You know how expensive the regular plastic retailers are . Minimum 1 square foot charges on the 4" x 5" piece you need can make a small piece really expensive.
I've got a solution for that.
I have a store on ebay where we sell offcuts of delrin, UHMW, teflon, Nylon 101, Nylatron and Nylatron GSM.
URL is:
Have a look - see if there's anything that fits your needs.
We combine shipping and offer discounts for multiple-piece buys.
========= "Specially for Dial-up Users! - We have designed our plastics section to be dial-up friendly."
Thanks for considering the users [like me] out in the rural areas with a 28.8 kb [on a dry day] connection.
I have just about stopped using EBAY because their excessive graphics and "enhancements" take to long to load.
Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.
The jerks at ebay are wondering why many people are not using them any more. Constant changes of format and screens doesn't help either. The word sleezy comes to mind.
John
========== Again showing how too much money can be as big a problem for a business as too little.
When you can afford to hire platoons of web page designers and java programmers [and do], they all want to design web "their" page and program. Unfortunately, none of them understand the rule "new and different is not better."
Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.
Ummm ... But the money they want is exactly what I pay for cut to size. POM for example is cheap like dirt, I buy "cut-offs" 1..2m long for less what they want.
Nick
Well, there has been extensive discussion among the sellers about all the changes being made at ebay as well. I would say that the general feeling is that the sellers don't see where all of these changes are leading to, and they're getting a little shell-shocked at finding something different every few days. Sort of a "stop the world, I want to get off!" mentality.
But the long and the short of it is that ebay is still the biggest game in town. The alternate sites really aren't all that busy, so what's a seller to do?
If any of you want the items and have a real problem about dealing with ebay, just email me and we can deal direct as well.
Yeah, their graphics can be a pain in the butt. I don't think there's anyway around most of it, but I've posted a question on the main seller's boards. Maybe someone has a trick I haven't heard of yet.
Well, if you've got someone that will still sell you offcuts, you're a lucky man. I've been getting reports from all over that the industry is switching to the minimum square foot charge system. I even had a report from Melbourne, Australia to that effect.
Well I DID find a way to disable most of the graphics on the ebay site!
If you're using Firefox as a browser, go to "tools", select "Options" and then unselect the box that says "load Images automatically".
This makes the site a LOT faster - I have DSL lite and I could see the difference. The links remain, the search and clickable links still work, you just don't see the graphics (and pictures).
Something to try.
That's my plastics dealer. I tell him what I want and he either says "Look here" and I search or he pulls out a bar that has been cut and I buy the full length knowing that I'll need the rest sooner or later and knowing that he's giving me a reduction because he doesn't have to cut it and getting rid of that cutoff collecting dust. Sometimes it ends in an "You get that for free" and I give him a fiver for their coffee-can.
Nick
Well, for all of the OTHER folks who go to their local plastics retailler for a 1 x 4" x 5" piece of black delrin and come out muttering, "He wants $115 for that? Is he crazy?", we aren't going to charge $115, we'll charge less than $10.:-)
============= If you are using Foxfire there are several add-ons you can download that will help greatly.
Primary one is flashblock 1.5.4.1 that stops flash animations from loading and running automatically. You will get a place holder and an option button. click on
also helpful for the "arty" pages is Read Easily 1.0.3 that strips most formatting, ornate fonts, etc.. click on
Content Preferences 0.3.1 can also remove much clutter. click on
Another other add-in of interest is DOM Inspector 1.8.1.7 Let you see what is causing the problems, or if you are a web designer [or wannabe] you can see how certain effects are done. click on
for general information and complete listing click on
FWIW -- I have determined that Microsoft Live messenger will work with voice only over a 28.8 or better connection. I have used this extensively with a colleague in Brazil [he has DSL], and it works fine. Free download, and the whiteboard is also very helpful. Earphone/boom mike combo very helpful. If your PC has only one speaker out, get a y connector.
Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.
========= Nick -
The problem in the US is not the availability of the base material. For example Enco sells small pieces of delrin, nylon, etc. at semi-reasonable prices. click on
(1) put links on your page to a materials specification source, with the disclaimer that your material is not certified, but will be similar. for some examples click on
Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.
on
on
on
on
Those are some pretty good ideas. There are existing situations on ebay which may prevent the once-a-week shipping idea, but I have been looking at a consolidated run from my city to the border.
Most of the Delrin materials we get in are quadrant, BTW. I've seen very little in the way of other makes.
UHMW is more variable - some quadrant, lots of other makers.
I will check out your links.
on
Are you talking about formica, as in the formica they laminate to make counter-tops? I may have a source for that, I just never thought there would be that much of a market for it.
As for mircarta, I've never heard of it before. I'm going to have to do some research - maybe I can find a source.
Thanks.
Where a
on
on
I have access to many types of metal, but I haven't been able to bring them on-stream yet.
I like that. I'll look into it.
on
========== Note that the newer filled nylons/delrins may be "better" than the older laminates. Any of our readers have information on this?
for general info/background see
One hobbyist use of the decorative grades is knife handles.
Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.
On Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:03:47 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, F. George McDuffee quickly quoth:
Foxfire is the name of the book series about the teacher and his students who went to the Appalachian Mountain folks to record their self-suffiencies. It's also the name of a great girl-comes-of-age flick where Angelina Jolie's t*ts are at their absolute best size and shape.
Firefox is the name of the Mozilla product and it's the best browser on the market. It's also the name of a great Clint Eastwood movie about an extreme Russian jet.
Oh, now you got the name right. You WERE talking about Mozilla. ;)
--snip of some great additions--
--LJ, who uses Firefox 2.0.0.7 nowadays. -- Remember: Every silver lining has a cloud. ----
I remember FireFox - that was a great movie. The book sequel sucked, though.
On the subject of ways to block the more time-wasting efforts of ebay designers, this is what the other sellers came up with:
Firefox Tools > Options >Content > uncheck "Show pictures automatically"
Firefox has extensions that'll put a button on your toolbar to toggle images.
And get the 'adblock' extension while you're at it. That will prevent most of the common advertising from loading, no matter what site you're on. It's a must for dial-up surfers.
For Internet Explorer: Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Scroll down to Multimedia and clear the Show pictures box.
Opera has a "Show Images" button you can click to hide all images and graphics as well as options to kill scripting, sound and other multimedia.
So I hope that helps our dial-up friends.
see
names
see
OK, I've had a chance to go through some of those links you posted;
Re: Enco - those prices aren't THAT reasonable, IMO - I've got them beat in nothing flat. But I get your meaning.
I agree that I should put more info in the listings regarding the specific manufacturer and grade of plastics when I can determine them. If I don't know, I believe I should not guess. Bad information is worse than no information. I will look into that ASAP.
The formica looks interesting. I believe that I have a source close by. I'm going to have to talk to then and see if they do have the small pieces. It might be a good addition to the selection.
Mircarta seems to be a mystery material to Google. I'm glad you provided the link to the manufacturer - I was beginning to wonder where I could get information on this. I don't know if it is something I should carry or not, yet - I'll have to think about it.
I note that Delrin is also a common material for knife handles. That may be affecting my interest in the mircarta.
There may be some alternatives to the break-bulk idea you mentioned. Some companies in Toronto, Ontario, do daily consolidated runs to Buffalo each night - I'm going to check and see if I can consolidate with them (or perhaps get them to take a tour through my area - we have to have a lot of ebay material heading south from here. I agree that the shipping costs are problematic.
Thank you for your suggestions. They have been very helpful.
Micarta and G10 are superior knife handle materials.
Gunner
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.