I watched it just to find out what a 'Festo Plug It' was. Always interesting to learn about new products and let someone else do the mucking about to get them to work - thanks for making this video.
Gary, I tried that. The connectors seem to be a one piece moulding. At the end of the day it was more about investigating the use of Sugru as a candidate for making flexible repair parts. I know it seems a long winded and complicated repair but sometimes it's more about satisfying my curiosity with new materials. Regards, Mark
Chris, I know it seems like a long winded way to fix a simple problem (electrical tape would have done the job) but I see it as a chance to try out a material which I might want to use again at some point for a more serious job. Regards, Mark
Thanks Yves. Just a few weeks now until we are in Canada. I've got my ticket to the Ottawa Maker Faire! We are hoping to see some nice fall colours. There's not much like that where we live (subtropical Queensland).
The whole curing thing was totally unexpected. I just assumed that once it got started it would continue right through the whole part. Maybe if you gave it enough time it would eventually cure all the way through. I suspect that the molecular cross linking is accelerated by air contact but who knows?
It's probably like a single part urethane, requires moisture to cure. Cyanoacrylate also requires moisture to cure. From their PDF: RTV One-Part Moisture Curing Silicone Elastomer, so yeah, it requires moisture exposure to cure.
More info: Approximately 24 hour cure for the first 3 mm of depth at room temperature. eg. 3 mm cures ~ 24 hours, 5.5 mm cures ~ 48 hours, 8 mm cures ~ 72 hours. (Cure time is influenced by; area which is exposed to atmosphere, temperature and humidity)
It's hard to say for sure without a better look at where the cable enters, but based on the collapsed end of the strain relief sleeve, it looks to me like the jacket has shrunk back (in my experience it often happens with low-grade cable and where there is not enough cable jacket inside the sleeve). I reckon it potentially could have been fixed by gently stretching the outer insulation along the entire length of the cable, and working the end back inside the sleeve, maybe adding some CA if needed.
Damn! I hadn't thought of that. Probably putting the whole thing in a low oven would make it more "stretchy" Still, at least I now know how Sugru works.
A low oven? too hard... an hour on the back seat of the car in Summer on the other hand... though that's probably what happened to the cable in the first place :) The Sugru tutorial was definitely useful to the viewers in any event. Greetings and best wishes from (nearly) sunny Adelaide, Mr Preso.
Hello, I have never heard of "Festo" tools nor have I seen that product that you used to repair the exposed cord. So, the obvious question is,......'where d'you get it?! I am in rural NSW
Peter, I was able to buy the Sugru on Ebay. www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sugru-Mouldable-Glue-It-turns-into-rubber-3-Pack-White/262506467260 I have never seen it in Bunnings although they were listed as a stockist at one point.
Hi! As an owner of a couple Festools and user of Sugru, I congratulate you on the fix. I liked your project of making a mold and a clamping jig. Kudos on the work but it might not be totally necessary to make a mold. You might want to try molding the Sugru with your fingers only without having to make a clamping mold. Lots of time, I shape Sugru with my fingers and smooth the outside using soapy water. Daniel
Nice project. I think it was well worth the effort even though it didn't fill in all around. But you also learned for next time. I actually did something similar using 1/2" aluminum blocks to make a jig head mold for fishing. Same pinned technique and two piece mold setup. Thumbs Up.
Thanks, I had not heard of Sugru before. I looked at the US web site. They are calling it moldable glue. I will get some to have on hand for the future. I would not have spent the time on the die. The result looks good. Proprietary connections are good until something breaks, then they are frustrating. Dave.
Dave, One of the reasons I used the Sugru was just to check out how it behaved. I had read about it before and it seemed to be the ideal candidate for this job.
hello Mark, That Sugru is an interesting product! I am wondering with your hands on experience (pardon the pun) if you think it may be fluid enough that by making a piston arrangement that it could be injected into the mold? Just curious as to your thoughts Mark, thanks for an interesting video. John, Australia.
Oh i see and totally agree. Mine was a loose connection and if i jiggled the cable about at the plug i would then get power so it was clearly an easy fix which Festool don’t want to make possible.
Memo to all US and European viewers: Please note Mark's Dawn 100L vise. The Metric version of the 4L. An Australian icon. The Brits will say it's a knock-off of a Record. Yeah, it is. But it's the best knock-off you'll ever see in these days of Asian rubbish. Can be had for $20 used on eBay. In bigger versions, like their 6" / 150mm offset models, they offered SuperGrade " SG " models, which were guaranteed unbreakable, and I have one that shows they were indeed, unbreakable. So you blokes out there who have a Wilton Bullet, a Charles Parker, a Rock Island, an Erie, or a Columbian, which I do not doubt are great vises, take note of what else is available on this side of the world.
Yeah Festool... I have one and that plug keeps falling out. I'm going to glue it, or pin it, or just wrap it in tape, unexpected nuisance. Not all that impressive a tool, I reach for my HF sander as often as the Festool. Since the stuff apparently needs moisture to cure, I wonder if it would have cure more evenly if you had sprayed a little water in the mold before clamping. I probably would have cut the plug off the other end, pulled on and heated successive layers of shrink tube, perhaps with stiffeners, then added an aftermarket plug.
Chimera, I have always found Festool stuff to be a bit of a prima donna. That particular sander was one that we used at the secondary school where I used to teach. The kids were pretty tough on tools and the Festool stuff didn't really stand up to the abuse. We stopped buying Festool because we could buy two Makita sanders for the price of one Festool. The Makita tools usually outlasted the more expensive ones easily. Having said that I recently purchased a Festool Rotex sander to sand my verandah deck. It coped with what was a very difficult job easily. It cost an eye watering $1100 but I believe it is one of the most powerful random orbit sanders on the market. It did do a good job. Regards, Mark Presling
@@Preso58 Eye watering indeed. I've got this awesome Fein random orbiter (MSF 636-1) that I picked up from Woodcraft at half price when they stopped carrying Fein some time ago (I think they may be stocking them again, although I now avoid paying their premium prices so I don't visit very often) It's a beast, I'd put it up against anything Festool or other makes can throw at it.
I wrap breaks like that with self vulcanising rubber tape. After a few hours it becomes one solid lump of rubber. But that would be a really short video.
I tried that but the tape must have been old and it failed to bond to itself. For a while I thought I was on a winner but at the end of the day I guess I just wanted to play with Sugru. I'd never used it before and it seemed like fun to try.
That is solved in three minutes with self-vulcanizing tape. all the time and tools you used came out more expensive than buying a new one. And who has a lathe at home?
Thanks for the feedback. I did actually try self vulcanising tape and it sort of worked but I find it always unravels slightly at the free end. I am one of those sick individuals who likes to try unorthodox approaches to simple problems. I had never used sugru before and it seemed like a fitting project to try it out. As it happens, the repair has held up to normal shop use. It looks good and it does the job of strain relief on the mains wiring where it enters the handle of the sander. I know it's not a repair for everyone. It might however give someone and idea for a completely unrelated repair. As for the cost, I only had to purchase the sugru. Everything else was just lying around in my shop. I actually priced a replacement Festool cord and the price here in Australia was outrageous. Regards, Preso
Mark I'm probably telling you something you already know of. But heat shrink with the glue built inside of it would have worked great. I've done it several times. So far I have never had it to fail on me. However I'm not familiar with the product your using but it also looks like it will work for you. Thanks for the time and videos you put out. They are very helpful.
I did think about cutting off the male three pin plug and running heat shrink all the way up the cord but then I would be left with having to fit another three pin plug. I have read about that heat shrink with the hot melt glue inside. I guy (Arnold's Designs) did a YT video on how to make a submersible heater using the same product.
Now I know what a festo is, who says you are to old to learn something new ? Ha Ha , nice repair , I wonder if it would work for a new tip on a mechanical tachometer ? Definitely something to keep in mind for future projects, thanks for the video.
Interesting product, I don’t know whether I would use it for a strain relief job but I will get some for those odd jobs. Cheers Peter Oi, tell us in a coupla months if it’s still worken
I think that if I was to yank hard enough on the cord the bond would let go but it does at least stop excessive flexing and it gives an extra layer of insulation over the wires. I also couldn't stand the look of the exposed wires. It's an Asperger's thing!
Interesting product. I didn't expect it to be that constancy. Bet a guy could get good results just rolling the cord. Plenty of work time to get the desired shape.
Yes, in hindsight I think that you could get quite an acceptable repair doing it that way. I will keep the die though in case I want to make some flexible ferrules from scractch.
Hi Mark, Did you know you can make your own Sugru substitute with Pure Silicone Sealant and Corn flour. If you want it to be coloured you can add a small amount of artists oil paint (linseed). There's a good overview of the process in this instructable - www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/ One of the benefits of the DIY Sugru is that the corn flour acts as a catalyst and it cures right through in a couple of hours. I've used this method a few times now, one use was to make a replacement molded gasket for a pump, This would have otherwise cost a couple of hundred dollars for a complete rebuild kit.
Glenn, That's interesting.... I did check out a video by the inventor of Sugru and she claimed that they used silcone and various fillers, one of which was ground wood fibre (cellulose). I am guessing the binder or cornflour also behaves like a non-newtonian fluid when mixed with the silicone. I will try this since the Sugru is a bit expensive if you need a lot of it, plus it sounds interesting. Getting it to cure in a closed mould would also be a benefit. Thanks for the tip.
This is how you can tell that Festool is overpriced. The little details are why I would pay more for a product. Now I am supposed to pay $50 for a replacement plug? What a pile of crap. Someone borrowed my Festool sander (for the last time) and didn't even tell me she had ruined the plug. So when I went to use it, I couldn't. Then I find Festool has fucked me by making crap that can't be repaired like a normal plug. Screwed twice with one tool. Mine has the connection inside pulled apart so I'll have to cut it open to see if I can fix it for the little job I need to do this morning.
Yes, I feel your pain. The whole plug it technology is OK if you own dozens of Festool products but who can afford that? Certainly not hobbyists. Not me, anyway. Regards, Mark
That is true, I could have done it with a bit of solder and insulation tape but I was interested in working with the Sugru. Often I will approach a project in what seems like an overcomplicated way but the aim is always to learn a new process or to work with an unfamiliar material. For what it's worth, that plug is still intact and the wires are now protected and it looks neat. Regards, Mark
Yes, I totally agree that yours is the easier option however I wanted to learn about using Sugru as a repair agent and I feel like it should be possible to resuse or repair something without chucking it into landfill.
That's true but I have plenty of time on my hands (being retired) and I really wanted to play around with Sugru just to get a feel for how it behaves. For what it's worth the material has retained it's flexibility and it is still in good condition. Regards, Mark
I watched it just to find out what a 'Festo Plug It' was. Always interesting to learn about new products and let someone else do the mucking about to get them to work - thanks for making this video.
you can separate the green part by prizing it open and repair the lead .....simple...
Gary, I tried that. The connectors seem to be a one piece moulding. At the end of the day it was more about investigating the use of Sugru as a candidate for making flexible repair parts. I know it seems a long winded and complicated repair but sometimes it's more about satisfying my curiosity with new materials.
Regards,
Mark
Amazing! I love the effort you went to here regardless of time or cost! Refreshing to see 👍🏻
Chris, I know it seems like a long winded way to fix a simple problem (electrical tape would have done the job) but I see it as a chance to try out a material which I might want to use again at some point for a more serious job.
Regards,
Mark
Thank you for sharing Mr P. Always a pleasure to learn something new from you.
Thanks Yves. Just a few weeks now until we are in Canada. I've got my ticket to the Ottawa Maker Faire! We are hoping to see some nice fall colours. There's not much like that where we live (subtropical Queensland).
very nice vid !!! real world fix up !!! thumbs up for style and concept !!! well done
I wonder if you drilled radial holes in the mold, if the stuff in the middle would have cured. The holes would have allows excess to extrude out.
The whole curing thing was totally unexpected. I just assumed that once it got started it would continue right through the whole part. Maybe if you gave it enough time it would eventually cure all the way through. I suspect that the molecular cross linking is accelerated by air contact but who knows?
It's probably like a single part urethane, requires moisture to cure. Cyanoacrylate also requires moisture to cure. From their PDF: RTV One-Part Moisture Curing Silicone Elastomer, so yeah, it requires moisture exposure to cure.
More info: Approximately 24 hour cure for the first 3 mm of depth at room
temperature. eg. 3 mm cures
~
24 hours, 5.5 mm cures
~
48 hours,
8 mm cures
~
72 hours. (Cure time is influenced by; area which is
exposed to atmosphere, temperature and humidity)
Well, here's the PDF: sugru.com/pdfs/tds.pdf Apparently this stuff is known by Formerol F.10 and someone made up a catchy name Sugru to market it.
That looks suspiciously like one of the standard IEC plugs but with a weird locking mechanism, can it be replaced with the cheap plug?
Check out this video ruclips.net/video/WquQYdwcr74/видео.html
I still want to do this to all my power tools. I was able to source the plugs on Ebay.
It's hard to say for sure without a better look at where the cable enters, but based on the collapsed end of the strain relief sleeve, it looks to me like the jacket has shrunk back (in my experience it often happens with low-grade cable and where there is not enough cable jacket inside the sleeve). I reckon it potentially could have been fixed by gently stretching the outer insulation along the entire length of the cable, and working the end back inside the sleeve, maybe adding some CA if needed.
Damn! I hadn't thought of that. Probably putting the whole thing in a low oven would make it more "stretchy" Still, at least I now know how Sugru works.
A low oven? too hard... an hour on the back seat of the car in Summer on the other hand... though that's probably what happened to the cable in the first place :) The Sugru tutorial was definitely useful to the viewers in any event. Greetings and best wishes from (nearly) sunny Adelaide, Mr Preso.
Hello, I have never heard of "Festo" tools nor have I seen that product that you used to repair the exposed cord.
So, the obvious question is,......'where d'you get it?!
I am in rural NSW
Peter, I was able to buy the Sugru on Ebay. www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sugru-Mouldable-Glue-It-turns-into-rubber-3-Pack-White/262506467260 I have never seen it in Bunnings although they were listed as a stockist at one point.
Hello Mark, thank you for the information.
I will check Bunnings next time I go or order online if they don't have it.
Hi! As an owner of a couple Festools and user of Sugru, I congratulate you on the fix. I liked your project of making a mold and a clamping jig. Kudos on the work but it might not be totally necessary to make a mold.
You might want to try molding the Sugru with your fingers only without having to make a clamping mold. Lots of time, I shape Sugru with my fingers and smooth the outside using soapy water. Daniel
Nice project. I think it was well worth the effort even though it didn't fill in all around. But you also learned for next time. I actually did something similar using 1/2" aluminum blocks to make a jig head mold for fishing. Same pinned technique and two piece mold setup. Thumbs Up.
Thanks, I had not heard of Sugru before. I looked at the US web site. They are calling it moldable glue. I will get some to have on hand for the future.
I would not have spent the time on the die. The result looks good.
Proprietary connections are good until something breaks, then they are frustrating.
Dave.
Dave, One of the reasons I used the Sugru was just to check out how it behaved. I had read about it before and it seemed to be the ideal candidate for this job.
hello Mark, That Sugru is an interesting product! I am wondering with your hands on experience (pardon the pun) if you think it may be fluid enough that by making a piston arrangement that it could be injected into the mold?
Just curious as to your thoughts Mark, thanks for an interesting video. John, Australia.
Oh i see and totally agree. Mine was a loose connection and if i jiggled the cable about at the plug i would then get power so it was clearly an easy fix which Festool don’t want to make possible.
Cant use rubber that needs air to set in a closed mould. But you can get other types that use platinum catalyst, they dont need air.
Memo to all US and European viewers:
Please note Mark's Dawn 100L vise. The Metric version of the 4L. An Australian icon. The Brits will say it's a knock-off of a Record. Yeah, it is. But it's the best knock-off you'll ever see in these days of Asian rubbish. Can be had for $20 used on eBay. In bigger versions, like their 6" / 150mm offset models, they offered SuperGrade " SG " models, which were guaranteed unbreakable, and I have one that shows they were indeed, unbreakable.
So you blokes out there who have a Wilton Bullet, a Charles Parker, a Rock Island, an Erie, or a Columbian, which I do not doubt are great vises, take note of what else is available on this side of the world.
Yeah Festool... I have one and that plug keeps falling out. I'm going to glue it, or pin it, or just wrap it in tape, unexpected nuisance. Not all that impressive a tool, I reach for my HF sander as often as the Festool.
Since the stuff apparently needs moisture to cure, I wonder if it would have cure more evenly if you had sprayed a little water in the mold before clamping.
I probably would have cut the plug off the other end, pulled on and heated successive layers of shrink tube, perhaps with stiffeners, then added an aftermarket plug.
Chimera, I have always found Festool stuff to be a bit of a prima donna. That particular sander was one that we used at the secondary school where I used to teach. The kids were pretty tough on tools and the Festool stuff didn't really stand up to the abuse. We stopped buying Festool because we could buy two Makita sanders for the price of one Festool. The Makita tools usually outlasted the more expensive ones easily. Having said that I recently purchased a Festool Rotex sander to sand my verandah deck. It coped with what was a very difficult job easily. It cost an eye watering $1100 but I believe it is one of the most powerful random orbit sanders on the market. It did do a good job.
Regards,
Mark Presling
@@Preso58 Eye watering indeed.
I've got this awesome Fein random orbiter (MSF 636-1) that I picked up from Woodcraft at half price when they stopped carrying Fein some time ago (I think they may be stocking them again, although I now avoid paying their premium prices so I don't visit very often) It's a beast, I'd put it up against anything Festool or other makes can throw at it.
I wrap breaks like that with self vulcanising rubber tape. After a few hours it becomes one solid lump of rubber. But that would be a really short video.
I tried that but the tape must have been old and it failed to bond to itself. For a while I thought I was on a winner but at the end of the day I guess I just wanted to play with Sugru. I'd never used it before and it seemed like fun to try.
You know that the tape has to be stretched to several times its length as you wrap to activate?
That is solved in three minutes with self-vulcanizing tape. all the time and tools you used came out more expensive than buying a new one. And who has a lathe at home?
Thanks for the feedback. I did actually try self vulcanising tape and it sort of worked but I find it always unravels slightly at the free end. I am one of those sick individuals who likes to try unorthodox approaches to simple problems. I had never used sugru before and it seemed like a fitting project to try it out. As it happens, the repair has held up to normal shop use. It looks good and it does the job of strain relief on the mains wiring where it enters the handle of the sander. I know it's not a repair for everyone. It might however give someone and idea for a completely unrelated repair. As for the cost, I only had to purchase the sugru. Everything else was just lying around in my shop. I actually priced a replacement Festool cord and the price here in Australia was outrageous.
Regards,
Preso
Really cool idea
Mark I'm probably telling you something you already know of. But heat shrink with the glue built inside of it would have worked great. I've done it several times. So far I have never had it to fail on me. However I'm not familiar with the product your using but it also looks like it will work for you. Thanks for the time and videos you put out. They are very helpful.
I did think about cutting off the male three pin plug and running heat shrink all the way up the cord but then I would be left with having to fit another three pin plug. I have read about that heat shrink with the hot melt glue inside. I guy (Arnold's Designs) did a YT video on how to make a submersible heater using the same product.
It's commonly referred to as "adhesive lined" heat shrink
Now I know what a festo is, who says you are to old to learn something new ? Ha Ha , nice repair , I wonder if it would work for a new tip on a mechanical tachometer ? Definitely something to keep in mind for future projects, thanks for the video.
Sugru would be perfect for making the new tip on a tachometer. It really does feel like commercially made rubber.
Interesting product, I don’t know whether I would use it for a strain relief job but I will get some for those odd jobs. Cheers Peter
Oi, tell us in a coupla months if it’s still worken
I think that if I was to yank hard enough on the cord the bond would let go but it does at least stop excessive flexing and it gives an extra layer of insulation over the wires. I also couldn't stand the look of the exposed wires. It's an Asperger's thing!
Good thinking on your electric cord repair it's happened many times to me next time it will be your way.
Interesting product. I didn't expect it to be that constancy. Bet a guy could get good results just rolling the cord. Plenty of work time to get the desired shape.
Yes, in hindsight I think that you could get quite an acceptable repair doing it that way. I will keep the die though in case I want to make some flexible ferrules from scractch.
Plugit is the weak spot on any festool.
That and the extractor tops.
Super easy way to fix a power cord....
Many Festool buyers are also the fortunate owners of perfectly valid certificates of ownership of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Hi Mark, Did you know you can make your own Sugru substitute with Pure Silicone Sealant and Corn flour. If you want it to be coloured you can add a small amount of artists oil paint (linseed). There's a good overview of the process in this instructable - www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/ One of the benefits of the DIY Sugru is that the corn flour acts as a catalyst and it cures right through in a couple of hours. I've used this method a few times now, one use was to make a replacement molded gasket for a pump, This would have otherwise cost a couple of hundred dollars for a complete rebuild kit.
Glenn, That's interesting.... I did check out a video by the inventor of Sugru and she claimed that they used silcone and various fillers, one of which was ground wood fibre (cellulose). I am guessing the binder or cornflour also behaves like a non-newtonian fluid when mixed with the silicone. I will try this since the Sugru is a bit expensive if you need a lot of it, plus it sounds interesting. Getting it to cure in a closed mould would also be a benefit. Thanks for the tip.
This is how you can tell that Festool is overpriced. The little details are why I would pay more for a product. Now I am supposed to pay $50 for a replacement plug? What a pile of crap. Someone borrowed my Festool sander (for the last time) and didn't even tell me she had ruined the plug. So when I went to use it, I couldn't. Then I find Festool has fucked me by making crap that can't be repaired like a normal plug. Screwed twice with one tool. Mine has the connection inside pulled apart so I'll have to cut it open to see if I can fix it for the little job I need to do this morning.
Yes, I feel your pain. The whole plug it technology is OK if you own dozens of Festool products but who can afford that? Certainly not hobbyists. Not me, anyway.
Regards,
Mark
Stupid reason. 1) disassembly plug (little bit of power) 2) cut wire and shorted cable 3) weld cores + isolation 4)assembly and use. 30min. zero money.
That is true, I could have done it with a bit of solder and insulation tape but I was interested in working with the Sugru. Often I will approach a project in what seems like an overcomplicated way but the aim is always to learn a new process or to work with an unfamiliar material. For what it's worth, that plug is still intact and the wires are now protected and it looks neat.
Regards,
Mark
I bought a new cable/plug from ebay for £25 dam sight easier that this option
Yes, I totally agree that yours is the easier option however I wanted to learn about using Sugru as a repair agent and I feel like it should be possible to resuse or repair something without chucking it into landfill.
A 9 hour project for an electric cord...
That's true but I have plenty of time on my hands (being retired) and I really wanted to play around with Sugru just to get a feel for how it behaves. For what it's worth the material has retained it's flexibility and it is still in good condition.
Regards,
Mark