3-D Printing and Spencer Tape Gears

[Gologit]

Practically nothing, which is why 3-D printing is so attractive. You can create almost anything within the limitations of the material being printed, and it only costs the material itself.

Okay...I won't throw away all those old Spencers that died and now reside in a five gallon bucket in a dark corner of the shop. There's an old pair of torn up chaps on top and the shop cat sleeps there.

Multiply my little junk bucket by the number of guys with similar collections...there might be quite a market for you. The cats will have to fend for themselves.

 

[madhatte]

Right now the most-available good material for construction is nylon. I suppose aluminum is also available, but I'm not at all confident in its heat treatment. Nylon has some limitations, of course, the biggest being that it is somewhat malleable. It holds its shape well under pressure but not torque. I expect that other materials will be available soon but I don't know which or what to expect of them structurally.

 

[Eccentric]

Right now the most-available good material for construction is nylon. I suppose aluminum is also available, but I'm not at all confident in its heat treatment. Nylon has some limitations, of course, the biggest being that it is somewhat malleable. It holds its shape well under pressure but not torque. I expect that other materials will be available soon but I don't know which or what to expect of them structurally.

Can Delrin be used for 3D printing? It works well in a gear application.:msp_thumbup:

 

[madhatte]

Can Delrin be used for 3D printing? It works well in a gear application.:msp_thumbup:

The guys I know can't do it yet. It's likely that they will be able to soon. It's mostly a matter of powdered raw material being unavailable and temperatures being out of the range of desktop rigs. These are technical problems rather than physical ones and I suspect they will be resolved soon enough.

 

[madhatte]

Holy crap, folks, I think I just got this problem licked. I have some measurements to make and some phone calls to call, but an old friend of mine just pretty much offered to make this happen, and he's got a bit of downtime before starting a new job. I told him that I'm interested in up to 100 of these things at up to $10 per, and he thinks that's probably do-able. Should have a better idea about the logistics in the next 24 hours.

 

[hammerlogging]

That a way, awesome follow-through

 

[treeslayer2003]

Okay...I won't throw away all those old Spencers that died and now reside in a five gallon bucket in a dark corner of the shop. There's an old pair of torn up chaps on top and the shop cat sleeps there.

Multiply my little junk bucket by the number of guys with similar collections...there might be quite a market for you. The cats will have to fend for themselves.

Bob, got any old nails? different than a horse shoe nail? a friend has an old spencer 50' with a really fine but tough kind of a stick pin with a cap on top. i would much prefer this type after useing his. the baily nail in mine is to big to stick in oak bark.......you would have to drive it into some.

just wondering if you know what its called or what to ask for, i don't see anything like it online.

 

[Gologit]

Bob, got any old nails? different than a horse shoe nail? a friend has an old spencer 50' with a really fine but tough kind of a stick pin with a cap on top. i would much prefer this type after useing his. the baily nail in mine is to big to stick in oak bark.......you would have to drive it into some.

just wondering if you know what its called or what to ask for, i don't see anything like it online.

Dunno, I've always used Bailey's nails. I got into a bunch of oak for about a week...UHG!...and I just filed the Bailey nail down to a sharper point.

 

[treeslayer2003]

i think if i thin it much, it will bend..........i tend to be heavy handed lol.
next time i see him, i'll try to get a pic of it.........he prolly had it forever lol.

 

[northmanlogging]

File sort of a chisel point on em, works good in maples about the closest thing I have to Oak around here, only narrow the last 1/8 inch or so.

 

[madhatte]

Nails for me have always been a "fiddle with it til it works" kind of thing. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I don't have a formula figured out yet.

 

[dhskier2]

just wondering if you know what its called or what to ask for, i don't see anything like it online.

You're looking for a Spencer Button Nail.

Get it at Ben Meadows
http://www.benmeadows.com/spencertape-end-nail-button-style-aluminum-best-for-hardwoods_s_121588/

OR Forestry Suppliers
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/viewItem.asp?item=39385

 

[treeslayer2003]

You're looking for a Spencer Button Nail.

Get it at Ben Meadows
http://www.benmeadows.com/spencertape-end-nail-button-style-aluminum-best-for-hardwoods_s_121588/

OR Forestry Suppliers
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/viewItem.asp?item=39385

yes! thank you sir very much!

 

[dhskier2]

yes! thank you sir very much!

You're welcome- glad thats what you're after

 

[dhskier2]

Nails for me have always been a "fiddle with it til it works" kind of thing. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I don't have a formula figured out yet.

I don't buy pre-bent nails anymore. Buy your own straight nails and bend them to the exact size and eye you like. Like more thumb area, or a longer nail...tight eye, or loose eye?

Two things I do for cruising (unrelated to above posts re: a pointy end)...first, my nail is set for the d-tape side so on a big tree I can just put it in and circle the tree w/o thinking about what side is out. Second, I've got about 6 inches of metal coat hanger on the end of my tape for fixed rad plots- just stick it in the ground and pull your distance.

 

[madhatte]

One thing I can say is that I've taken to longer nails, so that I can twist them 90 degrees from where they bend to the point. That exposes the long side to the torque of getting ripped out of the log, and makes it last longer. Shorter nails are just a hassle.

 

[Metals406]

Cody T. bought nails some years ago that he said were the best. They were the tape end with a very petite and very sharp point brazed on the end. He's posted picks here before somewhere. . . Pre crash.

It made me want to try something. Take a penny, and braze a sharpened piece of stainless TIG rod to it, & braze the penny to the tape end. Lots of surface area to press on and not hurt your thumb.

Plus, pennies are worth more that way than in buying power anyway.

 

[madhatte]

I like that idea -- I would finally have a use for pennies. I remember Cody's nails. Those things were the deal. I'd love to have a line on those.

 

[Metals406]

I like that idea -- I would finally have a use for pennies. I remember Cody's nails. Those things were the deal. I'd love to have a line on those.

I think it was a saw shop on the coast, I'll ask him again.

 

[treeslayer2003]

Cody T. bought nails some years ago that he said were the best. They were the tape end with a very petite and very sharp point brazed on the end. He's posted picks here before somewhere. . . Pre crash.

It made me want to try something. Take a penny, and braze a sharpened piece of stainless TIG rod to it, & braze the penny to the tape end. Lots of surface area to press on and not hurt your thumb.

Plus, pennies are worth more that way than in buying power anyway.

new bness venture for ya n8 lol. all i can say is the baily nail sucs in oak......