Outlaw Grease!

[badpenny]

I'm currently repairing the damage to a couple of bandits caused by a combination of poor maintenance and old age.

They belong to a customer who operates them so they need to be right.
At some point in their dim and distant past both machines have suffered from the principle of "it moves lather it in grease". necessitating a complete strip down in order to chisel apart bits that should not only move easily but fall away from each other in the event of a strong gust of gravity.

Clearly not the current owner's fault but due to the friction caused by the rock hard grease I've actually found parts on an Aristocrat that have bent due to being forced.

The "Old Age" issues are to be found on a Beromat type mechanism in an English 60s conversion. We all know about pot metal and its problems, and I've never been overly concerned by it as there are a host of molding putties and epoxy chemicals that can restrengthen de-laminating castings. However I've not seen distortion and crumbling away like this before ...

Click on each photo for scary close ups ......

The one on the right is the replacement and has been cast from aluminium. I don't know if it's a GW original or has been made here.

Compare these two. The flat edges at the bottom are intentional .... however the massive bight out of the one at the back isn't.

I'm currently soaking the moving parts of the handle assembly in Plus Gas as they're rock solid with dry grease as well.

BP

[gameswat]

I've never been overly concerned by it as there are a host of molding putties and epoxy chemicals that can restrengthen de-laminating castings.

BP - I've never been able to save the pot metal once it started delaminating, as far as I'm concerned that's the beginning of the end. Once the cancer starts I don't think anything will stop it? I don't like to sell machines with an unknown use by date. But I have been able to repair cracked pot metal just due to just normal breakage.

[badpenny]

I agree that there's certainly a point where it gets beyond the point of no return, and that breaks are often repairable whereas de-lamination is the end.

Roll on 3D printers. I wonder if we'll see any that will work on something like carbon fibre? Clearly not woven but a strong wearing plastic.
I suppose then we'd be back in the realms of idiots making guns.

I have a couple or three GW machines that I intend to keep and would deal with any signs immediately. I think de-lamination occurs when a stress crack is ignored and the damp gets in.

BP