Hi. I decided to install the Needhamag bushing kits in my JD 1590. I took a few pictures today of one of the first ones and figured I'd post a few of them for your entertainment.

 When deciding how to clamp the boot in the drill, I noticed a small flashing rib from the foundry mold and decided it would be a good idea to sand it flat so it would sit on the drill table square.

  Smoothed with a small angle grinder using a flapper disk.

 It appeared to clamp to the table very nicely and measured up square.

 I line it up with a 7/16" bit, then installed the bit that Phil sent with the bushings. More about the bit later.

 First side drilled and a look at the second. Lined up quite well IMO.

 Deed is done.

 Another view of the finished drill job.

 To give a perspective of the bolts I removed compared to a new one. I'll go ahead and take a brief comment here to get my dig in on the rediculous engineering of this machine's openers. I know pre-schoolers that could do a better job. Heck, Oso could out engineer this joke. So,.....thankfully someone that has to deal with this joke took it upon himself to design and make for sale a bushing kit. Great idea.

  New bolt and bushings.

 The hole in the cast arm that gets worn and ovalized from the grade 8 bolt that slops around. The bushings are to clamp tightly agains the cast arm and eliminate further wear. The center hole is where we run the boot.

 Installed and with a new leaf spring. I bought 4" bolts as per the instructions, but I may have to go with 4.25" as I have no engagement of the locking part of the nut.

 Ready to be installed on the drill. Including a new bonilla seed tab.

 After completion, I noticed this gap where the boot meets the blade. I wondered if a foreign piece was holding it. ? Nope, I learned that the sloppy wear in the bolt had allowed the boot to wear improperly with the blade. This in turn will wear flat again, but in a sticky situation, this may be an issue as it may allow a film of mud between the blade and boot untill the boot wears flat again. Maybe it wont be an issue for most, but its worth knowing that this gap may exist in case mud does stick and cause issues, it was'nt the Needham parts that caused it, it was the sloppy engineering at the multi-million dollar manufacture.

 Ok, now to the drill bit. This is the drill bit Phil sent with the bushings. I drilled one boot and found that the bit worked fine, but the bushings fit somewhat loose. I took a caliper to the bit.

 This is a standard twist bit 5/8".

 And the bushing. Keeping in mind that the bit can ever so slightly bore oversize. Using the standard bit made a tight fit for the bushing, however the edge of the hole where the bit made its exit when drilling, needs a slight debur to allow the bushing to fit without interference.

 All in all, I like the setup. I'm looking forward to seeing the improvement in performance. I think I will use the standard drill bit for the rest of the drilling as I like the bushing fit better.

 Thanks for looking. If you see something I am doing wrong, please say something.