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YOUR JUMPING STILTS => Modifications => Topic started by: gillybert on November 13, 2007, 11:16:58 PM

Title: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: gillybert on November 13, 2007, 11:16:58 PM

I've now bonded the plastic bushes into both my PJ spring tops and lower leg top joint  :o.
The footplate bearings both have my deep groove ball bearing assemblies in and the hoof bearings are as supplied.

Made a video to show how I did the fitting and bonding, but please remember that I am still testing these joints  ;) .  All the new joints have had about ½ hour of bocking so far and still seem smooth and rattleless.  But only time will tell  :)

[youtube=425,350]v/E9lvKSiAfi0[/youtube]

I'll update the thread with my results  ::)

GB...

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Sx Nutta on November 13, 2007, 11:30:54 PM

Looking good, I may go that to mine, if it makes any difference in performance, when running, and jumping! :P

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: webmaster on November 14, 2007, 12:44:17 PM

Thats an excellent tutorial.
Let us know how you get on but looks like it will work really well and increase the life of the plastic bushes.

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: aidanh1 on November 14, 2007, 06:51:32 PM

Nice one gilly bert thats a brilliant tutorial and tell us if it makes any diffrence to your bocking i may have to do it to mine ;D

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: GRS on November 27, 2007, 09:30:43 PM

Thanks Gillybert, I tried this and I think its made a massive difference, cheers m8, Plus its really easy to do.

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: gillybert on November 27, 2007, 09:36:51 PM

Hey GRS,

Great that someone else has tried the fix  :D  I really hope it is a long term improvement  8)

I've now used mine for over 11 hours and haven't noticed any real wear or sloppyness coming back, yet.

Which bushes did you do  ??? Did you have any probs and did you just polish or polish & ream  ???

Any feedback on application and long term use would be appreciated  :D

GB...

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: GRS on November 27, 2007, 09:44:45 PM

I did it at the top of spring and the one in the feet
I think I over polished the tube so it moved really easily but didn't ream the bushes.
I don't have a steady hand so I didn't glue the inside of the bush just incase I got it on the tube.
I'll let you know how I get on but so far so good

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Sx Nutta on November 27, 2007, 09:50:57 PM

I may be doing mine in the the holiday from uni, but I may be using brass for my bushings then using epoxy to hold them in place!!

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: gillybert on November 27, 2007, 09:53:48 PM

Hey Sx,

KiyaBob's PJs have brass bushes in, and I'm bonded them in at the weekend to see if I can reduce the rattle,  I'll post how it goes  :)

GB...

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Sx Nutta on November 27, 2007, 10:02:04 PM

Quote from: gillybert on November 27, 2007, 09:53:48 PM

Hey Sx,

KiyaBob's PJs have brass bushes in, and I'm bonded them in at the weekend to see if I can reduce the rattle,  I'll post how it goes  :)

GB...

Cool, will be watching the forums, for a update! cheers GB

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: bobw on May 05, 2008, 10:05:57 PM

I've noticed some movement and a knocking noise in my top bearing (spring to frame).Just wondering how your epoxy bearings are holding up. need to do something quickly the noise is so annoying.

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Brendan (NeoNinja) on May 05, 2008, 11:01:18 PM

Hey, sorry for more n00bish questions.

What is the purpose of this mod? And how does it affect performance?

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Nero on May 06, 2008, 01:14:37 PM

the purpose was to make the bushings more secure, thus making the stilt wobble less as the bushings wear.
gb aint been about for a lil while though so i dont know the lasting result of it

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Jason on May 06, 2008, 08:20:05 PM

We did half of Clives with epoxy a couple of weeks ago and they seem to be doing well
will keep you all updated

Jason  :Hoofies2:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Rodamus_Zero on August 24, 2008, 02:02:17 AM

How are the bushes fairing this far down the line?
Great Tut by the way Gillybert, Ill be doing this to my PJ once I get some Epoxy ^^

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Rodamus_Zero on August 25, 2008, 09:37:58 PM

Would Araldite do the same job as Epoxy?

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Jason on August 25, 2008, 10:43:16 PM

Hi Rodamus_Zero

Araldite is an epoxy resin so yes you can use it

The bushes on Clives lasted well but he changed bocks and they are his spares at the moment so not in use at the moment

Jason  :Hoofies2:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Rodamus_Zero on August 26, 2008, 07:36:23 PM

Well, it only took a few minutes to take the Knee Bar off along with the bushes.

It was an hour later when I had done everything, I thought it was going to be really long with lots and lots of fiddling around but it really wasnt. The only annoying thing was when I kept dropping the Alann Key  :banghead:

So both stilts are now setting overnight while I try are scrounge some oil up.

I think I might need to polish the metal tube further, it was fine with only one bush going over it, but both just seemed to resist alot more.
I seriously thought the Spring would just ping out really fast and braced everything I could to stop it and it just went... limp and collapsed upon itself (never thought it would do that).

So tomorrow morning I'll build it all back up and hope I've done it right.
O yea, as a side note, wear a face mask when using Epoxy/Aralidite... It isnt half fumey!

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Rodamus_Zero on August 27, 2008, 04:37:29 PM

Woot! My Bocks are all silent now  :thumbs:
While I was rebuilding them, I forgot the plastic spacer... which then didnt fit in place, a quick run over with the Dry and Wet sorted that out.

Put them on and immediately noticed the difference, not only had the annoying clank gone but I was getting more hieght and power out of the spring!

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Rodamus_Zero on August 28, 2008, 05:59:46 PM

Well, Im not a happy bunny or Bocker at the moment.

I was out on my nice silent stilts and then I heard a clank :banghead:
Thought to my self, It couldnt be what I've just glued up...

Sure enough... It was :banghead:
Ive either not polished the metal tube out all the way as there is a bit of resistance on one end with both bushes going over it, I didnt reem out the insides of the bushes (I dont have one yet...) or Ive not mixed the aralidite correctly as it just seemed to peel away after I took the bracket apart again.

Needless to say, while they were in a silent state, I was getting more hieght, great feeling... then after the clank... it just felt like a dream  :'(

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: bobw on May 19, 2009, 01:24:25 PM

I know its an old thread but its been about a year since I bonded my bushings, Had my stilts apart to change springs this weekend (Note to self Dont lend stilts to Paul Self again)checked the bushings and there is hardly any wear at all, It is definately worth taking the time to do this mod.

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Paul-Self on May 19, 2009, 05:17:16 PM

hmmmm im pretty sure u were due a spring change! so you got a free spring out of it :P that was 1 unlucky 20 mins tho how can 2 springs break that quick :( expensive much!

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: lynch on May 19, 2009, 06:12:42 PM

im sure you will live paul  :Ctongue:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Chalmeristen on December 22, 2011, 10:58:03 AM

Hi all!

I know this a really old thread but I want to know if this is of interest for the new model of PJ's.

I'm now on PJ EXO Pro CZ90's and I feel that they start to rattle due to worn down plastic bearings.
Does anyone else have rattles in their joints? Has anyone done this mod on the new model? Does it work?

Oh, and Merry Christmas to all of you!  :Cwink:

/Peter

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Jason on December 22, 2011, 02:45:24 PM

Good point mate

I don't have any rattle in my ones due to doing just this on all of them

You have to be a bit careful to align them right and not get glue on the wrong bits but it works well for the CZ's

Jason  :Hoofies2: :CGEEK:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: BitLord83 on January 08, 2012, 11:06:06 PM

I think this should be a sticky. I think it could help a lot of people.

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Jason on January 09, 2012, 07:19:36 PM

You know mate I think your right so I shall do it right now

Jason  :Hoofies2: :CGEEK:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: BitLord83 on January 09, 2012, 07:54:05 PM

Thanks Jason! When I get my new air trekkers, this is exactly what I'm doing to them. Any extra tips for doing this to the new CZ/exo models?

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Jason on January 09, 2012, 08:15:46 PM

Yep
I have done 3 sets so far and sometime the bushes come out easy and sometimes they are in tight

The answer I came up with was either

Only do the loose ones as the tight ones are probably ok anyway

Or get a replacement set in case you snap the edges off one getting it out

The only other way is to use them till the rattle and when you replace the bushes glue them in then

As for doing them use enough Epoxy to do the job but not to much as to cover the bolts and everything else

When you glue them in put the bolts through and tighten them up with some washers to pull them into place

Apart from that it is an easy job if you take your time

Jason  :Hoofies2: :CGEEK:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: BitLord83 on January 09, 2012, 11:23:58 PM

Ever helpful as usual Jason. Thank you. When I do it maybe I'll take some video and/or pictures so I can put together something for the new model. It might be redundant, but it won't hurt to have the documentation just in case.

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Jason on January 10, 2012, 08:42:11 PM

That would be fab mate we need people to do walkthroughs with pictures as they help so many people and save answering the same question many times

So do as many as you can  :Cbiggrin:

Jason  :Hoofies2: :CGEEK:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Joe Legg on January 12, 2012, 02:00:12 PM

I don't normally do mods to my stilts, but this one seemed to be worth while.

I know its a pain when the bearing go. that's when you stilts start to rattle and make squeeky noises.

I relished a long time ago that you want all the movements of your stilts to be free moving.

your probably all know this but the less friction you have on your stilt movement the more you will get out of your stilts as your not loosing energy.

GREAT MOD!!!

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: BitLord83 on February 09, 2012, 04:31:16 AM

So I just glued up my old M series stilts, bocked on them twice, and already a couple of the bushings are moving. I used a fairly good amount of epoxy, and the tubes going through the bushes can be pretty easily moved by hand.

The one thing that concerned me was the epoxy I got dried sort of hard, but like a hard rubber, not VERY hard as if it would withstand the pressure in the joints while jumping.

So here is the question: Should I use more glue, or different harder drying type glue that will stay more solid? Is there anything else I should do specifically? I'm going to glue my new Air-Trekkers up but I want it done right and not have to re-glue them every few sessions. Thanks for the help!

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: Jason on February 09, 2012, 08:36:19 PM

Two things about epoxy

You must get the mix near 50/50 so take some time to get the right amount of each

The second one is there are epoxys and epoxys

Araldite or locktite are sure to be good

Don't get me wrong some of the cheap epoxys are very good but some are very weak

Also they are not magic if your frames are worn so badly that the bushes flap around in them no amount of epoxy will help

I use the epoxy more as a filler to fill all the gaps and imperfections as it won't stick to the bearing material but will stop it wearing on the frames rather than the tubes

The tubes need to be a good fit but not to tight as they will bind in the bushes and twist them in the frame which makes them wear very quickly

I used to stick the tubes in a cordless drill and use some fine wet and dry to polish them until they are a nice fit

Jason  :Hoofies2: :CGEEK:

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: BitLord83 on February 10, 2012, 05:44:40 AM

Thanks for the timely reply as usual Jason.

Well, it sounds like I did everything right just about. Good quality epoxy (pretty sure, it was $5) , bock frame is in good shape, bushes were either new or nearly new.

The only two things I can think of where I might have gone wrong is not making the metals tubes slide easily enough in the bushings, and not de-greasing them enough. I just wiped the bushes and the frame with moist paper towels.

I do see what you mean about the epoxy being filler, and not necessarily keeping the bushing completely solid. I will make sure on my new CZ model stilts that the metal posts slide very easily inside the bushings. I will also get some locktite (can't get arildite in the states I don't think) since that stuff seems like it might be even better than what I got, and use plenty of it. I will also wipe down everything well with isopropyl alchohol and let it dry thoroughly to make sure everything is nice and clean.

We will see how it goes. My new springs are supposed to come Monday!

Title: Re: Epoxy bonding of plastic bushes
Post by: BitLord83 on February 21, 2012, 02:51:44 AM

My tutorial for gluing the bushings in the new CZ/Exo model stilts is here: http://www.projumpforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7280.0