In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called “modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so that people don’t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 14:44:48 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called “modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so that people don’t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

Perhaps but most here know how to "lubricate the gears" of their newsreaders.

wrote:
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on
their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our
so called “modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go
around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal
gears with plastic ones so that people don’t have to lubricate them.
In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are
designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them.
The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel.
Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a thought: How
many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all
the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

The other side of the argument is that a better model of the tool becomes
available before the one with the plastic gears wears out. I could be wrong,
but I'm thinking of portable devices like drills, saws, and the like.

Then, too, my garage door openers contain nylon gears slathered with some
kind of grease (chicken fat?). True, they give up the ghost but it's not a
big deal to replace them - and not expensive.

On Jun 24, 6:07*pm, "
wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 14:44:48 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called “modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so that people don’t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

Perhaps but most here know how to "lubricate the gears" of their newsreaders.

Good timing. I had a latch mechanism brake on my RV today. There is a
plastic lever that moves the metal slide to latch the door. A piece of
metal broke off the slide where the plastic lever moves it, but the
plastic lever was still in good shape.

Hank ~~~~~ confused ;-)

wrote in message
...
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools
and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called
“modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating;
so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so
that people don’t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and
appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let
alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than
hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a
thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up
for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

There's also a plan called "Obsoletion" which manufacturers have in place to
limit the life of their products for several reasons, but the main reason is
to provide jobs.

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 4:46:39 PM UTC-7, Meanie wrote:
wrote in message
...
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools
and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called
“modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating;
so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so
that people don’t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and
appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let
alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than
hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a
thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up
for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

There's also a plan called "Obsoletion" which manufacturers have in place to
limit the life of their products for several reasons, but the main reason is
to provide jobs.

Jobs in China.

On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:34:49 -0500, "HeyBub" wrote:

wrote:
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on
their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our
so called “modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go
around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal
gears with plastic ones so that people don’t have to lubricate them.
In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are
designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them.
The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel.
Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a thought: How
many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all
the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

The other side of the argument is that a better model of the tool becomes
available before the one with the plastic gears wears out. I could be wrong,
but I'm thinking of portable devices like drills, saws, and the like.

Then, too, my garage door openers contain nylon gears slathered with some
kind of grease (chicken fat?). True, they give up the ghost but it's not a
big deal to replace them - and not expensive.

It's quite possible that these are sacrificial gears, intended to destroy
themselves rather than the other side, which is usually far more expensive
and/or harder to replace. IOW, they're designed to break.

On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:18:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 4:46:39 PM UTC-7, Meanie wrote:
wrote in message
...
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools
and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called
“modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating;
so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so
that people don’t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and
appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let
alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than
hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a
thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up
for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

There's also a plan called "Obsoletion" which manufacturers have in place to
limit the life of their products for several reasons, but the main reason is
to provide jobs.

Jobs in China.

I find that the people who bitch the most about jobs going to China buy less
US content than those who don't. What do you drive? What appliances? Tools?

On Jun 24, 9:24*pm, "
wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:34:49 -0500, "HeyBub" wrote:
wrote:
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on
their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our
so called “modernity” people have become too lazy and stupid to go
around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal
gears with plastic ones so that people don’t have to lubricate them.
In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are
designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them.
The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel.
Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here’s a thought: How
many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all
the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

The other side of the argument is that a better model of the tool becomes
available before the one with the plastic gears wears out. I could be wrong,
but I'm thinking of portable devices like drills, saws, and the like.

Then, too, my garage door openers contain nylon gears slathered with some
kind of grease (chicken fat?). True, they give up the ghost but it's not a
big deal to replace them - and not expensive.

It's quite possible that these are sacrificial gears, intended to destroy
themselves rather than the other side, which is usually far more expensive
and/or harder to replace. *IOW, they're designed to break.

Von Weise used to produce gear motors in the US, parts, espically the
sacrifical gear was readily available. I repaired these motors all the
time.

vn weise moved motor production overeas and parts are no longer
available....

In article , "Meanie" wrote:

There's also a plan called "Obsoletion" which manufacturers have in place to
limit the life of their products for several reasons, but the main reason is
to provide jobs.

manufacturers may have many plans, but creating jobs is never their top
priority...that belongs to the search for profits and the two are almost
mutually exclusive

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 6:24:23 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:34:49 -0500, "HeyBub" wrote:

wrote:
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on
their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our
so called modernity people have become too lazy and stupid to go
around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal
gears with plastic ones so that people don t have to lubricate them.
In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are
designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them.
The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel.
Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here s a thought: How
many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all
the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

The other side of the argument is that a better model of the tool becomes
available before the one with the plastic gears wears out. I could be wrong,
but I'm thinking of portable devices like drills, saws, and the like.

Then, too, my garage door openers contain nylon gears slathered with some
kind of grease (chicken fat?). True, they give up the ghost but it's not a
big deal to replace them - and not expensive.

It's quite possible that these are sacrificial gears, intended to destroy
themselves rather than the other side, which is usually far more expensive
and/or harder to replace. IOW, they're designed to break.

I always thought that's what a clutch was for.

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 6:26:06 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:18:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 4:46:39 PM UTC-7, Meanie wrote:
wrote in message
...
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools
and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called
modernity people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating;
so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so
that people don t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and
appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let
alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than
hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here s a
thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up
for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

There's also a plan called "Obsoletion" which manufacturers have in place to
limit the life of their products for several reasons, but the main reason is
to provide jobs.

Jobs in China.

I find that the people who bitch the most about jobs going to China buy less
US content than those who don't. What do you drive? What appliances? Tools?

GMC, SPEED QUEEN, HILTI

No, I don't know if the parts for them are made in China but at least it's better than buying a Rockwell 3RILL.

On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 14:44:48 -0700, recyclebinned wrote:

In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their
tools and appliances to keep them in good working order.

Some of us still do that kind of thing...

manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with
plastic ones so that people dont have to lubricate them.

I've seen white silicone grease used a lot in things with plastic gears.
I suspect that plastic gears are used simply because they're easier to
fabricate (and yes, as someone mentioned, because sometimes they're
designed to be a weak point in a mechanism).

Welcome to the throw away garbage life style.

Thankfully there are usually older products available on the used market
which will do the same job.

Heres a thought: How many bottles and cans
etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all the damage that a
throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

Here's another thought: How are those bottles and cans recycled? Where
are they shipped for handling, and how much energy is used in the
processing?

cheers

Jules

On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:18:30 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

but at least it's better than buying a Rockwell 3RILL.

that tool does have an all metal gearbox - no plastic.

On Monday, June 25, 2012 7:34:45 AM UTC-7, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:18:30 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

but at least it's better than buying a Rockwell 3RILL.

that tool does have an all metal gearbox - no plastic.

How do you know? Did you open and look inside its transmission. Dewalt was claiming the same thing but it’s not.

On Mon, 25 Jun 2012 09:07:41 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Monday, June 25, 2012 7:34:45 AM UTC-7, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:18:30 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

but at least it's better than buying a Rockwell 3RILL.

that tool does have an all metal gearbox - no plastic.

How do you know? Did you open and look inside its transmission.

Its a feature specified by Rockwell ( check the web ). There is an
animated video showing the gearbox, but hey, they could be lying.
Right?

Dewalt was claiming the same thing but it’s not.

Which model? I've not heard such a claim from DeWalt. If they
practice fraud, that's another problem.

On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:14:15 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 6:24:23 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:34:49 -0500, "HeyBub" wrote:

wrote:
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on
their tools and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our
so called modernity people have become too lazy and stupid to go
around lubricating; so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal
gears with plastic ones so that people don t have to lubricate them.
In fact in most modern tools and appliances, the way they are
designed, you can barely access the gears let alone lubricate them.
The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than hardened steel.
Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here s a thought: How
many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up for all
the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

The other side of the argument is that a better model of the tool becomes
available before the one with the plastic gears wears out. I could be wrong,
but I'm thinking of portable devices like drills, saws, and the like.

Then, too, my garage door openers contain nylon gears slathered with some
kind of grease (chicken fat?). True, they give up the ghost but it's not a
big deal to replace them - and not expensive.

It's quite possible that these are sacrificial gears, intended to destroy
themselves rather than the other side, which is usually far more expensive
and/or harder to replace. IOW, they're designed to break.

I always thought that's what a clutch was for.

1) nope
2) There usually isn't one

wrote in message
...
On Monday, June 25, 2012 7:34:45 AM UTC-7, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:18:30 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

but at least it's better than buying a Rockwell 3RILL.

that tool does have an all metal gearbox - no plastic.

How do you know? Did you open and look inside its transmission. Dewalt was
claiming the same thing but it’s not.

I disassembled a Dewalt 14v cordless drill to use the motor for another
project. The entire guts were metal, with exception to the plastic trigger
and reverse switch.

On Monday, June 25, 2012 9:48:25 AM UTC-7, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 25 Jun 2012 09:07:41 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Monday, June 25, 2012 7:34:45 AM UTC-7, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:18:30 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

but at least it's better than buying a Rockwell 3RILL.

that tool does have an all metal gearbox - no plastic.

How do you know? Did you open and look inside its transmission.

Its a feature specified by Rockwell ( check the web ). There is an
animated video showing the gearbox, but hey, they could be lying.
Right?

Dewalt was claiming the same thing but it s not.

Which model? I've not heard such a claim from DeWalt. If they
practice fraud, that's another problem.

When I told them that I bought a drill that had a plastic gear the Dewalt sales person at Home Depot claimed that all their models now had steel gears.. So I told him that I would buy their latest model but as soon as I bought it that I was going to open-up the transmission to look inside and that if I saw that it had a plastic gear I would be returning it even though I had tampered with it and that he would be obligated to reimburse me. When I told him that, he suddenly changed his mind about selling me anything.

The Dewalt model that I had that is now gathering dust was DW006 if you're interested.

As for the Rockwell 3RILL, I don't know what their transmission looks like but I would worry more about their so called "Lifetime Replacement Battery" claim. Here's why:

On their web-site:

https://www.rockwelltools.com/US/Warranty.aspx

they write:

"The Lifetime Replacement Battery Agreement is available free of charge*......"

I'm not sure what they mean by that but it seems like they don't want to give you the agreement itself unless you specifically ask for it.

Then they say:

".......subject to the terms and conditions stated below."

and below it says:

"Rockwell Power Tools reserves the right to cancel, alter or change the implied or written terms and conditions of the Free Lifetime Replacement Battery Agreement at any time."

and also:

"This Lifetime Battery Replacement Agreement is not a warranty; it does not alter or limit the 2-Year Limited Consumer Warranty provided with your product,......."

and also:

"This warranty does NOT cover accessories or battery packs."

Not to mention:

"The Lifetime Replacement Battery Agreement is available for all Rockwell hand-held battery-powered tools featuring LithiumTech, Compack or Powertank batteries."

So you better make sure you even have the right kind of batteries.

and also it seems there is no physical address anywhere on the web-site for Rockwell Tools which looks like is a part of Worx International which looks like is only a web-site developer and re-sellers:

http://www.worxinternational.com/aboutus.html


which doesn't have a physical address anywhere on their web-sit either.

Good luck finding them a year from now.

On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:18:30 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 6:26:06 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:18:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 4:46:39 PM UTC-7, Meanie wrote:
wrote in message
...
In the old days people would periodically lubricate the gears on their tools
and appliances to keep them in good working order. In our so called
modernity people have become too lazy and stupid to go around lubricating;
so manufacturers have replaced hardened metal gears with plastic ones so
that people don t have to lubricate them. In fact in most modern tools and
appliances, the way they are designed, you can barely access the gears let
alone lubricate them. The downside is that plastic breaks a lot easier than
hardened steel. Welcome to the throw away garbage life style. Here s a
thought: How many bottles and cans etc. do you have to recycle to make-up
for all the damage that a throw-away appliance or tools is responsible for?

There's also a plan called "Obsoletion" which manufacturers have in place to
limit the life of their products for several reasons, but the main reason is
to provide jobs.

Jobs in China.

I find that the people who bitch the most about jobs going to China buy less
US content than those who don't. What do you drive? What appliances? Tools?

GMC, SPEED QUEEN, HILTI

Government Motors. Figures.

You have a speed queen refrigerator? A Hilti Drill.

No, I don't know if the parts for them are made in China but at least it's better than buying a Rockwell 3RILL.

Not the point. I wouldn't buy one, either.

On Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:54:28 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

As for the Rockwell 3RILL, I don't know what their transmission looks like but I would worry more about their so called "Lifetime Replacement Battery" claim. Here's why:

You moved the goal post. From metal gears to batteries.