Most spectacular planned obsolescence ever!

[Wade Lippman]

I have 3 PC333 ros I bought maybe 20 years ago. A breadboard my son made in shop 18 years ago split after going through the dishwasher many many times and my wife wanted a replacement. I grabbed some colorful scraps and made one. I took a PC333 and started sanding it, and the pad disintegrated. I took the second one and the pad disintegrated. Grabbed the third and the pad disintegrated. Did they send a memo around?

Replacement pads are $25. On the one hand that is a ridiculous price for to keep a 20 year old sander going, but on the other hand, I have a lot of 5 hole paper. Oh my.

[Mike Kees]

I remember those sanders being very strong ,long lasting tools. Unless you want to spend way more for new sanders I would buy new pads.

[Dan Friedrichs]

It's a 20 year old piece of foam and plastic :confused:

[Jim Becker]

Yea, unfortunately the very materials that the pads, etc., are made of degrade over time as well as from heat. Even the "bestest" sanders you can buy require the pads to be replaced periodically as they break down chemically and the hook and loop stops holding as it gets deformed from frictional heat.

[Lee Schierer]

Replacement pads are $25. On the one hand that is a ridiculous price for to keep a 20 year old sander going, but on the other hand, I have a lot of 5 hole paper. Oh my.

You can get new pads here for $7.79
(https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Sander-PORTER-CABLE-13904-13909/dp/B07XB2D7RS/ref=asc_df_B07XB2D7RS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=385124930314&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3210760758515423497&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006420&hvtargid=pla-833075345982&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=80210700684&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=385124930314&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3210760758515423497&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006420&hvtargid=pla-833075345982)

Make sure you replace the round urethane belt when you replace the pads....

[Wade Lippman]

Yea, unfortunately the very materials that the pads, etc., are made of degrade over time as well as from heat. Even the "bestest" sanders you can buy require the pads to be replaced periodically as they break down chemically and the hook and loop stops holding as it gets deformed from frictional heat.

yeah, but three the same hour after 20 years?

[Bruce Wrenn]

Once, I had an entire case of 3M sanding belts fail the same day. Twenty four belts shot to ---- at one sitting!

[johnny means]

Foams and plastic aren't permanent like stone or metals. They degrade over time as the petrol and VOC portions continue drying. Eventually, like old leather, they become brittle and fail.

[Harvey Miller]

Funny, I had to do the same thing with my PC333 a couple weeks ago. How do they know?

[Andrew Hughes]

I think our electronic devices are a good example. Of planned obsolescence

[Matt Day]

Let’s not forget the real crime here - putting a breadboard in the dishwasher - over and over! Hand wash only and let dry evenly!

[Dave Sabo]

yeah, but three the same hour after 20 years?


Why is that surprising? They were all the same age and condition.

I’ve still got two of those. Don’t use them because I got a Festool 5” on a lark figuring I’d return it in 30days. There is simply no comparison between the two. Yep, it’s 3x the price but boy does my hand and arm thank me.

[Bill Dufour]

Remove the three screws holding on the old pad. Remove old pad, thread old screws into the holes and give them 1-2 turns more. Remove screws again and install new pad, which is a fraction thinner then the old pad, then reinstall old screws.
If you just try to reuse the old self tapping screws they will not be tight enough and the new pad will fail very soon around the screw holes. Or you could use a power torque wrench set to the exact, unknown, torque needed. If you go slightly over the necessary torque the threads will tear out and the sander will be junk. Even if you knew the exact torque needed it will be different depending on the replacement pads Durometer or Shol #. Do you have a Durometer tester kicking around the shop. A more common, hardness tester will not do the job.
Bill D

[Ronald Blue]

I wouldn't call it planned obsolescence. As has been stated they failed because it's what some materials do over time. If your car/truck has sat for 20 years it's almost a certainty the tires would fail before you got down the road very far.

[Richard Coers]

You should be thrilled you got 20 years out of those pads! That's way past normal life of foam rubber! Fine example of failing old petrochemical products is Tupperware. My 87 year old mother died and she had an entire pantry shelf of old Tupperware that had a greasy feel. It was a mess! It sure went up nice in the burn pile we had going on her farm.

[Alex Zeller]

I have a much older PC ROS. it looks like a 4 1/2" metal grinder. The pad on that died 5 years or so ago. I replaced it with one made by another company for a fraction of what it cost. I think the threads are standard as even the pad off a cheap pneumatic one I had would screw right on.

[Jim Becker]

yeah, but three the same hour after 20 years?


Mr Lippman, please meet Mr. Murphy. :) Your new best friend. LOL

I agree that the coincidence is, well...over the top, but clearly it was a not a good day for sanding in your shop.

[Bill Dufour]

It was God telling you to take a break or it was the Devil telling you to be lazy.
Bill D.

[Randall J Cox]

I have a 50+ year old Sears power plane that my parents bought me when I was a teenager (I'm almost 74). Have used it off and on (mostly off) over all this time. I used it the other day extensively to plane down the bottom of a outside door to my shed I have been rebuilding. It takes a light cut and the blade is dull so had to make many passes. Amazingly the blade is belt powered and I have never had to replace it and the heavy rubber cord looks and flexes like new. So they can make them like this if they want to..... Randy PS And I know as soon as I take it apart to replace or sharpen the blade, something else will go wrong! ha ha

[Joe Jensen]

Once, I had an entire case of 3M sanding belts fail the same day. Twenty four belts shot to ---- at one sitting!


I had a similar experience. A friend who is a chemical engineer told me that nearly all glues are organic compounds and there are bacteria that eat those compounds so nearly all glues will fail over time.

[Rod Sheridan]

I just ordered a $40K circuit breaker to replace one that has been in service for 4 months, I'd trade for 20 years and $25 in a heartbeat.

The circuit breaker is not repairable, which is the first I've seen in a 3,000 ampere breaker........Rod.

[Frank Pratt]

I just ordered a $40K circuit breaker to replace one that has been in service for 4 months, I'd trade for 20 years and $25 in a heartbeat.

The circuit breaker is not repairable, which is the first I've seen in a 3,000 ampere breaker........Rod.

That'll run a decent sized dust collector.

[Rod Sheridan]

That'll run a decent sized dust collector.

I'm sure it would ...LOL

[Jim Matthews]

I just ordered a $40K circuit breaker to replace one that has been in service for 4 months, I'd trade for 20 years and $25 in a heartbeat.

The circuit breaker is not repairable, which is the first I've seen in a 3,000 ampere breaker........Rod.

Jump start a battleship, again? Lightning strike?

Yikes.

[Curt Harms]

I just ordered a $40K circuit breaker to replace one that has been in service for 4 months, I'd trade for 20 years and $25 in a heartbeat.

The circuit breaker is not repairable, which is the first I've seen in a 3,000 ampere breaker........Rod.

I wouldn't want to be paying the electric bill on whatever that puppy powers. :eek: