Turning between centers bushing material

[Cwalker935]

What is a good material for making my own bushings? I have used corian but had one of my bushing split after several turnings plus the corian was not thick enough for larger bushings. Where can I find delrin (not sure if I spelled that right)?

Thanks

 

[Woodkiller]

UHMW works good, aluminum works better. Those are the only 2 I have tried so far. Woodcraft has a 5lb bag of UHMW cutoffs that I use for jig parts and bushings. Lowes or Home Depot have aluminum barstock and round rods. The aluminum can be drilled and turned with regular HSS tools.

 

[Dale Allen]

Cody, I use 304 brass for the ones I'll use over and over.
It turns better for me than either copper or aluminum.
I've tried UHMV but for a bushing it seems too soft.
I use Delrin for the finish bushings. Delrin is a brand name and it is actually acetal.
You can get brass a acetal at McMaster, Zoro Tools and maybe Enco

 

[Cwalker935]

Thanks, i'll check these options out and see what works best for me.

 

[ffloyd]

I am trying 12L14 tool steel. The material turns very well on my LMS 7x12 using a HSS tool and autofeed.

 

[frank123]

If you have a metal lathe use air hardening drill rod and harden the finished bushing.

It's unlikely you'll ever wear it out in normal use if you do.

 

[Joey-Nieves]

I don't make many bushings, but when I do I... use Corian, what I found useful is that use a 7mm brass tube and glue 2 pieces of Corian together, then make the bushing to the proper size. since it's mounted on brass they won't split or come apart and you can use them on a mandrel, if needed.