Make your own bushings

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If you consider how many many you can make and how much your pens sell for they are not that expensive.
One thing you might try to extend the life of them is to put a light coat of CA on them,No stain from bushings while sanding and it does extend their life.
(For some reason I am online now but don't know for how long)
 
I don't see $3.95 to $5.95 for a set of bushings that can last dozens or even (dare I say) hundreds of pens to be expensive. In fact, I consider it a bargain for the accuracy of the machining that has to be done.
I don't have access to a metal lathe, so I don't know what would be invoved in turning and boring a set of bushings to reasonable tolerances, but I can almost assure you the time needed for me to do it is worth quite a bit more than four or five dollars.

I certainly can see wanting to make your own bushings if you were making a design change to a kit and wanted a repeatable fit for your modification, but otherwise, a set of bushings is usually less expensive than a single pen kit, and can be used over and over.

What's the point of making your own?

PS... if you are just buying one kit of a particular style, and didn't want to buy the bushings, I could see that, but in that case, just snug-up a couple of spacers on your mandrel and use a set of calipers.
 
I agree with the above, bushings are not that expensive when you can make lots of pens with a set.

Temporary or limited use bushings can be made from materials such as Corian or Delrin. You will need to drill a hole in the plastic to fit the mandrel. For most mandrels it is .246", which is a letter "D" drill bit. Use a caliper to get the correct diameter.

Speaking of calipers: You can use a set of bushings that is smaller than the required diameter. Then use your caliper to measure until you get the correct diameter. Not the fastest way if your are turning a lot of the same kind of kits, but for that once in a while pen, it works just fine.
 
Originally posted by cteaglesc
<br />.....No stain from bushings while sanding and it does extend their life....
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This comment just got the wheels turning. I wonder if bushings made out of brass would solve the staining problem?? I know brass is relatively soft; but I think it would last a reasonable length of time if you were careful. And being that soft, you can turn it on a wood lathe!!

It is certainly true that bushings are quite cheap if the cost is prorated to 10 or 20 pens; but for someone only wanting to make one pen or someone who wants to try out a bunch of kits to pick the ones they like best, the investment in bushings can add up. On the other hand, how much is your time worth?? How long would it take you to hand-make a set of bushings for a kit....especially if it is 5 bushing kit like the Perfect Fit Convertible from Berea with different sizes and two step bushings?
 
I have a metal lathe. The time it takes me to make a set far exceeds the cost of a purchased set. Either that or I'm just really slow and have a underpowered lathe[:p]
 
I also have a metal lathe, a liitle one. it cost over $400.00 so to break even I have to make at least 100 sets of bushings and still not count my time. What would I have been doing with it otherwise?
next comes the ability to consistantly get them turned to a consistant tolerance. for me this is the hard part. I can pretty much count on making at least two sets for every usable one. I will do it for special pourposes. but even $6.00 sound good if I can buy what I want. even if I use scavanged rod to make them from.
 
I have a metal lathe and I can consistently get good bushings on the first try. I have a dial indicator mounted so I can get diameters consistent within half a thou. It does take more than a half hour to make a set and the material still has to be purchased so it my time is worth $20.00 an hour it costs about $12.00 to make a set of bushings.

I don't make them except for an emergency or I want to make something that is non-standard.
 
Wow! Sounds like you all work for a bushing company or something [:D]
Hey, I was just wondering if any of you did and if there was a way for pennies VS dollars. I guess the word EXPENSIVE was a bit over the top to you all. I guess its not a good idea to overthink things in here huh...[xx(]

Thank you all for the reply

Ron
 
I have thought about making my own bushings. I do not have a metal lathe at home but i have the luxury of running a CNC Lathe at work. This machine costs over $150k and we can hold tolerances of +/-.0001 if need be.

I can program the sizes i need and push a button and let it run unattended. Adjustments for different sizes would be simple enough by coming up with a macro program that just needs a variable or 2 changed.

I have access to stock ends that would otherwise be tossed into the scrap bin so i wont need the added expense of the material cost.

I also have the luxury of sending them to heat treat with other parts of the same material if i want.

The company i work for has no problem with making items for ourselves as long as the companys work gets done 1st.

I do agree the cost of the purchased bushings can be quite appealing and without the fuss of making them from scratch.

I suppose as far as pen turning is concerned, i dont think i would ever show a pen i made and comment that the pen was made using bushings i made myself as well, lol.
 
my time is worth $20.00 an hour it costs about $12.00 to make a set of bushings.
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Mudder if you do machine shop work for $20.00 per hour I can cover you up with jobs. I can fix it so you won't be able to see the door from your lathe.
 
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