vesconite

Hi Lee,

Vesconite isn't new it has been around for yonks! The problem is it is one of the best kept secrets in the industry.

I have been using Vesconite for more than 30 years and have used it all over the place. We even used it for clapper bushes on the church bells to replace the ligmun vitae bushes installed in 1920 when the bells were made by Taylors Bell Foundry in Loughborough.

It is a South African product and widely used in the mining and earth moving industry. It outlast bronze about 5:1 under these arduous conditions, and a fraction of the cost. Also widely used in ships stern bushes, it is self lubricating but water helps. Unlike nylon it doesn't swell to any great extent and has a secret ingredient similar to graphite, but they won't tell us exactly what it is!

I wouldn't recommend Vesconite for a headstock bearing, it is slightly pliable, which is great for shackle pins bushes etc but the small amount of sqidgy movement isn't what you would want for a lathe spindle.

Vesconite has been used with great success on con rod bearings on a full size steam loco, but I'm with John, I wouldn't use it on headstock bearings. If you think leaded bronze is too hard why not white metal them, assuming there is enough wall thickness.

I've just made a Vesconite stern tube (or 'cutless'  )  bearing for my boat from Vesconite - I've done several before, along with rudder bushes and even new rollers for my patio doors. As John says, it is a South African product, and you have to order it from there, but they have a bonded warehouse somewhere in the south, Dorset I think. The last piece I ordered arrived in two days. It is expensive - a 1000mm length of cored rod 40 od and 20 id cost me around £90.

It excels at low speed high load situations, especially with water to keep it cool. I wouldn't be happy with it as a headstock bearing as both the speed and the temperature might be too much. Having said that, have a look at the website - they have a calculator to help with machining custom made bushes and I think it includes temperature and speed parameters.

While I agree with John, I'm not sure I'd use the words pliable or squidgy - it is a dense polymer and I think you'd need quite a high point load to see any significant deformation, and that isn't the case with the usual shaft-in-a-bush situation.

Another similar but more easily obtainable material is acetal (trade name Delrin). Again, not my first choice for headstock bearings but useful for lower speed/temperature applications. Try eBay for suppliers.

Finally, don't take my word on this - have a word with someone at Vesconite themselves - they have a very good technical department, an 0800 number for phoning from the UK or, of course, email. **LINK**

Edited By Steve Pavey on 21/04/2016 22:11:38

Edited By Steve Pavey on 21/04/2016 22:13:05