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Reducing Pivot Point Friction in your Aircraft
By Larry Zepp, Zodiac 650B Builder, Fort Wayne, IN
Reducing friction and wear between aluminum and steel at the pivot points in your aircraft is a good goal. Usually, space is a problem – how do you add a bearing or bushing without changing the aircraft design?
A combination of space age technologies has offered an elegant solution – The Glacier Garlock “DU” bushing. I have used these bushings to greatly reduce friction and wear for over 30 years. Here is how this great bushing is made: A thin layer of powdered bronze is bonded to a steel strip. Then a mixture of Teflon and lead is impregnated in the bronze. It is then formed into a precision thin wall sleeve. The total wall thickness of these bushings is only 1/32”!
Comment
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Comment by Larry Zepp on June 23, 2012 at 8:07pm
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Hi Rolly,
Just click on the link under my picture Garlock%20DU.doc. This is the full writeup and it has the PN to order from MSC Industrial. LZ
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Comment by Rolly Hughes on June 22, 2012 at 4:56pm
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Larry, where do you buy these things? I like the idea of bushings instead of straight metal to metal.
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