A tool was machined out of 6061 aluminum to hold over-sized bronze bushings. These were then turned down from 15mm to 14mm so they could be pressed into a housing for a horizontal band saw.
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Keywords: machining lathe bushings turning
Project Detail
These bronze bushings were ordered from McMaster Carr to match an old part number of "MU1215B" which was assumed to mean "12mm ID x 15mm OD." This was not the case. The bushings we needed to fix the saw were 12mm ID x 14mm OD. Since the machine was already torn down, it seemed best to machine what we had rather than wait for new parts. Without a lathe chuck small enough to grab the bushings internally, I turned a piece of 5/8" Dia 6061 Aluminum such that the bushings could be clamped between a shoulder and a "washer." This was also aluminum and turned to the same outside diameter (14mm) as the bushings needed to be. A single 1/4-20NC hex bolt was used to clamp the whole thing together. After about an hour of setup and tool-making, the actually bushings (4 of them) took less than 5 minutes to complete. This is the aluminum stud used to hold the parts and one of the bushings being machined.
