Extruder parts

I have ordered a bunch of the extruder parts listed in the wiki (studding, rods, nuts and bolts, etc) from Farnell. A lot of the part numbers have rotted, due to ROHS I think, so I made substitutions. When I get the parts and have checked them I will post the new numbers. Or, if you give me permission I can update the wiki, or should these go straight into Zach's DB?

The PTFE rod was out of stock but I found some 12mm on eBay for a reasonable price.
[cgi.ebay.co.uk]

One substitution I was unsure about was that I picked stainless steel for the drive screw as it was the cheapest alternative. I have no experience machining SS, will it be too hard? I guess I will find out soon.

RS only seem to deal with trade so I haven't looked at their numbers.

I am going to try JB weld and bare nichrome wire, I will let you know how I get on.

i havent had much time to work on the parts db this weekend... so if you could just sit on those numbers for another week, by then it will be ready for you to add suppliers to it. at the same time, i'll be adding a parts-list embed feature that will allow us to embed the dynamically generated parts lists within each wiki page... so everything will be nice an DB based.

stainless steel should be fine... thats what i used for mine.

i would highly recommend getting the insulated nichrome instead of the bare stuff... you could still accidentally get a short if the wire gets pulled too tight and cuts through the still-gooey jbweld.

Ok thanks Zach I will wait for the DB.

I have already got bare nichrome so I will give it a go first. My plan is this:

1) Lay down a thin layer of JB weld and let it set. Possibly turn it down on the lathe if it too uneven.

2) Wind the nichrome under tension with another wire side by side so that the turns all touch each other.

3) Remove the spacer wire keeping the nichrome taught.

4) Apply more JB weld.

I have never done anything like this before or even seen any JB weld so it may be a complete disaster. If so I will take your advice and switch to insulated. Or I may try using an induction heater.

not a bad idea. my plan with the insulated wire is to do this:

lay down some jbweld on the bare threads.
while its still soft, wrap the wire, following the grooves of the rod
then, put another coat of jbweld over everything, and let it set

this way i can do it all in one swoop and i just gotta let the jbweld set overnight.
i'll probably make up 3-4 barrels, so if anyone in the US wants one to play around with, let me know and i can ship it to you.