Thread: worn bronze bushes

I've recently bought a surface grinder with badly worn bushes and worn spindle in the head. Does anyone have any comments regarding replacing the bronze bushes with nylon or similar material? How about recommendations for getting the job done in the Sydney area?

Would not replace with nylon if it was designed for bronze bushes, how old is the machine/how many hours has it done, everything wears out over time, for the spindle to be worn and I am assuming its worn where it runs in the bushes may mean that there has been a lubrication problem , not enough or the wrong type or if the bushes were previously replaced then they wern't put in properly or had the correct lube grooves etc.
Older machines often get build up in the lubrication lines that can cause unnecessary wear
Not being in Sydney though I don't know any small Engineering works but replacement bushes and spindle shouldn't be that costly

Rgds

how old is the macine,if its a fair age why not stick with what allready there,are you after some one to take the grinder too to get repaired or just some one to machine your parts

It's a very old American machine, built well before the invention of modern plastics. I see plastics are being used a lot these days, (including for propellor shaft bushings) and wondered if the application would extend to replacement duties on older machinery?

I'm looking for someone to dress the spindle accurately and make up the new bushes. Moving the whole machine again, , hopefully not in my lifetime! I'd just like a contact for someone who does that work on a regular basis and doesn't have a litany of excuses for not doing the job after they have agreed to do it. You know what I mean.

what area of sydney are you in and what time frame are you looking at,also do you have a drawing or are you making to sample.

Out of Sydney actually, in the Blue Mountains, so anywhere in Sydney is convenient as anywhere else. I have just had the job sit in a workshop at Oberon for three months gathering dust, so hopefully it will be quicker than that. No drawings, it will be work from the sample. A bit of thread cutting is required but I don't think it is a huge job, just outside my own expertise and tooling.

Plastics are not suitable for your application.

Bronze bearings are easy to make up. The spindle is a bit more complex, considering you probably have machined nuts to make up to match machined threads on the spindle. Before I had a lathe, and learn't to use it, I had a spindle made up with nuts and ancilliaries for my large table saw. It cost me $250.00 at the time.
Surely you have a decent machine shop in the Bathurst to Oberon area?
If not, there are a couple of good shops around Lithgow. There is also a machining club in Lithgow that I have heard about, which may be an option.
Not sure of the details, but I had a really nice chat to a member at the last Lithgow Ironfest.

If any of those guys used to work at the ADI small arms factory in Lithgow, they would surely have more than enough skill to do the job.

Good luck.

what size material are we talking about,ive only got a small lathe at home but as long as the items are under 5"dia and less than 18"lng ill have a look at them for you if interested im in the st marys area.

Thanks for the advice Fossil. The spindle is actually the easy part, it only wants a skim between centres to remove some wear grooves and then the bushes can be made to fit. I have approached a couple of ex-SAF'ers in Lithgow, and while the expertise is there, the time/motivation isn't. I have tried without success locally, commercially and privately, and apart from having the parts gather dust in that Oberon business for three months have had no luck. Thus the appeal for recommendations in the larger Sydney area.
Pipeclay, the parts are well inside those dimensions and I've sent you a pm.
Thanks to all!