Leaking Heaters...

My current heater was working very well extruding PLA at 230C, which seems a little high but the parts are coming out nicely.  It had started leaking like many of the others I have seen with PTFE insulators.

Then it finally plugged up...  I tried cleaning it out without disassembling it, but this did not work.
I then disassembled the hotend to find the plug and remove it.  During this I discovered that the wood retainer I had been using was starting to char away.

So I began work on a new design that I had been thinking about for a while.  This is based on the BfB hotend that many people like but can be built with only a drill press, hacksaw, rotary tool (Dremel), and belt sander (I plan to post directions soon).

I also found an excellent source for bootlace ferrules.

You can buy these at craft stores in the jewelery section.  They are designed for crimping necklace cords and this bag cost $2.99.

So far I have done hand push tests and can easily push filament at 165°C.

Now I have to change out my x carriage for  larger one (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3594, which I already printed before my failure).