My very dodgy false teeth.

[Pommie]

I have a pinball (Monster Bash) and it recently stripped a gear. As this happened just after I ordered some spares from the states, to get a new one would have been $6 + $40 P+P. It would also take two weeks. I decided to have a go at fixing the stripped teeth.

I cut two slots with my Dremel where the teeth should be. Cut up a lemonade bottle top into strips. Shaped them slightly and cyanoed (super glue) then in place. A bit more shaping with the Dremel and I had a working gear.

I managed to arrange the gear so the teeth are at the point where the torque is the lowest and so hopefully they'll last a while.

Just thought I'd post this here in case anyone else has an impossible to get gear that's stripped.

Mike.

 

[Ambient]

Very cool idea! How is it standing up so far?

 

[ClydeCrashKop]

Nice job Pommie
I like to see imagination at work.
I had a lathe with a big cast iron gear that had a couple broken teeth. Someone had drilled and tapped rows of holes where the teeth were, screwed in bolts and cut and shaped them like the teeth. It worked just fine and didn’t even make noise.

 

[Pommie]

Very cool idea! How is it standing up so far?

There standing up very well so far. I posted this on another forum and a good soul has offered to add a new gear to his order and so I should have a new one by the end of the month. Out of curiosity, I'm going to keep the new one in reserve to see how long my false teeth last.

Mike.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

There was an engineer who used to work for us years back called John, and he left and went to work for one of the large rental companies.

He was always a bit 'strange', and we happened to be talking to his new boss one day, and he mentioned that he sent him out to look at a faulty VCR. The VCR in question was a Ferguson 3V35, made by JVC, and they had a common fault where the front loading mechanism used to strip gears. The cure was to replace the entire loading mechanism, and it was so common we used to keep them in stock, and I assume the much larger company did?. But not John, he spent all day doing a similar teeth rebuild, actually in the customers house!.

One job a day isn't really a satisfactory work rate!

 

[Pommie]

There was an engineer who used to work for us years back called John, and he left and went to work for one of the large rental companies.

He was always a bit 'strange', and we happened to be talking to his new boss one day, and he mentioned that he sent him out to look at a faulty VCR. The VCR in question was a Ferguson 3V35, made by JVC, and they had a common fault where the front loading mechanism used to strip gears. The cure was to replace the entire loading mechanism, and it was so common we used to keep them in stock, and I assume the much larger company did?. But not John, he spent all day doing a similar teeth rebuild, actually in the customers house!.

One job a day isn't really a satisfactory work rate!

However, when it's my time and my house then I like to play. If it was someone else paying then I'd have waited the two weeks for the part. There will also come the day when these parts won't be available and improvisation will be the only way.

Mike.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

However, when it's my time and my house then I like to play. If it was someone else paying then I'd have waited the two weeks for the part. There will also come the day when these parts won't be available and improvisation will be the only way.

I've no problem with you doing it, and I would myself - and I'm sure it didn't take you anywhere near a day? - but you weren't doing it on the floor in a customers house, with no tools!.

 

[Pommie]

I've no problem with you doing it, and I would myself - and I'm sure it didn't take you anywhere near a day? - but you weren't doing it on the floor in a customers house, with no tools!.

I would never ever do it on a customers floor with or without my tool. What was the guy thinking? And, a day?, if I ever got near more than a few minutes then my life (or rather wifes life) would have been fulfilled.

Mike.

 

[mvs sarma]

Many times these things happen and we condemn a lot of devices. Pommie found a way perhaps to overcome an issue fast. If the need of the hour is demanding, such innovative concepts do come to our rescue.