Woodchipper
Member
From an earlier thread, an inquiry was made about bushings for a certain pen kit. I commented that I now turn without specific bushings. This afternoon, I laid out all my kits and separated them according to the drill bit size. Have seven parts drawers, starting with the Slimline bushings and going up in size. All will be for the 1/4 inch mandrel but many bushings with the same drill bit size will have a different OD. I match the tube with the drill bit according to the instructions, check the OD of the bushing and the final OD of the blank and turn. Calipers get a good workout to turn down to specifications. BTW, I measure the OD of the kit parts that will meet the blank. To guard against senior moments, I record the dimensions on a Dollar Tree dry erase board so I can keep track. There is a bit of difference between parts and even kits but not enough to make a big difference. Leave a bit oversize to allow for sanding and finishing.