Sintered bronze bushings for the classics

[Killerbug]

how do they hold up against salt water?

Very good, I have serviced some Ambassduer 7000, that had been run tree season on a trolling boat without any service or cleaning in freshwater. All bushings where fine.

[Killerbug]

Are you trying to tell us that bearing are invented for no purpose, and all engine & motor should revert back to bushing?

Many engines uses bushings in those places where there are no space for a bearing, or where load and heat is too high. 

[Killerbug]

I would think that sintered bronze bushings would be more expensive to manufacture than stock Chinese bb's.

It's essentially only a sleeve, and the Chinese should be able to make it cheaper than their BB (only 1 piece with nothing to assemble).

Todays manufactures fill up the reels with bearings, for several reasons I guess. They are cheap, works well, and sells the reels well, arguing that the higher number of bearings means better reels.  

I am not sure if any Chinese manufactures do sintered bearings, but normal bronze bushings is used in many different machines.

[Killerbug]

Once sintered bushings are worn in, for the average baits and spoons, they are quieter, cast further than, and do not corrode and sieze up like ball bearings are prone to do if ignored.  They can hold up to 20% of their weight in oil, and are defeated if greased. 

How long it takes for those to wear so that they became to full operation? 100 casts? 1000 casts?
Can the process be speeded up by polishing the bushings? Or would it possibly ruin them?

Is it really so that these would cast longer than high quality bb - including ceramics?
I am a little bit suspicious... is there any "hard evidence"? But this really sounds interesting.
Are there distance casters / surf casters in here to convince us - or at least me?

I think several casting worlds records was made with Daiwas HM 3 fitted with Bronze bushings(not sintered ones), so I knew at least about one guy who preferred bushings over steel bearings.  With the ceramics of today I don't know.

Yes you can polish bronze bushings, But i would not do it for the reason JGB mention in his posting.  You have to be extremely careful
not to provoke an uneven wear on the spoolshaft or on the bushing itself.