Re: Re: Question out of left field!


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Posted by John Swensen on May 20, 2001 at 14:05:36:

In Reply to: Re: Question out of left field! posted by David on May 20, 2001 at 09:00:32:

I have made delrin valve guides that have held up pretty well, but I have found delrin to be lacking as a bearing material. When I have made bearings for thumb levers and the like out of delrin, they worked wonderfully for a couple of months, but tended to wear to the point that they rattled in less than six months.
I might try making rotors out of delrin (the resins can be cast), as long as I had metal spindles (the shafts sticking out of either end) to hold up against the wear. After all, with functioning bearings, the rotor itself could not really touch the casing.
I would be very reluctant to try delrin for piston valves, however, as they function as their own bearing.
As an aside, it is possible to get Teflon tubing that shrinks with heat (pretty hot heat, however, around 600 degrees F., which would melt any soft solder). It might be tempting to try sleeving a worn valve with teflon, boring out the casing, and grinding (?) down the Teflon to fit.


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