Copper wheel bushing for push mower

[mwhitnell]

I was planning on cutting 5/8 od copper pipe to use as wheel bushing on my craftsman self propelled mower since the dia of the wheel shaft is 1/2"... I will drill out the wheel to 5/8".
Has anyone done this?

 

[BlazNT]

No I have not but I am letting you know they have 2 grades of copper pipe. Soft and rigid. Do not use the soft.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Think I'd use an oil impregnated sintered bronze bushing instead. Copper won't last but maybe a season.

 

[Fat_Bollocks]

Bronze is what typically gets used for bushings. You need a sharpened drill for working it, though

 

[tom3]

Done this a couple times over the years. Works ok with some occasional relube. Local Tractor Supply has actual bushings that work better, but cost a few bucks each. For some worn out plastic wheels I've used a piece of aluminum flashing, cut a strip and roll it on the axle/bolt, cut it to size, lube it up and put the wheel over it. Not a long term deal but does work. I'm not cheap, just poor.

 

[mwhitnell]

I was planning on cutting 5/8 od copper pipe to use as wheel bushing on my craftsman self propelled mower since the dia of the wheel shaft is 1/2"... I will drill out the wheel to 5/8".
Has anyone done this?

I guess I failed to research this prior to posting...I always thought type L copper tubing had wall thk of 1/16", so 5/8 copper had id of 1/2"...this is not the case, the wall thk is .040, not .062, and bronze bushings are around $5 each, so will have to give it more thought.

 

[Fat_Bollocks]

If you weren't in Florida, I'd say you'd have all Winter to think it over. I've got countless bronze bushings that I harvested from old machines of all sorts. It's never too late to collect such items. But, in the mean time, if you've got to have it right away, I suppose that the five bucks can get written off