"Bushing Tools"

[Kevin W.]

Bushing two clocks a year can,t justify a bushing machine, if it works for the old timers, it works for me, punch and hammer.

[David S]

I am sort of with Kevin. Now please understand that I don't do watches, or clocks..so far.. with very fine pivots. To test my method I took a worn bushing plate into work and had our metrology guy locate the true circle on the coordinate measuring machine after we had establish a datum of course. I then took it home and use my method to replace the bushing. I mount it securely on my X-Y table on my drill press. I use a center finder to get the original "circle", the lock x&Y. I put a home made scribe in the drill chuck and by hand rotate the scribe to outline a circle around the outside of the oil sink. This let's me visually see if I look centered. Most of my replacement bushings are kwm 2.7mm size. I chuck up a 2.5mm center cutting end mill and bore out the original bushing. I remove the plate and finish the sizing with the appropriate cutting reamer. Then using a flat faced punch I fit the new bushing into the hole.
Took it back to work and put it on the CMM. The new pivot hole was less than 0.0011 from the true position determined prior to the repair. For all the clocks that I have worked on so far this seems to be more than adequate.
David

[124Spider]

My thanks to all for the good information.

I'm just a hobbiest, trying to keep my 30+ clocks alive. I would expect to bush no more than two or three clocks a year, at the very most (and none in many years).

I just rebushed (successfully, if one measures success by whether the clock works better after the surgery than it did before the surgery) a wonderful old grandfather clock, from which sprang my interest in cost-effective ways to make the process less tedious. I don't know any good way to be very sure that the drill will go in exactly the right place; I did not enjoy using my various needle files to ream out the hole to the right size for the new bushing; I did not enjoy having to guess when the hole was reamed out enough to pound the bushing in.

It's not worth $700 to me, but I would be interested in any hints on how to make the process less tedious.

[Willie X]

This hammer use is not the way I would teach anyone to put in a bushing.

H/C

I strongly agree with HC.

In machine work it is fine to hammer in a long bushing but a short one, like all clock bushings, should be pressed in. When you hammer in a short bushing the edges will be distorted greatly in proportion to the length and the bushing. It will also wobble as it is tapped in; this will result in a loose fit.

If you insist on using a hammer, good work can be done using something like a big staking set, or something similar with an anvil and a vertical perpendicular plunger. Like a ..... bushing tool.

As already stated, your drill press might be strong enough to use as a press. If not, small Chinese arbor presses are cheep enough.

Willie X

[Willie X]

I put a home made scribe in the drill chuck and by hand rotate the scribe to outline a circle around the outside of the oil sink.
David

That sounds like the 'Willie's circle of truth'.

Willie

[bangster]

Once again, I draw your attention to this article: http://mb.nawcc.org/showwiki.php?tit...ing_Hand_Tools

[David S]

That sounds like the 'Willie's circle of truth'.

Willie

Willie I think it is a bit different in that there is only one spring loaded pin, and it fits in the chuck which has been centered, rather than a second pin that picks up the center of the hole. It is just my visual verification that all is lined up. At least I think it is different.
David

[124Spider]

Once again, I draw your attention to this article: http://mb.nawcc.org/showwiki.php?tit...ing_Hand_Tools

I appreciate the reference, and I read it the first time you posted. This is interesting, but I was hoping for some less tedious way of doing it. How long does this take for one not skilled with the method?

[Kevin W.]

It does not take that long Mark, after you do it a few times, i guess i could put a bushing in under 10 minutes.Perhaps the punch and hammer method is not the best, but for me i use it.That is what i can afford and that is how i was taught.Not sure what you mean by long and short bushings.

[shutterbug]

The reamers that are made for both KWM and Bergeon bushings are accurately sized for the bushings. Ream it and insert it, no guessing.

[Heritage-Clocks]

Bushing two clocks a year can,t justify a bushing machine, if it works for the old timers, it works for me, punch and hammer.

Sorry to ask. But with 12,969 post you can do better than a punch and hammer can't you. No matter how strange things become. Given enough TIME it seems normal. Solder and Epoxy and Loctite work too for some. That doesn't make it right. I have been doing this for 36 years, some call me an old timer. Plus how do you know if you haven't cracked a bushing when you have hammered it in. I just don't go along with this hammering bit. I can't believe it's posted in training, showing this as a way to bush by swelling the bushing with a hammer to get it to seat. I don't think that the school would indorce this as a proper way to install bushings. Are we now teaching backyard repair methods as a standard repair tech. I don't get it.

H/C

[leeinv66]

Sorry to ask. But with 12,969 post you can do better than a punch and hammer can't you. No matter how strange things become. Given enough TIME it seems normal. Solder and Epoxy and Loctite work too for some. That doesn't make it right. I have been doing this for 36 years, some call me an old timer. Plus how do you know if you haven't cracked a bushing when you have hammered it in. I just don't go along with this hammering bit. I can't believe it's posted in training, showing this as a way to bush by swelling the bushing with a hammer to get it to seat. I don't think that the school would indorce this as a proper way to install bushings. Are we now teaching backyard repair methods as a standard repair tech. I don't get it.

H/C

We get it H/C. If it isn't done the way you were taught, then it is wrong. Well, that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I don't share it. As long as the hole you have reamed is the right size for the bush, pressing or punching it in will both work. Your comment about cracked bushings is alarmist. If the hole is the right size and you have basic skills, it just isn't going to happen. That's the opinion I have come to after 35 years. But, I won't claim my opinion is any better than yours.

[Kevin W.]

I see no relation in the number of postings and my methods, so would you like to question the man who taught me, and the man who taught him, HC i have a opinion and i say it, as well others can too.
Should i get out my microscope now to check bushings. i dont think so.

[harold bain]

Sorry to ask. But with 12,969 post you can do better than a punch and hammer can't you. No matter how strange things become. Given enough TIME it seems normal. Solder and Epoxy and Loctite work too for some. That doesn't make it right. I have been doing this for 36 years, some call me an old timer. Plus how do you know if you haven't cracked a bushing when you have hammered it in. I just don't go along with this hammering bit. I can't believe it's posted in training, showing this as a way to bush by swelling the bushing with a hammer to get it to seat. I don't think that the school would indorce this as a proper way to install bushings. Are we now teaching backyard repair methods as a standard repair tech. I don't get it.

H/C

H/C, perhaps if you were putting up good tutorials showing how it's done, your remarks would be more appreciated. But it seems all you do is criticize those who try to help. All I see is negativity coming from your posts. This is not teaching anyone anything.

[Jay Fortner]

As long as your drill press is tight it will do a fine job. I use drill bits in both metric and wire gauge sizes. To center the hole choose a bit that is the same size as the pivot and while holding the quill down,center it in the unworn side of the hole. Then clamp your plate,return the quill. Choose a bit that is .0015-.002 smaller than the OD of the bushing you're going to install and drill the plate using high speed and SLOW feed. If you try to run the drill in to fast it will walk towards the worn side of the hole and spoil the job. After you get your hole drilled remove the bit to get it out of your way and using your fingers and a bit that is twice the size of the hole deburr the hole,those short countersinking bits that you can get from the local hardware work great for this. Next chuck a piece of brass round with a good square end into your drill,lay your bushing over the hole and use the drill press as a press to push in the bushing. Wham-Bam(and you know the rest).