Bushing material question

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liveaboard
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by liveaboard »

Both my wheelbarrows have plastic bushings.
I replaced a pair; it cost nothing and didn't take long.

But Bill likes to do things right, so phosphor bronze it is!
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Bill Shields
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by Bill Shields »

Lignum vitae

Probably more $ than bronze
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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seal killer
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by seal killer »

Mauro--

I certainly agree with the wooden bushing for this use! In reality, I am looking for an excuse to do something in the shop. Since the big move, I've turned a few pins for my brush hog and I've got a trivial aluminum project that is on-going. I also built a bracket for a fan in the cabin of my skid steer.

The cement mixer belongs to my neighbor. He's drug it around maybe a hundred feet in four years. The reason it needs a new axle and wheels is because I backed over it when doing some dirt work for him up close to his house with my Komatsu skid steer. It is a wonder that I didn't do more damage . . . it was constrained to the wheels. Now I want to use it. But, I am not going to skid it around on what's left of the wheels. (If you ever lose anything, you can always find it by backing up with a skid steer. I've found several trees that way that I'd lost.)

My stick of 12"x1" phosphor bronze should show up tomorrow or the next day. I need to turn it to fit the axle tube, which is 7/8", more or less. I want to make two bushings, each 1" long with a 0.503" (?) through hole for the 0.5" axle.

Any turning and drilling advice would be greatly appreciated!
--Bill
You are what you write.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by Bill Shields »

use a low relief angle drill....will grab and pull if you don't
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
RONALD
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by RONALD »

DU Bearings have been around for a loooong time.

I used them on my 0-6-0 that is almost finished and has been around also for a looooong time!

https://www.ggbearings.com/en/our-produ ... gLGSfD_BwE

You should be able to pick them up from a number of sources.

https://www.mcmaster.com/du-bearings/hi ... -bearings/
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seal killer
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by seal killer »

Ronald--

Hey! Those bearings would cost me $3.65 each and would have prevented me from spending 83 bucks and change on a piece of phosphor bronze that I do not how to machine! Where's the fun in that? :)

--Bill
You are what you write.
whateg0
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by whateg0 »

^^^ he's got a point
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Harold_V
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by Harold_V »

I suspect you're going to discover that phosphor bronze is somewhat difficult to machine. It's not hard, but tough. Bill's advice about the low angle drill isn't really much of a concern unless you double drill. It's not like drilling leaded brass. It cuts clean, doesn't tear. It's been many years since I last machined any, so my memory is dim.

One of the nicest to machine materials I've ever experienced is leaded phosphor bronze. The difference between leaded and non-leaded is remarkable.

You'll do just fine, Bill. Not to worry.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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tornitore45
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by tornitore45 »

Seal Killer, my suggestion about wood was not as much to provide an answer but to point out to consider the final task.
It was meant as an engineering philosophy attitude. The art of engineering is to fulfill the requirements with the least expenditure of resources.
Of course, all this does not apply to a hobby shop. We do stuff for fun. And there is the say... Why buy for $7.30 when I can make it for $83
Your neighbor will be the proud owner of the best bushed cement mixer in the western world and have the nicest neighbor.
Since you are in the shop, make a couple of brackets to mount mirrors on the skid steerer. Just needling you. :D
Mauro Gaetano
in Austin TX
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liveaboard
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by liveaboard »

My tractor is road legal, mirrors are required (and useful).
But I kept breaking them against tress and things. Made a vacuum template to cut my own glass quickly, but it was getting pretty boring.

So I made mirrors that don't break.
Probably used more than the minimum material required for the job, but (so far) they DON'T BREAK.
mirror mount.jpg
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seal killer
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by seal killer »

whateg0 and Harold and Mauro and liveaboard--

whateg0, you are a philosopher of my own ilk.

Harold, thanks for the vote of confidence. By double drill, do you mean step the hole up from say a quarter inch to my desired half inch?

Mauro, I get it! :) For example, I have the 1/2" axle on the machine now. It's flopping around in the 7/8" bore tube. The wheels are also on the axle. The mixer is now easy to move around. I'm thinking, 'hmmm maybe that's good 'nuff.'

liveaboard, what tractor do you have? I have a Mahindra 5545, 5567lbs with no FEL or other implement; frame mounted backhoe, 7' heavy duty box blade (which is invaluable on the mile and a half driveway), and a 7' heavy duty brush hog (which I use on a couple of neighbor's property once a year).

It is, by dumb luck on my part, the perfect size for working in the forest. Anything smaller would not have the hp or more importantly, the weight. Anything larger and I would have to turn the forest into a lawn with trees. I've noticed on the farm tractors around here (Deere mostly) all the components that need regular service, like the oil filter, hydraulic filters and (I think) fuel filters, are mounted way out where it is dirt easy to get to them; between the body of the tractor and the line of the wheels. That's great for a farm tractor.

I wouldn't make it one pass through the forest with such a machine. All that stuff would get ripped off very quickly. On my tractor those items are either under/behind engine covers or protected by the frame.

--Bill
You are what you write.
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Harold_V
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Re: Bushing material question

Post by Harold_V »

seal killer wrote: Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:51 am Harold, thanks for the vote of confidence. By double drill, do you mean step the hole up from say a quarter inch to my desired half inch?
Correct. It's the web of a twist drill that makes drilling difficult. With phosphor bronze being on the tough side, with the web area of material still being present, it will limit the drill's ability to self feed.

You should be able to drill the hole with a single pass. I'd highly recommend a slightly undersized drill, allowing for boring the resulting hole so it will be concentric and straight. If you ream for size, I'd still bore, for obvious reasons.

Some copper alloys will seize on the drill/reamer. They usually provide warning by yielding a squeal while you're drilling. I suggest you keep surface speed on the slow side and be prepared for the unexpected. I can't remember if phosphor bronze is one of them.

On that subject, I have memories of having to machine one part away to recover the cutting tool, which I vaguely recall to be a reamer.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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