I know of a couple of "high profile" kit car manufacturers that use wisbech engineering bushes!
I was just loking at the powerflex web site at top-hat bushes. £13.95 each!!
Are there any cheaper options?
Someone once mentioned bushes for only 30p each on this forum. What are these? Where to get.
Would anyone recommend buying rods of bush material and machining? What is the best material to use? Where would I get such material?
there are a few folks on here and one company i know of (MNR ltd) that would knock you up some custom bushes for beer tokens.
Or if you have the facilities yourself then you can buy Acetal for very stiff competition type bushes or there are other materials IIRC nylatron???
for a more compliant material, these are readily available on Ebay or maybe cheaper at a local plastics supplier.
Both of these materials could be turned by the home machinist if you have the right equipment.
Juat remember you need the steel / stainless steel crush tubes too!.
If I remeber right, I payed about 140 sterline with delivery, for a full set for my Avon. Try to contact Matthew at Powerflex. I had an exellent service!
Just go to one of the kit companies!
I got mine from MK a few years ago.
I bought steel inners, the bushes and steel outers to weld to wishbones all as a matching set. Means no worries about fitment/compatibility of
sizes.
HTH,
James
quote:
Acetal for very stiff competition type bushes
Yes to Nylatron, but only on the fronts and the panhard rod (if a live axle). I have a bar of the stuff if you want enough for a couple of bushes. You
need something more compliant (PU or Rubber) for the trailing links as they need to twist to a small degree.
And Marcus is spot-on regarding Acetal, it shatters quite spectacularly.
Try Luego.... They have bush kits for about £68.00
Dave B
oops maybe i was on about delrin???
quote:
Originally posted by Marcus
quote:
Acetal for very stiff competition type bushes
Whatever you do, don't buy acetal - that's a hard, brittle, crystalline plastic, widely used in injection moulding to make SOLID things. It cracks and splinters and is not the material to use for bushes!
Some acrylic formulations may be useful (poss typo?).
I'd use nylatron or something similar.
quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
Other options are harder shore polyurethanes that can be machined, or make a steel die and cast your own polybushes.
no experience but I know somebody that has, will try and find his number.
No idea on release agents either, but I doubt you need them as long as the die is polished well enough.
poly is poyurethane, but there are different compounds of it with different hardnesses.
[Edited on 14/11/06 by NS Dev]
Hi the bushes that the manufacturers suply are the same ones as the 30p ones. For an independent car IE 64 bush halfes @ 30p = £19.20 .Just then got
to make the inner crush tubes preferably from stainless.
cheers matt
quote:
Au contraire! Although I wouldn't use it on a locost, acetal is a very good bearing material. We have used it on several rally cars in the past which were absolutely pummelled on forest stages and they were fine. In fact we bent wishbones easier than cracking the acetal!
quote:
Originally posted by locoboy
oops maybe i was on about delrin???
Matt @ Procomp has been noble (and conformed with forum rules I guess) and failed to mention that they supply some bushes that from what I've
read/heard are a significant improvement on a locost.
If I wasn't buying what I am (i.e. a car with rod-ends) I'd be talking to Procomp.
Ah yes but the bushes we use will not fit any of the wishbones or brackets used by the other manufacturers and also have to go into a purpose made
housing.
cheers matt
quote:
Originally posted by Marcus
quote:
Au contraire! Although I wouldn't use it on a locost, acetal is a very good bearing material. We have used it on several rally cars in the past which were absolutely pummelled on forest stages and they were fine. In fact we bent wishbones easier than cracking the acetal!
EEk!!!
I'm surprised at that, although I could see it working if machined from solid. Would give a completely solid setup - similar in feel to rosejoints - ie zero compliance!
My nephew works with plastics, he makes false teeth. I don't think the bushes would look good in gummy pink or various shades of white though. A friend had some delrin which was pre-lubricated which I think he was turning to make swing arm bushes for his bike.
quote:
Originally posted by procomp
Hi the bushes that the manufacturers suply are the same ones as the 30p ones. For an independent car IE 64 bush halfes @ 30p = £19.20 .Just then got to make the inner crush tubes preferably from stainless.
cheers matt
quote:
Originally posted by TimC
If I wasn't buying what I am (i.e. a car with rod-ends) I'd be talking to Procomp.
Hi sorry thought every one new were to get them from. WISBECH ENGINEERING LTD.
cheers matt
Heh heh thought they were a trade secret Matt!!!
I know of a couple of "high profile" kit car manufacturers that use wisbech engineering bushes!
I am using UHMW for mine. I am turning this down on my lathe. We have been using this for several years for road racing and have not had any
problems. If you don' want to purchase UHMW. Cutting boards from the local butcher shop or a processing plant is made of the same material.
The problem is it might not be thick enough for the application. If it wears out, it is cheap enough to turn down new ones!
[Edited on 19/11/06 by SAElsing]
If you want the very best, go to SuperPro, somewhere in Somerset??
Good Aus product and the very best money can buy. A full set with SS bushes is about £70.
They supply replacements for the Triumph Herald/Spitfire bushes as mentioned in 'The Book'.
And then there's the Good ol' QH Y419's......
Cheers,
Syd.
Edit: http://www.superpro.eu.com/Home.htm
Sorry for popping this back to the top but...
I'd like to make my own bushes not for cost but for the challenge. Therefore can someone suggest a supplier for buying rods suitable for the
task?
I've googled "Nylatron" (as it was mentioned earlier in this thread) but there seems to be a few variants and I'd like to try to
source something fit for purpose.
Wisbech Engineering supply 60 shore urethane bushes so I'm guessing this is the hardness I should be looking for?
Which Nylatron would be the equivalant? Is Nylatron even the same material as the urethane (polyurethane?) that others supply?
Hi 60 shore will be to soft. The bushes that most are using from them are 85-90 shore when last meashured.
cheers matt
I thought that Wisbech was the place to go though? The email I got back defo said 60 shore.
Doesn't really matter I guess as I won't be buying from there anyway.
So if a harder compound is required, is Nylatron the stuff to use? The info I found indicates around 80-90 if I read their specs correctly.
Nylatron..for all intents and purposes of this application , can be seen as solid, and actually is.
You can use it for the fronts,...IF you get the wishbone pivots lined up perfectly, otherwise they'll bind when moved.
For the rears you need a compliant bush. Polyurethane, soft, and compliant. Sources as above. Or if you can source the resin and hardeners, make a
mould and do them yourself. You just have to remember that they need a vacuum to get all the bubbles out.
Best and overall cheapest and safest way is to buy a set of the SOFT (relatively)polyurethane bushes.
Cheers,
Syd.
So Nylatron isn't really compliant enough for a road car (with some track work)...
If I source polyurethane rod to turn my own, what hardness do you think would be good for both ends of the car?
Not sure I want to go to the trouble of making my own with moulds etc but turning some on a lathe to my exact dimensions appeals. That way I'm
in total control of the sizes and don't have to contend with differing sizes of the various components.
Yes yes, I know I could buy the inner/outer sleeves and bushes from one place to ensure fitment but I'd like to make as many of the parts on my
build as possible. I enjoy the extra challenge of it all!