Bushing life question..

[WolfmoonCT]

For you pen turners, how many pens have you gotten out of your bushings? I tend to let my sand paper go over my bushings, and have found that I'm actually reducing the bushing size as a result of it.. any of you turners do the same things, and if so, how many pens do you usually get before needing new bushings?

[Dan]

I never really counted. Most of my bushings are smaller and required so I keep my caliper handy. I measure the center band, nib, and cap and turn until I'm right at the size I need. Then I sand a little below that size because my CA finish will bring it back up to the right diameter. There are a lot of folks who turn between centers, never using the bushings. Shoot, I lost a bushing for one of my kits and used one that fit the tube diameter but not the finished diameter. I just used the calipers and didn't even notice the difference.

 

Hope that helps.

[Clayton717]

I've never really counted either. but as I do more pens with the same bushings I tend to leave the barrels of the pens a little proud of the bushing.