This weekend I worked on the control panel for the mill and lathe. The challenge has been to find a 3 pole, 3 throw switch (tptt). Initially I was looking for a simple disconnect, but I had no luck finding such an animal, concluding that a selector switch was my only option. Not being too familiar with controls, it has been learning experience for sure. Most of the web sites I found offered catalog descriptions and were not helpful in describing applications. My other problem was a constant in all my little projects: limited willingness to part with money. This drove me to the very lair of the enemy: Mendelson's Surplus. I mention them by name now (formerly I refrained) because they managed to piss me off again. A surly attitude from one of the elves who apparently has been knighted within the organization--or whatever elves do to elevate their status--had me steaming as I left the building. I have sworn them off before and gone many years without darkening their door, but the gravitational pull is hard to resist; sometimes I can feel it tugging at me from my shop--like when I'm in a quandary about how to make something work without spending too much money on new parts, not knowing if they will serve my intentions. The issue this time relates to the outrageous pricing. After spending literally hours sorting through piles of junk that has sat in heaps for decades, I tried to get a price quote from the elf, who decided to do an online search to find the retail price.
I mentioned that I had bought a similar item from them last week for $7.50 (a switch that I disassembled and probably would have worked had I not lost patience trying to fit all the little springs and cams back together after locating them from the various corners of the shop where they ultimately landed after bouncing around like ricochets in a cowboy movie), and that I wasn't particularly interested in the retail price of this ancient switch. Having invested my own time in finding it, and realizing that I may be the only person the universe who could actually find a use for it and who was willing to look for it, I felt that about $10.00 was fair. Well, you would think that I had just insulted his mother. He mentioned that he didn't know what it was worth, but he was sure it was worth more than $10.00. I explained that it was only worth as much as someone was willing to pay for it, and that I was willing to pay $10.00. I asked if he would rather have $10.00, or a useless switch buried on a shelf for another decade. He replied that he would just put it back on the shelf "because I can". I resisted the urge to just walk away (as a younger man, I would have let loose a verbal assault intent on making him cry, but I've grown...), because I really needed the switch in order to keep working over the weekend. We settled on $15.00. I mentioned that I had been a customer since the 1980s and had never been treated so poorly. I'm not sure what he said to my back as I was walking away.
So, I got home with the switch and immediately took it apart. This is a nice big switch, so the springs and cams are a manageable size. I gave myself a pretty good headache trying to work out the functions to do what I needed, and re-assembled and dis-assembled the switch a few times before I got it to where I think it will work. It is not ideal--I have a dead position that powers one line and I need a specific cam to open the pole. If I bought another switch, I would have the cam I need, but I don't want to spend another $20 and I don't want to go back to Mendelson's.
I found the manufacturer and a distributor in New Jersey. Turns out, these switches are made for marine shore power and generator switching, which is essentially the function I need. I can probably buy a new switch that does exactly what I need, but I'm guessing that a new switch like this is a $100 item. I did send an e-mail to the distributer inquiring if I could acquire just the cam I need. Waiting on a reply.
I mentioned that I had bought a similar item from them last week for $7.50 (a switch that I disassembled and probably would have worked had I not lost patience trying to fit all the little springs and cams back together after locating them from the various corners of the shop where they ultimately landed after bouncing around like ricochets in a cowboy movie), and that I wasn't particularly interested in the retail price of this ancient switch. Having invested my own time in finding it, and realizing that I may be the only person the universe who could actually find a use for it and who was willing to look for it, I felt that about $10.00 was fair. Well, you would think that I had just insulted his mother. He mentioned that he didn't know what it was worth, but he was sure it was worth more than $10.00. I explained that it was only worth as much as someone was willing to pay for it, and that I was willing to pay $10.00. I asked if he would rather have $10.00, or a useless switch buried on a shelf for another decade. He replied that he would just put it back on the shelf "because I can". I resisted the urge to just walk away (as a younger man, I would have let loose a verbal assault intent on making him cry, but I've grown...), because I really needed the switch in order to keep working over the weekend. We settled on $15.00. I mentioned that I had been a customer since the 1980s and had never been treated so poorly. I'm not sure what he said to my back as I was walking away.
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