I have done a lot of searching for a nice pen bushing holder
I have only found two commercially available models and just a few DIY ideas out there
So I decided to develop my own
I wanted a system that could be expanded if I needed more space
It had to be cost effective
So here is what I cam up with
A system of small drawer like holders and a rack to put them in
I made holders with stems to hold the bushings
each holder has a place for a label and one or more stems to hold the bushings
I also developed a drawer for small parts
Each rack holds eight of the small bushing holders
and each rack has interlocks so they san be stacked
I designed all of the pieces so they can be printed on a 3d printer
So right now I have space for 64 sets of bushings
and the total cost to me is about $20.00 as I already had the 3d printer
If anyone has a better idea or anything I could do to make it better I would like to hear about it
That is pretty slick! The best I came up with a small divided box used for fishing lures from Cabela's. Yours is a lot easier to work with...
"One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyrany, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways."
Very clever. I store mine in a fishing tackle / crafts plastic box with compartments. I just write the pen type in a Sharpie on the clear top. Similar method for my drill bits. All the instructions are put into sheet protectors which are then put into a plastic notebook.
I thought about marketing the deign but I am not sure what kind of market there is for something like this
Probably very small market. Random pen turners, one at a time. Probably not a scalable market, but presented as something with a 2-3 week lead time--you'd probable sell one here and there on order--i don't think i'd produce a bunch in advance. I'd not expect 2-day delivery (sort of like John Austin making turning tools--nice product at a very fair price, and he makes it clear he's a one man show. I've never been disappointed in his work)
I just looked at my bushing chart, and it looks like i'm at 63 different combinations, couple of sets of the most common. I'd probably want storage for 80 or so--which is about what i bought in 13 dram pop-top containers last winter...just haven't made the rack or labels yet!! Maybe this winter....
earl
10-24-2019, 06:56 PM (This post was last modified: 10-24-2019, 07:05 PM by Arlin Eastman.)
I know for me and the vets we go thru bushings and I have to keep a stock on hand. I would love to have a dozen or so of them.
Nice work and good thinking in and out the box.
Just a quick question.
Why 1 stem, 2 stem, and 3 stem ones??
I know what we use is 7mm, 8mm, 10mm, 10.5mm, 12mm, 12.5mm, 3/8" and there are 6 or 7 that are just for a select pens kits. So I need at least 3 pare for each on what you have so I do not know if it would need a 2 stem or 3 stem.
As of this time I am now teaching vets again. If you have any lumber scraps we can use them to glue up to make some bowl from a board which we have not done yet.. Thank You Everyone.
It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
(10-24-2019, 06:56 PM)Arlin Eastman Wrote: I know for me and the vets we go thru bushings and I have to keep a stock on hand. I would love to have a dozen or so of them.
Nice work and good thinking in and out the box.
Just a quick question.
Why 1 stem, 2 stem, and 3 stem ones??
I know what we use is 7mm, 8mm, 10mm, 10.5mm, 12mm, 12.5mm, 3/8" and there are 6 or 7 that are just for a select pens kits. So I need at least 3 pare for each on what you have so I do not know if it would need a 2 stem or 3 stem.
Arlin
The stems are just under 2 inches tall
Depending on the length of the bushings determines how many will fit on a stem
In my case, I needed 1, 2, and 3 stems to hold the different bushings
Each holder is holding one complete set of bushings for a given pen kit
After putting it all together I found that 1 and 2 stems seem to be the most common
I only had a few bushing sets that required the 3 stem version
As you can see from the pictures, the one stem version can hold 4 of the 7mm bushings
This bushing set seems to be common to a large number of pen kits
If I get enough interest I would be willing to make some sets up and sell them