What did you do today?

[Bob Engelhardt]

... Natural gas and LP gas have a lot of moisture in them when they burn ...

Actually, all hydrocarbons produce more water, in weight, than the fuel they burn. The extra weight comes from the oxygen that is incorporated. I should do the math, but not unless I have to.

[J Tiers]

Your chimney looks damaged near the top. Did someone replace the furnace without adding a liner to the chimney? I did that and my chimney did the same thing. Natural gas and LP gas have a lot of moisture in them when they burn and the chimney will get wet and then freeze and pop the face brick off. You might be able to save whats left of it by adding a liner if that's the case.

Ours was originally coal (86 years ago), and is now gas. But, perhaps due to coal, or just local codes, it was all lined when built, with square clay tile, in both flues. That was pretty standard at one time, although older chimneys may be plain brick on the inside.

Since that has a cap on it, odds are that it has some form of liner, especially as the building looks newer.

Coal has a lot less water in the flue gas.

[PStechPaul]

My friend John gave me a Craftsman electric sander, model 315.11630, in which the motor ran, but the sanding plate did not move. I took it apart, and found a stripped gear. This is a better unit than the B&D I tried to fix, but unless I can find a new gear, this also appears to be BER. I could not find any parts available.

[mattthemuppet]

you might be able to find a matching gear, then you can turn down the original and press the new one on. Can't tell how worn the mating gear on the shaft is though - if that's worn then you're SOL as it appears part of the motor shaft. To be honest, with how cheap and ubiquitous these things are ($14 at HF for a basic one) I don't see it as being worth the effort, let alone the money.

I'd be stripping it down for materials/ recyclables.

[J Tiers]

It does seem to be yet another example of how expensive "free" things can be.....

[PStechPaul]

John said he got it out of the trash. He works for a garbage collection company, and often finds really good stuff that people have thrown away. I might look for a sander on Craig's List or FB Marketplace, but my oscillating multi-tool does a good job, and I have a couple manual hand sanders. I don't really have much need for a power sander. And I also have a Craftsman power sander with a triangular pad, that I got, along with many other tools, from my friend Gordon when he died last summer.

[RMinMN]

you might be able to find a matching gear, then you can turn down the original and press the new one on. Can't tell how worn the mating gear on the shaft is though - if that's worn then you're SOL as it appears part of the motor shaft. To be honest, with how cheap and ubiquitous these things are ($14 at HF for a basic one) I don't see it as being worth the effort, let alone the money.

I'd be stripping it down for materials/ recyclables.

A delrin gear would probably be ideal for that application and not terribly difficult to make in the shop. It could be pressed and maybe pinned onto the remains after the worn out gear was turned down. If you need another shop project or just want the experience, go for it. Otherwise it is a source of parts if you like that kind of thing or could simply be discarded as the manufacturer intended.

[lynnl]

[SIZE=14pxx]...., but unless I can find a new gear, this also appears to be BER. I could not find any parts available.

OK, I give up, what the heck is BER?

[MattiJ]

OK, I give up, what the heck is BER?

Beyond Economic Repair?
or more commonly in electrical engineering Bit Error Rate

[lynnl]

Beyond Economic Repair?
or more commonly in electrical engineering Bit Error Rate

Beyond Economic Repair, ...huh? OK, I guess that does sound more up-town than "not worth fixin'..."

[Baz]

Beyond Economic Repair, ...huh? OK, I guess that does sound more up-town than "not worth fixin'..."

Pretty much an international standard in industries which do still repair stuff rather than chuck it regardless. Goes along with NFF - No Fault Found.

[Mcgyver]

Pretty much an international standard in industries which do still repair stuff rather than chuck it regardless. Goes along with NFF - No Fault Found.

On repairs, i always seem to get a BTCO

[PStechPaul]

It's just less hopeless than FUBAR!

[plunger]

I finished my trolley for a transportable loadshedding device. For those that dont know what loadshedding is ,its a two hour period each day when you dont have power. For me its usually at night . This is basically just an inverter that converts 12v dc power from a lithium battery to ac 240v Its just to allow me to watch tv ,use my pc and run satelite tv and a modem and a couple of lights.
I made it in a trolley because I can take it to site and it will allow me to use small power tools.
Like all projects I had to make tools to make a tool so It gave me an opportunity to use my homemade pipe bender. The bender works real nice.

It was Frustrating because i even had to make some 5 mm nuts due to lockdown. If you are caught in the streets you will get arrested so I cant buy any material.
I was worried that the frame could easily short circuit the battery if i dropped something on the terminals. I dont know what would happen to a lithium battery on a dead short.I made this plastic cover on the positive so I think it will protect the battery from any mishap.

I want to take this to site so needed to make a box to protect the inverter and charger. But I had no wood to make a box.
I had this stuff called aluminium composite but dont have the right tools to cut it. This was difficult for me because I had to bend a box to fit in a box. Wood would be much easier.I used a router to try cut it first .but working with it I think needs a learnt technique which i obviously dont have.But it came out okay.
This is how I made the box.


The finished product
The back .


The inside.

[Dave C]

It's just less hopeless than FUBAR!

FUBAR is what family members that I haven't seen in months, bring to me to fix.😏