Technical turning plastic bushings

The bushings that go into the wishbone for my CE shock kit doesn't fit (the bushing OD is about .75, and the wishbone ID is about .6??) I was thinking about putting on a bolt in a drill gun to turn it down, and was wondering what would work best with turning it (sand paper, a cutting tool etc...)?

 

Hydraulic press.

 

Lathe.

 

I recently turned some spring eye bushings smaller, real easy in the lathe, I just put a piece of 1/2" aluminum stock in the collet, slipped the bushing over it (it was a very light press fit), and turned it with a cutting tool.

Oh...you don't have a lathe...well, now's the time to buy.

 

From the mouth of one of the best improvisers here.

 

It's not easy to improvise your way around a lathe....that's why I bought one 20 some years ago.

 

Very true. The day I leave work is when I'll have to seriously start shopping. I've made easy money from people like OP.

 

WRONG.

 

I'm sure the wife would really appreciate me parking a lathe in the front yard
I'll try on my dad's wood lathe

 

Now that's a happy medium.

 

You can get a lathe that will fit in your bedroom....seriously...

 

7"x12" from home Depot....

 

why is the wishbone hole only .6? i think it should be .75

 

If you send them to me, i will cut them for you, just pay for the ride to and fro.

 

Said the guy who`s creativity is limited to ripping off a dead guy`s trade mark . ... `topher, let me know if you need those turned down for you, Jerry

 

Might need better dims. than "About .6"

 

I have "turned down" hard plastic bushings on a bolt in my drill press. I use flat files including a vixen file. Makes a mess and takes some patience. Key is getting it to spin without a wobble before you start....

 

Those little lathes are neat, but when you are wanting to mill something or turn something slightly big, you will find out it’s too small. I just was at HF and those things are about $700. If you check around old American made lathes come up from time to time. I have acquired three and have just over $700 in all three. I can turn up to 19 inches diameter and eight ft in length. Bones

 

I agree. I had an Atlas for some time. Broke down and bought a real lathe after a while.

 

Done this a few times. Works fine.

 

are the atlas lathes really that bad?

 

not really...but they're not really designed for production work, etc.

 

I made some suspension bushings on my lathe a few years ago. What I found was that if you take a big enough cut to warm up the plastic it will expand. The result, for me at least, was after the bushing cooled down it was no longer a press fit. More like a drop in fit.

So take it easy and make sure that the bushing stays somewhere near room temperature while whittling on it.

By the way, the wood lathe idea has merit.

 

UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) is a readily available plastic with good machining surfaces and a slippery surface. You can saw it, drill it, turn it and mill it using ordinary machining and carpentry tools. It clogs sandpaper and grinding tools.

 

If you are running a Monarch at work, an Atlas is kind of a step down.

 

I had a 12" Atlas for many years, gave it to my dad when I upgraded to an old 16" Cincinnati that probably came over on the Mayflower with Chris. The Atlas had everything you want in a little lathe, but it was light. If you tried anything more than about a .010 cut it would flex so much that it still only cut about .010. I could make multiple p***es without changing the setting of the cross feed knob and get about the same cut 2 or 3 times. Still managed to do a lot of work with it, but it took forever.

Wood lathe should work fine for this job. I'd try to take really light cuts or it may grab your tool and make a big gouge.

 

Like the others have said, it a good little lathe, better that the chin sing stuff at HF. I used one at my work for 33 years, made a lot of parts on it, but ran into it being too small to handle some jobs. Have one at home now, it’s my smallest lathe. Bones

 

I have two, a 12 inch Lantaine, (made in Taiwan) that I have owned for 48 years, and another small lathe called a Unimat, for doing smaller work.
As all the posters have stated, a lathe is an extremely handy tool, and I wouldn't want to live without one.
Bob

 

Check it out.....
www.minilathe.com