Does anyone make bushings???? I got a problem

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RyanNJ

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Joined
Jan 31, 2010
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780
Location
Burlington, New Jersey
I went to turn my Bear Tooth Woods Tool Pen today and i didn't realize i needed a B mandrel so i tried to turn it between centers.... that did not go to well and not i have just a brass tube left... so i was wondering how i should go about solving this
 
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make your own bushings from aluminum, brass or corian. Or, contact johnnycnc and see if he can make you a set.
To make your own this will get you started: http://www.RedRiverPens.com/articles and look at #5
To contact johnnycnc go to his website: http://www.penturnersproducts.com/ or PM him from here.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

I went to turn my Bear Tooth Woods Tool Pen today and i didn't realize i needed a B mandrel so i tried to turn it between centers.... that did not go to well and not i have just a brass tube left... so i was wondering how i should go about solving this
 
Berea still sells those units and the bushings -- they work adequately between centers if you decide to spend $6 instead of making them. The dead and live center for mandrelless turning fit the larger hole. Look for 10B bushings. The dead center and live ccenter handle 8mm just fine.

Adding a seam ripper to the tools on these makes them even more useful.
 
Berea still sells those units and the bushings -- they work adequately between centers if you decide to spend $6 instead of making them. The dead and live center for mandrelless turning fit the larger hole. Look for 10B bushings. The dead center and live ccenter handle 8mm just fine.

Adding a seam ripper to the tools on these makes them even more useful.

I bought the bushings but i don't have a B madrel that the 10B bushings need
 
The other option is to simply turn a rod that fits snuggly inside the bushings. Trim it to the length of the blank+some of the bushings and then assemble and turn between centers.
 
I only turn between centers and use johnny's bushings when ever possible. On the occasion that I don't have one of his sets I have found that the PSI, CSUSA etc bushings will work OK with the 60* drive and live centers.
 
Mandrels can easily made using drill rod cut to length, threaded for the brass nut and using a 60 degree center drill to dimple the end and having a way to hold the mandrel. Custom lengths for different pens can be made also. Drill rod is not expensive. I can't remember the last mandrel I purchased.
do a good turn daily1
Don

You can buy a B mandrel from Arizona Silhouette

Lee
 
I bought the bushings but i don't have a B madrel that the 10B bushings need


Ryan, what exactly went wrong when you tried turning between centers?
If you are turning between centers, (with a 60 degree dead center in the headstock and a 60 degree live center in the tailstock), the bushings should have worked adequately regardless of the fact they are sized for the B mandrel. Of course johnnycnc's bushings are better :biggrin: .... but the stock ones will work.
 
You can turn without the mandrel with the stock bushings in most situations - Need only a dead center - live center or even a 8mm or 5/15 collet chuck and a N or M sized drill bit with the solid end sticking out to hold the bushing (use the one which gives a snug fit into the bushing. Live center holds the other bushing in place and provides the moderate pressure.
 
Ryan, what exactly went wrong when you tried turning between centers?
If you are turning between centers, (with a 60 degree dead center in the headstock and a 60 degree live center in the tailstock), the bushings should have worked adequately regardless of the fact they are sized for the B mandrel. Of course johnnycnc's bushings are better :biggrin: .... but the stock ones will work.

It did not turn evenly, some parts were down to the brass and others still had some "meat" left on them
 
Even if one turned a wood MT 2 and a and approximate 60 degree taper in a hard wood (like maple instead of poplar) one should be able to get a pen or two done - I would be sure to bevel the end of the tube on the drive side to cut dow on the tendency to drive the tube into the wood. And with glued up corian, even better. One has to be light with the tools, but tube to live center will work-
 
Ryan, have you tried checking the alignment by bringing the two centers together ?
It should look like this ...
 

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I will try that but if i recall correctly last time i did that they were a little off... can that be fixed.. sorry for all the questions I am only 17 and i dont know anyone into pen turning besides the helpful people on this site
 
Couple of things to check. If you turned between a 60 degree live center and a 60 degree dead drive center and still ended up off center; Did you have any dry glue inside the tube? Did you chamfer the inside of the brass tubes after you squared them up, and how consistantly? How did you square the wood blank to the tube? How tight did you have the tube between the centers?

Oh, just thought of this one, were you trying to turn both tubes at once using a three piece bushing set? I've never heard of anybody making that work, we almost all turn one barrel at a time between two bushings, (if we use bushings at all)

Dry glue inside the tube will cause the tube to not seat evenly on the bushings (or centers) , as will the ragged inner lip of brass left by a pen mill, or an uneven chamfer. An inaccurate or incomplete job of squaring the blank to the tube will cause bushings to seat inaccurately as well. In theory if turning between centers with no bushings this would not be a problem, as the centers only contact the inside of the tube, not the ends of the blank, but if you mill down to and even slightly into the brass, even directly between centers, you can still have problems.

Hope that helps, or at least gives you an idea of what else to look at.
 
I will try that but if i recall correctly last time i did that they were a little off... can that be fixed.. sorry for all the questions I am only 17 and i dont know anyone into pen turning besides the helpful people on this site

Questions are what this site is all about! No need to apologize. :biggrin:

What brand/model of lathe do you have?
On my Jet mini the headstock is bolted to the bed in four places. By loosening the bolts it's possible to "adjust" the alignment between the centers ... at least the side to side part .... the vertical alignment is a whole other story. It would also pay to check that your morse tapers (where your centers slide in) are clean. A little gunk or debris in there can throw things off.
Photos might help. :)
 
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