Bronze bushings with oil groove

[Mutt]

Is it possible for me to put the oil groove in a bronze bearing using my lathe? $25 a pop for a bronze sleeve bushing 1 1/16 x 15/16 x .500" thick is WAAAAAY more than I would ever want to pay, especially since I need about 10 of them. I have the material and I can chuck it up in a collet in the lathe and bore the i.d. in one or 2 passes, then part off. I'm fairly sure I could make 10 of them in an hour, but I have no idea how the spiral groove is machined in to it.

 

[Bob Korves]

As long as you have a collet that will fit the relatively thin bushing well enough not to distort it more than slightly, it should go pretty easily. Internal threading is the same as external threading, except you can't see what you are doing as well and need tooling that will do the inside cut.

 

[reds]

How about a boring bar with a special ground cutter for the ring.

 

[Technical Ted]

I've also used a combination of the lathe for complete circular grooves and done the spirals by hand with a Dremel type bit. It's just oil after all...

Ted

 

[jcp]

I cut an i/d groove close to each end with a H/S tool with an appropriately sized convex radius. Then do a coarse thread connecting the two grooves with the same tool. One pass is generally deep enough for the connecting thread.

 

[machPete99]

There is a youtube video out there (sorry no link handy) showing a manual lathe jig that can cut figure-8 style oil grooves...

 

[Tinkertoy1941]

With a Radius tool in a large body boring bar long enough to reach the second inside stop.

Set two stops for beginning and ending groove position.

Set lathe for 50 to 60 RPM's

Position boring bar for the farthest oil groove

Touch tool to part and advance the tool for the depth that you want the oil groove with the lathe turning.

When the tool quits cutting feed the tool to the second end stop with a fast travel and when you reach that stop let the lathe finish that end groove.

Return the tool with the same motion to the first position where you started, then make sure you move the cutting tool from the depth of the oil groove

Done properly this will give what looks like a butterfly oil groove my first time I was really nervous but the old toolmaker said grit your teeth and smile!

 

[Mutt]

With a Radius tool in a large body boring bar long enough to reach the second inside stop.

Set two stops for beginning and ending groove position.

Set lathe for 50 to 60 RPM's

Position boring bar for the farthest oil groove

Touch tool to part and advance the tool for the depth that you want the oil groove with the lathe turning.

When the tool quits cutting feed the tool to the second end stop with a fast travel and when you reach that stop let the lathe finish that end groove.

Return the tool with the same motion to the first position where you started, then make sure you move the cutting tool from the depth of the oil groove

Done properly this will give what looks like a butterfly oil groove my first time I was really nervous but the old toolmaker said grit your teeth and smile!

I'm grittin' the teeth already. I'll see if if can find that video on Utube. Seeing it done give me much more confidence

 

[machPete99]

Here is the video:

 

[Mutt]

Here is the video:

very cool little setup. Doesn't look hard to make, just finding the bevel gears would be the hardest part