Tip: Making bushings / spacers

[szicree]

I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but I thought I 'd share it anyway. There are several places where we have to make little spacers and bushing out of aluminum tubing and getting the ends square and the length right is difficult. My solution is to chuck a small piece of the tubing in a drill press and lower the spinning tubing onto a file. This perfectly squares up the end and can also be used to accurately decrease the length of the tube. To cut tubing, I adjust the table upward so that the tubing extends down through the hole. I then use a hacksaw laid flat on the table to cut the spinning tube. If I have to cut several to the same length, I stack some washers on the tubing with the end pressed against the table. I then use the hacksaw against the top of the stack of washers while the thing spins. You can get identical length spacers real quick this way with nice clean square ends; much better than a tubing cutter.



Steve Zicree

[Davepar]

I've done the filing/sanding trick, but not the cutting trick. That's slick.

[RudiGreyling]

Nice Trick, will keep it in mind