Homer's Flickem Spindle to Spool Bush Clearance

[Parabolic]

I'm currently restoring an old Homer's Flickem Centrepin.

The brass bush in the spool is worn and I'm going to put in a brass or phosphor bronze sleeve to restore the original diameter.

Could anyone give me the normal spindle to bush clearance for such a centrepin, to ensure an "easy" spin?

Many thanks

Parabolic

[Watermole+]

Hello Parabolic,

If you are restoring a centrepin, it's worth checking the spindle also, because if the bearing bush is well worn, the spindle will also probably no longer be parallel..

I would stay away from brass for bushing material. Ordinary brass is a soft metal and will rapidly wear. Very often what appears to be brass bushing is in fact a type of bronze.
Phosphorous bronze is a much better bet and will run in harmony with steel with little lubrication and many sorts are made specifically for such bushing.

A general running clearance is accepted as being 0.003" (three thousandths) per one inch of diameter, so measure your spindle first and then a small calculation will give you the right figure. The spindle is probably much smaller, but if for example, it is 0.250" diameter, your bush should be bored out to about 0.2507", though in practice, I would be better to bore out to about 0.2503" and polish out to size, which gets rid of any roughness in it.

Hope this is of some help..

wm+

[Parabolic]

Many thanks Watermole, that's very useful.

I had some doubts on brass and thought the phosphor bronze might be better.

Cheers

Parabolic

[Nobby]

PB is a rather magical metal that can be 'primed' with oil under pressure after machining. It was always the go-to choice of tuners looking to increase engine performance and reliability.

Reel restorers I have consulted about worn centrepins in the past would echo Wm+'s observation about the 'pin always going out-of-round. Sadly, this means it is never a cheap option to have done.

[Nobby]

PB is a rather magical metal that can be 'primed' with oil under pressure after machining. It was always the go-to choice of tuners looking to increase engine performance and reliability.

Reel restorers I have consulted about worn centrepins in the past would echo Wm+'s observation about the 'pin always going out-of-round. Sadly, this means it is never a cheap option to have done.

[Pb845]

Hi Parabolic

As always, Mr Mole talks perfect sense.

A phosphor bronze material that is nice to machine and has been used for reels is Colphos 90. You can find it in some model engineering suppliers' catalogues - not cheap but good stuff.

Also for final lapping in (the polishing bit), the spindle held a drilling machine, rotated and gently moved in and out of the assembled bush (they compress after pushing in) with very fine lapping compound makes a perfect fit. Takes a little while, but for a one-off should be a good way.

BUT if you do that, you obviously need to be very, very careful to wash out all the lapping paste afterwards, although there are some pastes that supposedly completely break down after use ........ but I wouldn't trust them totally.

Cheers - Will

[ReelMaker]

Dear friends,the most usable material for slower running bearings that again looks like brass is Aluminium Bronze,I suppose phosphorus bronze is easier to obtain but is a little more harder to machine.I have used Aluminium Bronze on many of my reels ,but I have no lathe and I missing making reels.Reelmaker.

[Parabolic]

PB is a rather magical metal that can be 'primed' with oil under pressure after machining. It was always the go-to choice of tuners looking to increase engine performance and reliability.

Reel restorers I have consulted about worn centrepins in the past would echo Wm+'s observation about the 'pin always going out-of-round. Sadly, this means it is never a cheap option to have done.

What great responses, many thanks to you all.

Hopefully it will be very cheap as a friend of mine owes me a favour, and he works in a machine shop. Much as I enjoy doing this type of thing myself.