this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2023
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Do It Yourself

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Make it, Fix it, Renovate it, Rehabilitate it - as long as you’ve done some part of it yourself, share!

Especially for gardening related or specific do-it-yourself projects, see also the Nature and Gardening community. For more creative-minded projects, see also the Creative community.


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While refinishing wood windows I needed to replace some valance clips - some were missing completely, others I broke while removing or reinstalling the valance. 3D printer to the rescue!

There are a couple clip designs on printables.com, it's great being able to manufacture my own replacement parts!

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[–] orbit 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Its things like this that make me want a 3d printer. I've currently got a broken valance that just barely holds the top cover and it drives me nuts. I'm just to proud to go and buy a $4 bag of replacements :p

[–] spicymayo@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's the main reason I bought one. There are so many obscure plastic parts/hardware that are hard to find or stupidly expensive. Pretty easy to create replacements in your CAD program of choice or find a free design on printables or thingiverse.

[–] orbit 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So as a complete layman I'm interested in the cost to get into it. Like if you had to estimate the initial upfront investment how much would you say it is?

[–] spicymayo@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

You can get a basic Ender 3 printer for around $100 if you look for deals (Microcenter has a coupon if they have a store near you, or look for used). After that it's just purchasing filament which is $15-$30 per spool depending on the type and quality. Typically a 1kg spool has about 300 meters of filament. PLA filament is typically the cheapest and most beginner friendly. It works for most things but will sag/deform in hot environments (car interiors, direct sun, etc.).