The Struggle of Finding a Custom-Sized Bushing or Bearing

Sometimes the smallest things can cause the biggest headaches. Recently, I was on the hunt for a bushing, or bearing, with a very specific size.

I figured it’d be easy to find online, either from local marketplaces or international ones. Turns out, it wasn’t that simple.

The issue? The size I needed wasn’t standard:

• Outer diameter: 18 mm

• Inner diameter: 10 mm

• Length: 8 mm

I looked everywhere. Local marketplaces? Nothing. Specialty shops? No luck. Even sellers I contacted directly said they’d never seen that size before. I did some research using LLMs with reasoning functions, also no luck. I didn’t think it would be this hard just to find a small part like that.

Eventually, I started searching for shops that could do custom orders. I didn’t have high hopes, but figured it was worth a shot. And surprisingly, I found a local seller that actually accepts custom measurements. I ordered two pieces right away.

Funny enough, after checking the shipping info, I found out the shop was based in Dayeuhkolot, which is an area in Kabupaten Bandung that’s not exactly known for manufacturing precision parts. But hey, that’s where the solution came from.

So yeah, sometimes finding something as simple as a bushing can turn into a whole journey. But if you keep looking, ask around, and explore less obvious options, you’ll eventually find what you need.