Defying built in obsolescence

ummmm I can smell it now

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas only 4 miles from the mill

I see no reason to “police” this one at all. Well done! I kinda like the idea of how this sort of repair is almost like “stickin it to the man” so to speak. Why replace something when you can repair it—better than new. Almost makes me want to take this and wave it at em: “SEEE? it can be made to keep goin despite your idiotic design flaws! neener neener neener!” hehe

Well gee, a couple closer pictures of the piece would be nice. :-)

Good job.

-- Mother Nature created it, I just assemble it. - It's not ability that we often lack, but the patience to use our ability

Hi MonteCristo, I’ve noted your solution for future reference.

Here in the UK, I CAN get spares for my breadmaker, which is a Morphy Richards model which is not quite the same as yours, which was lucky because the kneading blade got lost – possibly left in a ruined loaf as explained below.

One problem we did have with our machine was that the bread pan occasionally ‘jumped’ out of its latch mechanism whilst the dough was being kneaded, and the loaf was ruined. Like you I like to avoid the built-in obsolescence, so I solved that problem with a length of steel rod that went into the clips each side – as below – so I pass on the idea in case anyone else finds it useful.

-- Don, Somerset UK, http://www.donjohnson24.co.uk

Any delicious recipes to share? I scooped a bread maker up at a tag sales for $5. Ive got decent success with cinnamon raisen bread but the rest left a bit to be desired.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Gotta love your self sufficiency in this day and age—like the old adage: “waste not, want not.” Good job and great save.

-- John C. -- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." George Washington

Any concerns about bacteria getting into the porous wood? That always worries me with something that’s exposed to heat, water, and food, and is pretty much an incubator for all sorts of bad stuff.

It’s a good fix, no doubt. I’ve always hated these cheap machines that break after a year. You might consider food-grade HDPE stock if you ever need to remake it, though that’s a bit harder to come by than a hunk of scrap from the shop. Just my $0.02.

-- -=Pride is not a sin=-

I remember reading a study a while back on cutting boards comparing wooden to plastic specifically regarding the bacterial growth. The wooden ones had less. The ones in question were the endgrain maple butcher blocks.

-- Woodworking shouldn't cost a fortune: http://lowbudgetwoodworker.blogspot.com/

For a cutting board, I can understand wood being better since they can dry out quicker and have all sides exposed to air (for the most part). However, this bushing is in a confined area that gets almost no air circulation and I imagine would almost never get a chance to fully dry depending on how often the breadmaker is used. If my mother is any indicator, it would get used once every few days.

-- -=Pride is not a sin=-

That’s a cool fix. I like fixing things too. It gives me a sense of success.

-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--

Thanks all for your comments. I posted this part seriously and partly as a “joke”, or at least my way to spurn the built-in obsolescence thing. I think this sort of ridiculous situation speaks volumes about many of the products we see in the shops today. They look nice but fall apart quickly.

Like rance, I like fixing things. Years ago it was because money was super tight, now it’s because I hate to see stuff that is basically still good get chucked out. And it’s a good way to kill a few brain cells trying to figure out what will work.

grfrazee’s concern about bacteria is valid I would say, but we plan on trying to keep the area pretty clean. If I suddenly stop posting on LJs, you’ll know that we didn’t succeed.

BTW, the yew I used is Pacific Yew that grows here in the Pacific Northwest. According to R. Bruce Hoadley’s book “Understanding Wood” (highly recommended) it is very rot resistant and it’s pretty darn hard too. We’ll see how it does.

-- Dwight - "Free legal advice available - contact Dewey, Cheetam & Howe""

Any breakmaker recipes to share? My lovely bride and I have one of those machines a friend that is a perpetual garage sale shopper picked up on the cheap for us… It all seems to work at least…

-- Manufacturer of fine quality sawdust since 1984. Comments and advice on my shop welcome. Check it out at http://lumberjocks.com/dbhost/workshop. Gladly accepting shop build donations!

Old baker kneading where made wood.
Sourdough bread were made by keeping a small amount of the dough of the previous day.

Bread and yeast is a living thing and the wood participate to it.

-- Sylvain, Brussels, Belgium, Europe - The more I learn, the more there is to learn

I just remembered that Lignum Vitae might also be a good wood to use. It is used for bearing(bushing) surfaces. I don’t know about it being around food. It is a tight grained wood though so it would be worth investigating in “Understanding Wood”.

-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--

That’s a good point about lignum vitae. It’s self-lubricating, hence why it was used for bearings in the past.

As far as food-safe, native central Americans used to make a tea out LV chips and use it for its medicinal qualities for a number of ailments. However, there are a few different species traded as lignum vitae which may not be the genuine article, so you can’t be too sure what you’re getting.

-- -=Pride is not a sin=-