The PEST project - completed.

Coming from Oregon I have to express my disappointment when I realized it does not throw shell-less mollusks -- now _that_ would be a worthy invention!

#How well does it work with ball bearings?

The mechanism is currently made of mild steel and firing steel balls results in severe erosion. The edges of the track will loook 'smeared' and rounded after firing the bearings (thats a lot of force!). It needs to be made of hardened steel for ball bearings to work well.

That will only be true if the balls aren't smacking into the rails with enough force to punch through the film strength of the oil. In this case they're probably hitting hard enough to deform aluminum directly, I'd guess.

But yes, steel on aluminum makes a decent bearing with the right lubrication -- take the Cox 0.049 engines as an example.

Depends on the load, hardness of the AL and lubrication. I'd suspect that the impact would peen the AL badly.

They used to get in under the crack of my back door into the kitchen at night. You haven't fully experienced life's lowest ebb until you have stepped barefoot on a cold slimy slug in the dark at 3 in the morning.

Bob

Unfortunately, aluminum balls are rather expensive. The track and rotor were brushed with Dri-Slide (a graphite and moly based lube).

I live in Central Oregon and NO slugs. Came from Issaquah, WA in 1998 and the daily record for shooting slugs with carb cleaner was about

I was also very disappointed to learn it was not a slug tossing machine, but a slug tossing mchine.

Paul

Sorry, once again someone west of the Cascades has forgotten about the rest of Oregon.

How well does it work with ball bearings?

Gunner, going to check the link

Confronting Liberals with the facts of reality is very much akin to clubbing baby seals. It gets boring after a while, but because Liberals are so stupid it is easy work." Steven M. Barry

hehe. We *do* have a number of them!

We also have some with tiny shells on tacked like a bit of rock on the tip of their tails. I've seen them, pale white albino-looking that live under rocks and actually feed on worms. These are _NOT_ snails, by the way. I had quite an argument with one of the professors at Portland State about what I was looking at, until I brought in a box of them for him to take a look at -- he insisted that they were snails until he saw them for himself. Then dead quiet while he looked. He then referred me to another professor in Arizona who specialized in such things and I finally got the information then that these were very rare, but already-known slugs which do eat worms.

We called them "slug monsters" because these would be the monsters that worm mothers would tell their kids about, if they weren't being nice.

Jon

I read in sci.electronics.design that Jonathan Kirwan wrote (in ) about 'The PEST project - completed.', on Tue, 11 Oct 2005:

In Britain, we have very large yellow ones that have vestigial shells. I use to walk along a path after dark, where they were wall-to-wall if it was, or had been, raining. Like treading on squishy ice. Yeuk!

I read in sci.electronics.design that pest3125 wrote (in ) about 'The PEST project - completed.', on Tue, 11 Oct 2005:

Try aluminium with a smear of oil. It's a little-known fact that Al/hard steel is a non-wearing combination. See Austin 7 crankshaft main bearings. Ball and roller races directly inserted in an Al casting(;-)

What about Al balls on a steel track and a film forming lube - MoS2?

Ted

What's west of the Cascades? ;)

Jon

P.S. Yeah, pumice is kind of hard on slugs.

^^^^

Sorry, I meant _east_!!

Fine! But ... and ... ummm ... ah yes ... no ... or ... gotit ... errr ... OK, the slugs are out of your garden, and then?

Nick

I read in sci.electronics.design that Bob Stephens wrote (in ) about 'The PEST project - completed.', on Tue, 11 Oct 2005:

They're trying to raid the fridge. Put a saucer of beer outside for them. They won't bother to come inside.

To be really gross, put a teaspoonful of salt on one. Honey, I shrunk the slug!

And Aluminum balls wont go fast enough for any decent range. When you can get it to penetrate a 2x4 at 50 yrds..............................

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the s*it out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

The Wet Coast.

Ted