Laser cut ball lifter.

[daverob]

I could make the gear in any material, if I had the equipment to do so. Unfortunately I don't have the finances to invest in new workshop equipment, So it comes down to selecting material that can be cut with a laser.

Chopping boards are usually nylon, and I have thought about making a gear from nylon or acetal, both of which would be up to the job but nylon melts into a blobby mess in a laser cutter, and acetal gives out poisonous fumes, they also have a habit of catching fire. They both cut nicely on a milling machine, but the gear shape is too complicated for my small manual mill (would need to add a rotary table and make a lot of fixtures). If I had a larger mill that could take 1/2" tooling it would be fairly simple, a cnc mill would be simpler still.

[takethecastle57]

Yep, machine tools are fantastic and you can do a whole bunch of amazing things with them .

My Dad back in the 1960's had a radial arm saw that scarred the neck out of me when it started but I was amazed by it's power to shorten the time to make things . My Dad was a Master Craftsman Tool and Die Maker and sometimes he would have to use hand tools (Wood planes , chisel, hand files ) and such to get the results that he wanted .

If I did not have a Orange Ball lifter already I think that making one by hand would be a great adventure in Tinkering.

Just my two tokens/balls on the discussion.