Oilite material?

Aukai

Aukai

H-M Supporter - Diamond Member
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Messages
7,023
It seems that it can be machined, but I've read that it needs to be re impregnated? I'm wondering if it was worth having some on hand, just to have, but I want to see what the group says about working with it, or just order as needed.
 
the show often must go on, even with less than favorable conditions.
i don't wish to deter you from using what is available...

to my understanding, oilite bushings are sintered bronze bushings.
sintered bronze is bronze dust, manufactured for the process, to be compressed in dies, by punches, to a predetermined squish
they then fire the bushings, to get the bronze particles to bond together
after the bonding process, there are voids in the bronze that have heavy oil vacuum impregnated into them
they are supposed to be very close to nominal dimensions to attempt to avoid the need for machining the inner bearing surface
when you machine oilite, often times the bearing surface gets corrupted by metal getting moved around
the end result is smearing in some cases, which closes off some of the intended voids
these voids sometimes need shaft wear to open up the oil pocket the was partially lost by the machining action
the effect may or may not be noticeable or necessarily detrimental to the overall efficiency in the short term
if the shaft and bushing is kept lubricated, the assembly will survive for a while
 
a little OT, but it may be relevant to the discussion

i got figuratively kicked in the nutz in the field on an old Hollymatic 500 patty machine, that needed side bushings something fierce
they factory bushings were 1,100 miles away, a bearing house had the 1-1/8" ID x 2" OD oilite shoulder bushings
i figured something was better than nothing, and got the oilite bushings
the oilite bushings were beaten to death within 3 months of hard use, the factory cast bronze bushings would last several years
the moral of the story is if the bushings are going to see light radial forces, oilite is fine
if they are going to see higher radial loads or if impact is involved anywhere, buy or craft a cast bronze bushing
 
It's messy to machine if it has oil in it-especially old, dirty oil- it sprays droplets in all directions :faint:
-M
 
I don't even know why I was thinking about it, cabin fever I think. 1 day off 2 weeks ago out of a total of 25 12hr days by the 30th. I know the earlier manual trans mission locators in the crank where oilite.
 
markba633csi said:
It's messy to machine if it has oil in it-especially old, dirty oil- it sprays droplets in all directions :faint:
-M
Click to expand...
It sure does!
I am working on an old saw filer and had to replace some bushings. Found a couple used one close to fitting with a little machining. Had a stripe of oil up my shirt and face by the time I was done.:oops2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top