Tony Duell wrote:
There are
certain exceptions... if I needed some mechanical component
machining I'd probably look for a local machine shop and ask them (my
You are lucky to have a 'local machine shop'/ There are, AFAIK, no such
places round here.
There's an engineering company in Huddersfield (Pennine Radio) that does
sheet-metal and machining work. I'm toying with the idea of asking them
for a quote on doing the CNC work on the DiscFerret front/rear panels.
If I had a CNC rig I'd do it myself, but the idea of drilling out the
front panels for even a small production run does not appeal to me...
[Silly example/ I was cleaning up an old Epson printer
nad dropped a
plastic bush from the paper feed mechansim. I looked for it for over an
hour and couldn't find it (I've still not found it). In the end I grabbed
a bit of brass rod and turned a suitable replacemnt in a few minutes...]
Knowing Epson kit, that "non-factory replacement part" (GRIN) will
probably outlast the rest of the printer.
The last two Epsons I had (a C84 and a C86) both died from Blocked
Print-head Syndrome. The ink dries in the head, then when the piezo
actuators are triggered on power up for the "cleaning" cycle, they
break/blow. Ugh.
I've since switched to a colour laser printer (Kyocera FS-C5200dn) for
most things, and only keep an inkjet around (Canon iP4600) for PCB
transparencies and the occasional photo print (I've got a shelf full of
JetStar Premium film and Canon ink cartridges and I'll be damned if I'm
not going to use them!).
Somehow, even if I leave the iP4600 for months, it always works when I
come back to it...
I never really give up. If I can't do a repair
now, due to lack of skills
or parts (particularly custom parts), I put the thing aside and come back
to it in perhaps a few years. And many times I manage it then (having got
more experience, etc).
If I did that, I'd most likely be living in a Mr Trebus-style
clutter-pit within the year.
(for anyone that doesn't get the reference: look up a 1999 BBC TV series
called "A Life of Grime")
--
Phil.
classiccmp at philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/