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Thread: Most spectacular planned obsolescence ever!

  1. #1
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    Most spectacular planned obsolescence ever!

    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.

  2. #2
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    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.

  3. #3
    It's a 20 year old piece of foam and plastic

  4. #4
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    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.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wade Lippman View Post
    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


    Make sure you replace the round urethane belt when you replace the pads....
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 11-18-2020 at 8:42 PM.
    Lee Schierer
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    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?

  7. #7
    Once, I had an entire case of 3M sanding belts fail the same day. Twenty four belts shot to ---- at one sitting!

  8. #8
    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.

  9. #9
    Funny, I had to do the same thing with my PC333 a couple weeks ago. How do they know?
    Just a Duffer

  10. #10
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    I think our electronic devices are a good example. Of planned obsolescence
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Aj

  11. #11
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    Let’s not forget the real crime here - putting a breadboard in the dishwasher - over and over! Hand wash only and let dry evenly!

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wade Lippman View Post
    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.

  13. #13
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    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

  14. #14
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    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.

  15. #15
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    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.

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