My brides Cricket Maker smart cutting machine started making a clunking noise as it operated so she asked me to take a look at it. After figuring out how to get this machine apart I found that a tooth was missing from the gear that drives the X-Axis of her machine.
After a search and a call to the factory, I found that no parts are available for this machine and the cost to fix it out of warranty was near the amount to buy a new one. Even, machines for parts on eBay were over 100.00 with shipping. It's incogitable that parts are not available for a machine that costs $350.00.
It cames to mind that I could repair the missing tooth using ACRAGLAS GEL so I got out of of my wifes Food Grade Silicone Mold Putty and mixed up a > 1/2" ball of the stuff and made a mold of a good section of the gear.
While the mold was setting, I got a Xacto knife out and cut in deeper where the broken tooth was and made slight cuts to the left and right of where the tooth use to be to make a key way to better support the new tooth. Once the mold was set, cut part of it away so the top of the gear teeth negative was visible. This would help me aline the mold back on to the gear and give an area for the excess ACRAGLAS GEL to escape. I mixed up a green pea-size amount of ACRAGLAS GEL with a toothpick applied some to the gear it the area where I would be casing the new tooth. I then filled one of the gear tooth cavities in the mold with the ACRAGLAS GEL and moved set it in place on the gear.
Some 26 hours or so later I removed the mold cleaned up the gear and new tooth with a Xacto knife and Jewelers Files. Tested the function by moving the X-Axis and everything worked fine. Go the machine together and had my wife make a number of projects and the machine is back in working order.
Who said Gunsmith supply can't make your wife happy. (it will make future purchases easier too)
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