I think key with doing up mowers is to target the ones few others notice but you like. The popularity of these toe cutters has caused a cottage industry to spring up to exploit this. What more proof do you need than the above item. It is pure highway robbery. The dark side to this hobby.
Last edited by Mowerfreak; 02/07/1707:10 AM.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
The seller doesn't claim that they're 'genuine NOS'.
In fact it's much more likely that they're 'aftermarket NOS', as both Bynorm and GA Spares offered repros until fairly recently. Not sure when Victa obsoleted them, but it was likely quite some time back.
Cheers, Gadge
"ODK Mods can explain it to you, but they can't understand it for you..."
"Crazy can be medicated, ignorance can be educated - but there is no cure for stupid..."
I saw these wheels when they were first listed. Seller wanted $800 for them. Who knows, if people wait another 5 years they may actually become affordable.
A word of caution with 3D printing. I got quotes on some Southern Cross plastic caps a while back. The prices ranged from $300 per cap from some guy on the Gold Coast who thought he was the world's top professional, to $20 per cap at the local photocopy place, to damn near FREE from a friend of a friend. Others may also ask for a "vectorizing" fee on the image or part that you supply, when really it takes someone with the right computer skills just a few minutes to vectorize the image. It pays to shop around. The printers are expensive but the plastic is not. I guess some people are just trying to pay off their machines when they charge exorbitant prices. The same applies with decal reproduction. Some people quote as much as $80 for a single sticker or decal, but you can find plenty more that only charge around $6 per sticker or decal, and often the quality is the same or better.
I saw these wheels when they were first listed. Seller wanted $800 for them. Who knows, if people wait another 5 years they may actually become affordable.
A word of caution with 3D printing. I got quotes on some Southern Cross plastic caps a while back. The prices ranged from $300 per cap from some guy on the Gold Coast who thought he was the world's top professional, to $20 per cap at the local photocopy place, to damn near FREE from a friend of a friend. Others may also ask for a "vectorizing" fee on the image or part that you supply, when really it takes someone with the right computer skills just a few minutes to vectorize the image. It pays to shop around. The printers are expensive but the plastic is not. I guess some people are just trying to pay off their machines when they charge exorbitant prices. The same applies with decal reproduction. Some people quote as much as $80 for a single sticker or decal, but you can find plenty more that only charge around $6 per sticker or decal, and often the quality is the same or better.
Yes even the CAD software is expensive. To buy the SolidWorks software costs between $5,000 & $10,000 per year. You don't have to upgrade each year but if you have say a 2010 version and decide you want to upgrade to a 2017 version to be able to open files that were created on the later system, SolidWorks require you to back pay to the first year version!
Then there is the cost of the printers. You can do basic wheels on a $1,000 printer but to do any accurate models with good repeatability you are looking at the $10,000 to $60,000 price range.
I'm only using the $100 per year student version of SolidWorks, which is ok for basic 3D & 2D projects but has a permanent watermark on any drawings and limited functionality. Still it can do a Victa wheel easily! However, I don't have any Victa 18 wheels to get measurements from, nor a 3D printer & no spare time!
The other option is free cloud based CAD software such as Onshape
There are also 3D printer companies that you can send a CAD file to so you don't have to have your own printer.
Hello all Many thanks to all contributors about this conversation. Brilliant work from vint-mow and LRT about 3D printing.
The whole point about 3D printing is to make production of parts cheaper. As Gadge points out, these wheels are likely NOS reproductions.
The technology is in place. We just haven't reached a fair value yet. Silly prices are being asked for these Victa wheels, and even sillier prices for 3D printing services.
Many thanks to LRT for his research on this.
I have a dream ... That restores of lawnmowers may preserve these old machines economically.
I might add - I feel there is no problem with reproduction parts - provided that is recorded as part of the provenance of the particular machine, and they are of an equivalent quality - or better!
Consider the possibilities of Direct Metal Laser Printing. I have no doubt this technology can be applied to plastics.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/uploads/usergals/2017/07/full-7392-34981-2017_07_ebay_victa_wheels.jpg)
be right back .... just gotta go put all mine in a safe !!! 
![[Linked Image]](https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/uploads/usergals/2017/07/full-7392-34982-grinds_gears.jpg)
