hole saw notcher with bronze bushings

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bought a h.f tube notcher..The spindle has slight play between the bushings now after only like 5 uses..I greased it before each use.it was tight when i bought it.Gonna go and exchange it  Can i put some better bushings in it,or are bushings not really good for this application?
Reply:I guess if you wanted to press out the old bushing, size it and find/ make a new bushing that was correct you could.... but you'd be near the cost in time and parts as you would just getting a JD squared. If the shaft is out of true by a little bit, the bushing will wear faster. If the bushing is lousy grade bronze, it will wear faster. If the 2 are not sized properly, it will wear faster. And, if the shaft is not polished well, it will self polish and wear the bushing in the process!!I am not sure which part of this scenario is the culprit, but I suspect more than one.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:My friend uses his Harbor Freight holesaw notcher to build commercial pipe railing.  He does quite a bit of it.  He modified the notcher to use some locally available bushings that last awhile that he gets for cheap and changes them out when needed.  That said, I would much rather buy a better tool that doesn't require modification to make use of it and continuous re-building to keep it working right.  Sure everything wears out eventually, but I'd rather less often than more.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:the shaft was not straight, that explains it...i took it in for an exchange, brought the new one home hooked the drill to it quickand noticed the hole saw  wobbles slightly...plus its pretty  loose in this one right out of the box...I was gonna try to mess with it as kind of a project, but maybe ill just run it like it is till it falls apart..
Reply:My HF notcher was wobbly when new and junk after about 40 notches on 1 3/4" x .120 DOM (it's laying in the corner of my garage, it might land in the pile of metal to recycle). I bought the JD2 Notchmaster and it's worth every penny. I cut another 150-190 notches on that one and it's as fresh as the day it was new. If you can get your money back, do it and order the JD2 (or one of the other quality brands out there, there are several but I really like my JD2).KevinHobart Handler 210Tweco Fabricator 181iLincoln Squarewave Tig 175
Reply:already plannin on that  lookin at the tn100
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33That said, I would much rather buy a better tool that doesn't require modification to make use of it and continuous re-building to keep it working right.