Vesconite?

My limited experience with plastic bushings (though admittedly not this particular material) is that they are difficult to machine to close tolerances, have high levels of static friction leading to stick-slip effects such as squeaking and can bind up unexpectedly if you oil them to stop the squeak!

Personally, if you can't get oilite, I'd use plain bronze bushes.

NHH

I've not any experience of this particular material but have used engineering plastics in a number of applications. The trick is to get the right material for the job and there's a bewildering amount available. You're looking to replace Oilite bushes and the comparison table shows the differences with Phosphor Bronze. The increase in thermal expansion combined with lower thermal conductivity raises some issues in my mind. Watch your PV value as this generates heat. If things get hot, the bearing will expand more than Oilite and will not conduct that heat away so readily. This could lead to tightening or siezure. I would increase the running clearance to give greater tolerance to this effect. I would also lubricate the bearing on assembly and routinely if possible. As with most applications, particularly where fluctuating loads exist, trial and error is the final arbitor.

John

John wrote (snip):

That's probably where I went wrong - I used something not entirely unlike PTFE out of the scrap bin to make a bush for a steering column with the results described.

I note however that while the vesconite's coefficient of thermal expansion is quoted as being a good deal less than some other plastics, it is still 2 1/2 times that of bronze. The displacer rod bush on a small Stirling/hot air engine is a particularly critical part, clearance must be kept to a bare minimum to avoid air leaks, yet the merest trace of binding will probably stop the engine dead. I'd still go for the metal.

NHH