# How to keep bushings from sticking during CA?



## allenworsham (Jan 14, 2008)

OK.

I want to play around with the CA finish and have read hours of stuff online until my eyes are blurry. I got the idea except for one thing. How do you deal with the bushings during the CA process? Don't they stick to the pen? If so, how do you remove them? Do you put tape or something similar over the bushings or do you use bushings made of different material?

Thanks.


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## jwoodwright (Jan 14, 2008)

Some sell Delrin Bushings, nothing sticks to them...

The 1/2" thick white plastic cutting boards are wonderful.  I used a 3/4" holesaw and then mounted a bunch on a mandrel.  Sharp skew and voila'...  Non-Stick Bushings...

Found many uses, just can't glue it...


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## its_virgil (Jan 14, 2008)

I've been using CA for a finish for 4 years now and I've not once had a problem with CA gluing the blank, bushing and/or mandrel together. Am I doing something wrong?[}] Or have I just been lucky? I feel as though I'm missing out on what seems to be one of the fun parts of penturning.
Do a good turn daily!
Don


> _Originally posted by allenworsham_
> 
> OK.
> 
> ...


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## Marc Phillips (Jan 14, 2008)

> _Originally posted by its_virgil_
> 
> I've been using CA for a finish for 4 years now and I've not once had a problem with CA gluing the blank, bushing and/or mandrel together. Am I doing something wrong?[}] Or have I just been lucky? I feel as though I'm missing out on what seems to be one of the fun parts of penturning.
> Do a good turn daily!
> Don



I have always wanted to say that  ... most that happens to me is some thin stuff hanging over the end of the blank... and now I just sand it off gently and no problem...


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## Firefyter-emt (Jan 14, 2008)

I don't use them...


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## leehljp (Jan 14, 2008)

Most people who don't get stuck bushings are just careful.  And they depend on their considerable experience to stay that way. A few have recommended cutting a "washer" from a margarine lid and putting it between the blank and bushing shoulder. And many people, including me, put a light coating of wax on the bushings before placing the blank on it. That does the best IMHO, to keep the bushing from sticking.

The last way is to use turning between centers (no mandrel). Use bushings to get it turned to the right size, then remove the bushings and replace the blank between centers and finish from there. No bushing to get stuck.


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## TBone (Jan 14, 2008)

> _Originally posted by leehljp_
> 
> The last way is to use turning between centers (no mandrel). Use bushings to get it turned to the right size, then remove the bushings and replace the blank between centers and finish from there. No bushing to get stuck.



But then I'm cleaning CA off of my centers instead of my bushings.


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## Chasper (Jan 14, 2008)

Several steps all help a little:
1.  Use a sharp end mill or belt sander to get the ends of the tube square and smooth.
2.  After each use, use a parting tool directly on the bushing to turn off excess CA
3.  Use sharp turning tools so that the ends of the material being turned ends sharply without tear/feather out.
4.  If you have backed off the pressure on the mandrel nut, tighten it back up while applying CA.
5.  Bushings wear down and become uneven after lots of use.

When I get a little ridge of CA on the end of the tube, I cut it off with a very sharp knife.  Sandpaper works too, but I've never had a chip with a knife.  The bushings that insert into a tube can be especially hard to get off if you get some CA between the bushing tendon and the inside of the tube.  Remove the bushing and pen from the mandrel, hold firmly and push the bushing to one side, it will snap lose and then come out easily.

I've never got CA on the mandrel, but I've glued the ends of the bushings together when two bushings are back to back for a step down in size.  My center cigar bushings have been glued together for months, I use them as if they were a single step down bushing.  It is easier to keep them in the right order that way.


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## leehljp (Jan 14, 2008)

> _Originally posted by TBone_
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, but you don't have bushings glued inside the tubes and all the way down the shoulders. The advantage of the between centers is that there is a very small contact point, and even that is between the center and the brass tubing EDGE. This makes a huge difference. I still have to clean CA off of my centers at times, but that is not hard or frustrating like stuck bushing and chipped CA.


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## Brewmeister35 (Jan 14, 2008)

I do all my finishing between centers, remove the blanks, sand the ends flat again, and reinstall the bushings for sanding.


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## RONB (Jan 14, 2008)

I bought a small can of Johnsons paste wax that I apply to the bushings before I install them into tubes.I havent had any problems with sticking since.


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## Larry Gottlieb (Jan 14, 2008)

I use a thin coat of vaseline on the barrel ends and the mandrel. I exchange my bushings for short lengths of brass tube before sanding and applying the CA. Be careful not to sand the ends of the barrels so that diameter is not changed.

Larry


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## jwoodwright (Jan 14, 2008)

Don, you were a Math Teacher for 34 yrs!  Precise isn't a concept, it's a way of life... 

Besides, you de Man...


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## Nolan (Jan 14, 2008)

> _Originally posted by allenworsham_
> 
> OK.
> 
> ...



I do CA finish with a dead center and no bushings


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## JWW (Jan 14, 2008)

After two or three pens I put the bushings on the mandrel and spritz 'em with wd40 and wipe them and the rod and the brass nut.


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## allenworsham (Jan 14, 2008)

Thank you all for your input as well as your humor. It is greatly appreciated.


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## Aderhammer (Jan 14, 2008)

I just slip wax paper on the mandrel before sanding and it gets pressed in between the tube and bushing,  besides helping to keep ca off the bushings, it also helps from sanding into the bushings!


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## edstreet (Jan 16, 2008)

could always loosen the mandrel wheel and rotate the bushings between every thick coat or 2.  Another thing I learned, if you are putting CA on the bushings then it does not belong there  The most I have is a slight lip on the blank but 800 paper cleans that nicely before assembly.

Ed


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## DocRon (Jan 16, 2008)

To clean CA off of bushings, soak them in acetone. That said, I have gone either to Delrin for larger sizes or  to dead center.


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## Rick_G (Feb 9, 2008)

I switched to a dead center and do all mine between centers now.  When I get CA on the centers I just turn on the lathe and hold a jacknife to the center and cut it off.  The steel in the knife is softer than the center.


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## IPD_Mrs (Feb 9, 2008)

> _Originally posted by TBone_
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Which is tremendously easy when you drop them into a cup of Acetone - much easier and cheaper than losing a blank because it stuck to the bushings and pulled the finish off when you tried to remove it.  Or you cut into it when being ever so careful with the very sharp razor edge to get it off after it stuck .. etc etc etc ... 

The other nice thing about turning between centers seems to me that you can easily caliper the ends to make sure you are just where you want to be for a seamless fit once you add your layers of CA.

[:X]


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## karlkuehn (Feb 10, 2008)

> _Originally posted by its_virgil_
> 
> I've been using CA for a finish for 4 years now and I've not once had a problem with CA gluing the blank, bushing and/or mandrel together. Am I doing something wrong?[}] Or have I just been lucky? I feel as though I'm missing out on what seems to be one of the fun parts of penturning.
> Do a good turn daily!
> Don



Don, plainly, you're just not using enough CA. You really gotta goop it on there! hehe

I learned following your method (thanks, by the way), and rarely have these types of problems. I think it might be because we use the BLO first, then the CA. 

The BLO probably gives a little buffer when you put it on first, blocking the CA from wicking down into the nooks and crannies. By using CA first, the glue goes right on to the dry wood and metal, wicks down into anyplace it can find, then as the BLO goes on, it quick cures the CA down into the cracks and stuff. Hope that makes sense.

Come to think of it, the only times I've ever had any of this type of problem was when using a straight CA finish.


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## ChrisCurtis (May 8, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Chasper_
> 
> Several steps all help a little:
> 1.  Use a sharp end mill or belt sander to get the ends of the tube square and smooth.
> ...



Thanks Chasper! I made my very first Americana pen last night and used the new bushings for the first time. One of the end bushings stuck to the inside and I couldn't push it out with a disassembly tool or grip it and spin the pen part to get it out. I then searched here and saw your suggestion to 'hold firmly and push the bushing to one side' and tried it and voila! It came right out after a bit of jiggling.


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## rd_ab_penman (May 11, 2008)

I turn Corian inserts with 7mm tubes to fit snugly inside the tube of the pen kit I am turning. Install on my adjustable A mandrel with Slimline bushings.


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## chigdon (May 12, 2008)

The only time I have problems is with softer woods like buckeye burl, redwood burl, etc.  For these after I square the blank I drip a ring of thin CA along the squared edge and once dry re-square the blanks.  It makes the difference for me at least.


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