Have a look at Steve Jordan on u tube. He did a project on replacing counter shaft bushes plus the home made

tooling you need to mfg. Lynne

Having a range of 'antique' machinery William – I've replaced a few Oilite bearings and they tend to be a very snug fit.

You essentially need a 'pusher/puller' solid cylinder – just under the diameter of the bearing – tapped to take some screw rod – plus a slim walled 'pull against' cylinder – the inside diameter of which should be just over the diameter of the bush, such that the bush can be pulled through it – and a bar wide enough to bridge the 'pull against' cylinder, with a central clearance hole for the rod.

To remove the bush, place the 'pusher/puller behind it and the 'pull against' cylinder on the other side of the bush housing. Screw the rod into the p/p and place the bar over the top of the 'pull against' cylinder and just tighten a nut on the rodding up, such that the 'push/pull and bush are pulled out through the housing.

To replace it – essentially reverse the process – just pushing the bush back in.

Oilite bearings are designed to shrink to size once inserted into the housing, so are a very tight fit. You may get lucky and hammer one in with wood but more than often I think the bush will tilt and stick – and the more you bash it, the more it will get damaged. I speak from experience.

Having no lathe – you may be able to find alternatives – such as a stack of heavy 'penny' washers (pusher/puller) and a piece of pipe (pull against cylinder). Otherwise, measure everything, reassemble your lathe and turn what you need. The shaft may be scored but stone any protrusions down and hopefully it will last a good while longer with new bushes.

Remember to place your 'repair tools' in a bag with a note to remind you what they are – for the next time you might need them. I have quite a few 'bits' (tools/jigs/gauges) that I know I must have made for some purpose but I cannot remember now what it was….

Regards,

IanT

A socket with a through bore , threaded rod, long bolts ., lots of washers , plumbing fittings, you name it. In short have a rummage through the biscuit tin of hope and expectation, the tools you need are likely to be there.

With the lathe in pieces, it is probably a bit too late for this, unless you reassemble. (After all it has run for some time like this, and you are going to replace the parts anyway )

Obtain a short piece of studding and two nut (say M8 ) Tuurn up a large diameter washer and two cylinders,(with clearance holes through the centre ) one just smaller than the OD of the oilite bushes, and the other larger.

You now have the means to push the bushes out of the casting, and to pull the new bushes into place.

The new bushes had been soaked in oil for 24 hours before fitting.

My bushes were then too tight to admit the new shaft, so the an undamaged portion of the old shaft became a D bit to open up the bushes, to allow the new shaft to enter..

Howard

William, your profile does not give a location but there maybe one of us not to far away willing to make the extraction/fitting tool. I do this type of thing often when replacing little end bushes on old motorcycles. Covid safety applies to above.

What size Oilite bushes do you need ?

Oilite bushes are sintered and porous, so that having been soaked in oil it is retained in the pores. Reaming can smear the metal and close up the pores, and therefore the oil supply.

Hence the need to soak the new bushes in oil for 24 hours before installation.

Followed by regular top ups when in service.

For the time that it takes, reassemble, and use the lathe to make the washer and dollies to press the bushes out and the new ones in.

As I said, rather than ream, and risk smearing, I used the unworn end of the old shaft as a D bit to skim the few tenths off the ID to allow the new countershaft to go into place. (Pulling the new bush into place will squeeze it and reduce the bore by gnats whisker )

By changing one bush at a time, the old bush can be used to ensure alignment whilst opening up the bore of the new bush, and then use the first new bush to hold alignment for opening up the second bus, ready for the new countershaft..

HTH

Howard

As has been said Oilite is a porous sintered material. My usual is to press or tap out, even cut with a saw blade and collapse the bush if needs, Press in the new bush using the shaft as an internal size plug as it goes in. Only machine Oilite if really necessary and cut with a sharp boring tool otherwise the surface material pockets will be destroyed lessening the lubrication ability. All information can be gleaned from the Oilite website.

Hi William!

I worked for a major tyre manufacturer (Pirelli) for many years (just retired!), And in My earlier career there I worked as a Fitter's Mate in the workshop that maintained the tyre building machines.

These made profuse use of Oilite bushes that needed frequent replacement due to wear, and the procedure We used to change them was to simply push the old bush through with the new bush, usually in the bench vice with a suitably sized socket behind to cover the old bush on the way out.

Probably not the best pure engineering solution, but in worked without problems for the 10 years I was working on the job!

Cheers, Pete