Delta. Its a decent hobby machine that I bought used for $75. It's galling me a bit that 2oz of plastic cost half of what I paid for the whole shebang.

I bought a $75 WEN from Amazon and it is pretty dang nice for 75 bucks.

Thinking about buying another one to tear apart, disable the oscillator and then make a pattern sander out of!

You could probably remove the worm gear and recoup half your expense selling it! Or if you have a 3-D printer, make copies and sell them for a huge profit

Here is a heads up for anyone who uses a DA or random orbit sander. I needed to restock and found this place
https://buymirka.com/collections/mirka-sanding-discs

Got 200 discs for $100. and 100 of them are the fancy ceramic grit!     $5 for shipping!
[attachment=1]

Quote from: Buggs on September 09, 2022, 10:22:59 AM
Delta. Its a decent hobby machine that I bought used for $75. It's galling me a bit that 2oz of plastic cost half of what I paid for the whole shebang.

I used to work for a German company that makes multi million dollar printing presses. It blew my mind when I learned that they used cheap plastic gears in some areas and they would easily strip out and need replacing.
Dave.

Built-in obsolescence, some would say.

Quote from: Buggs on September 09, 2022, 03:24:02 PM
Here is a heads up for anyone who uses a DA or random orbit sander. I needed to restock and found this place
https://buymirka.com/collections/mirka-sanding-discs

Got 200 discs for $100. and 100 of them are the fancy ceramic grit!     $5 for shipping!
[attachment=1,msg3011417]

THANKS  BUGGS!!!!   I just ordered some myself. Good pricing!

We went and found Popeye and friends. Chester Illinois

Popeye and friends

I shipped out the last Bare Foot bow today also....

here is the finished product.    Kirk

https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=179813.msg3011444#msg3011444

I don't get the Popeye connection, is that where the cartoonist is from?
Looks like you had a good time on your quest!
Did you eat Chester's Chicken

Quote from: wood carver 2 on September 09, 2022, 04:58:13 PM
I used to work for a German company that makes multi million dollar printing presses. It blew my mind when I learned that they used cheap plastic gears in some areas and they would easily strip out and need replacing.
Dave.

Quote from: onetone on September 09, 2022, 05:39:01 PM
Built-in obsolescence, some would say.

I was thinking along the same lines until it dawned on me that I would be replacing a lot more than the plastic worm gear if it had not stripped out when the machine jammed. It acted like a shear pin.
I did find a CAD file for the exact gear the machine uses. Now I just have to find someone to print one so I have a spare.

Yes it could be that that one piece save other expensive parts.
Like a shear pin on tractor implements 

Buggs Chester is where the cartoonist started Popeye. He based Popeye off of a local iron worker. If I read right. Chester is right along the Mississippi.

Quote from: Buggs on September 09, 2022, 12:50:22 PM
You could probably remove the worm gear and recoup half your expense selling it! Or if you have a 3-D printer, make copies and sell them for a huge profit

Hey Buggs.... How exactly does a 3D printer work? I've heard reference to this before and this stupid old carpenter/ bowyer here just can't picture this in my mind.    Humor me will ya?    Kirk

A 3-D printer is a machine that deposits material in repeated layers to achieve the desired form, or in other words I don't really know! 

Actually I think to get the desired strength, the gear should be CNC machined out of solid stock.

Quote from: Kirkll on September 10, 2022, 10:11:44 AM
Hey Buggs.... How exactly does a 3D printer work? I've heard reference to this before and this stupid old carpenter/ bowyer here just can't picture this in my mind.    Humor me will ya?    Kirk

There are two basic common types (actually more if you consider other materials than plastics).

One uses a heated nozzle and deposits a continuous string of hot/melted material down in layers to make the part. Think of taking silicone in a caulking tube and then repeating a pattern over and over on a table top, putting one layer down on top of the other to build up thickness.

The other uses a liquid resign that cures by exposure to UV light. The part is made in a tub of the resin by exposing the resin to UV light in the pattern for that layer.

Both methods build the part in layers, they just make each layer in a different way. There is a lot of technique and knowledge required for the solid modeling needed to design the part and how it is best oriented in the printer to achieve the best strength and surface finish for the end purpose.


Mark

Wow!  These printers sound pretty high tech...i would imaging they use them for building patterns for molds and casting parts a lot now.... The days of the pattern makers are gone me thinks...   Kirk

There are even 3D printers that pump concrete to build foundations and walls for buildings, all in a monolithic pour.

Quote from: Pat B on September 10, 2022, 02:13:44 PM
There are even 3D printers that pump concrete to build foundations and walls for buildings, all in a monolithic pour.

Really?   I always just pumped concrete until the forms were full, or up to the grade nails. You just stick your head inside the form and say , " Yup....That's enough mud.", and move the hose down. then fine grade and trowel it flat.  Now they have a machine that does all that automatically?     I'm getting long in tooth i guess.    Kirk

It's a good way to build inexpensive houses and you can go on your computer and design something outrageous and let the 3D printer build it for you.