Hi Dan,

I no longer have access to a lathe so I do a bit of backyard (basement in my case) machining to make my bushings. I make these thin wall bushings from sections of K&S brass tubing. In this case I use a piece of 3/8" ID tubing and chuck it in a drill. The OD of this tubing is about .407" so you only have to remove about .017" of material from the OD to get to the desired 10 MM to fit the props. I simply turn the drill on and use a sanding block to remove a bit of material from the tubing to get down to the desired OD. You can also use a smooth file and finish the work with fine sandpaper to polish the surface. I then use a Dremel cutoff wheel to cut off the desired length of tubing with the tubing turning in the drill. The results are quite satisfactory and look professional.

Certainly a lathe would work better but many of us use what we have to get by when we need a special part.

Don't sell the paper bushings I mentioned earlier short. They only have to hold parts in alignment until the prop nut is tightened and there is no wear on them in any way. I've had them last for years usually getting lost before they show any signs of failure. I use this technique all the time to shim wing dowel holes, wing or canopy locator pin holes, prop shafts, etc. CA hardened paper pretty much acts like bakelite or G-10 as far as wear goes. Acts much the same as phenolic board.