one the .406 or the .403 or the .420??).

After getting them confused at least (mumble mumble) times, I found a solution. I tried marking the sides of the bushings, but that would disappear with little effort. Finally hit on a Sharpie on the inner end, and a simple chart on my ref sheet:

View attachment 59251

It would be great if Johnny had the time or ability to use laser etching to label them, but until I win the lottery & get my own laser, I'll stick with my Sharpie!
Click to expand...

The labeled plastic bags they come in work just fine for me.
 
Bill, I have limited real shop estate, and keep all 5 bushings in a film canister, now with the "cheat chart".

Jason, I wear out those bags in a hurry!

Spray paint might work, if you have 5 different colors hanging around. Just figured it was easier - Johnny calls them A, B, C, D & E - now, so do I!

This goes to show though, there's always more than one way to solve a problem around here! :highfive:
 
I bet that we have 20 different sets of bushings in the shop and multiple copies of each. There's no way that I could handle them if they weren't all totally organized. My solution was to buy a few of these boxes from HF

hf_container_storage_box_24-container.jpg


The name of the bushing goes on the box in sharpie. No bushings come out of it's box until the prior one goes back in. Nothing can get mixed up.
 
Actually, my space is limited, too, Steve. I don't explain well without pics, but the blocks I was referring to are 1"w x 6"l x 3/4"d. Just long enough to illustrate the general shape of the pen, top to bottom, and (5) holes aligned to the diagram. I have to admit that ryvnd2001's suggestion about color-coding them is something I might look into. As it is now, I reload these blocks in order as soon as I unload my mandrel.
 
I buy pill bottles from my pharmacy for about .05 each and write the name on the top of the bottle - put them in a drawer and can see the names on the top when I open it.
 
When I first saw the title of this thread, I thought you had a complaint about Johns bushings. Turns out it's a storage problem. I still have mine in the little bags they came in. You could turn a couple of scrap blanks and leave the bushings on them the way they would be on a finished pen. Just an idea.
 
Steve,
In the beginning, I used a vibrating etcher to mark them... just don't have time enough for that now.
I'm glad you found a solution!
I use a sharpie with hash marks on the o.d. of my cigar sets, always do them in a certain order, to keep those straight.:smile:
 
johnnycnc said:
I use a sharpie with hash marks on the o.d. of my cigar sets, always do them in a certain order, to keep those straight.:smile:
Click to expand...

Tried that, John, but the marks would quickly disappear during MM or finishing. The "inner end" works out to be the safest place I can find.
 
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