Thread: Pen bushes sizes needed (14A)

measure the fitting you have and turn to that as the wood can't be any bigger than the fittings. Thats what I do and they come out right. I do this to the pens that need the bigger mandrel....make them then fit to the A mandrel.....saves having different size mandrels

Pete

I actually prefer the B size mandrel. Yes I can (and probably will) make a set of bushes for this kit (have already made a centre bush) but want to know the size of the actual 14A bushes, particularly in view of the fact I was told the nib and finial bushes were as for the Slimline.

My measurements are as follows:

Finial 8.85

CB 11.44

Nib 8.37

Which definitely does not fit with the Slimline measurements.

Mine measure 8.4mm/0.331inch, 10.5mm/0.414inch and 8.4mm/0.331inch

Thanks DJ. Just in case one kit was a different size, I measured all 5 and they were all the same, finial definitely .5mm bigger than nib and CB 11.4. So 14A bushes are not the go for these Streamline kits, will have to make my own bushes.

Oh well, just as well I bought that metal lathe.

There is a moral here though, think twice before buying kits if the don't sell the bushes (unless you have metal lathe of course!)

Yeah, I've never been happy with the sizing of the bushes for the streamline, I usually turn the centre band ends bigger than the actual bush

Originally Posted by DJ's Timber

Yeah, I've never been happy with the sizing of the bushes for the streamline, I usually turn the centre band ends bigger than the actual bush

Same. The centre bushing is sized so that the beads of the centreband are proud of the barrels which I don't like.

If I need a bushing, I measure the size needed from the pen parts, go down to the shed, grab a lump of steel rod and turn it to size.

Well my Streamline bushes from GPW are : -

8.7, 10.89, 8.28

The parts as close as I can tell are : -

Nib - 8.22
CB (Outer) - 11.23
CB (Inner) - 10.8
Finial - 8.71

And you know, now I realise why some of my fits are off. I just assumed the two ends were the same, so didn't care which of the end ones was on first. Why the heck don't they differentiate them, and tell you they're different in the instructions! Guess I do have to go through and measure & catalogue them all now, just so I know which goes where.

As for new bushes, I'm stuck with HDPE or whatever I can turn on the wood lathe for replacements - no metalworking tools here. Good advantage with the HDPE is it's good for CA finishes, doesn't leave and metal filings on the blanks, and it's cheap to replace.

Russell.

Thanks Russell, good to see that your measurements are in the same ballpark as mine. My kits came from Jim Carroll, I bought them at the show in Adelaide. He actually had 2 different kits in Streamlines, from different suppliers.

When I make my bushes I will turn a different end on the finial one to differentiate it.

Guess I will be making my own bushes from now on.

I am also on the lookout for some Delrin rod to make some Delrin bushes, but I normally use the no mandrel finishing technique as shown in DJs video. Not sure that I would like Delrin or HDPE bushes for truning the blanks.

Delryn is quite hard and stable for a plastic sort of thing !, I think it would sand down a bit too quickly when doing the sanding of your blanks though,Unless you sanded very carefully I usually make my bushes from left over stainless ,not that easy to work with but last well . Personally for the price of most bushings I think that they should fit further into the tubes for better support when working on the blanks, a lot less chance of flexing and runout .