Hardened steel pinions

[glassdoctor]

Now I have a question about the gears...

I have a few RCM gears and only one of them was made from a clutch bell, with the more narrow pointy teeth. The others have a tooth shape just like the other gears, such as the (soft) Century ones and Megamotor ones. They don't look much different at all.

I haven't used any of them with steel spurs yet, and would prefer to not have to. But I am curious about how they would do, and if there's a difference between the older clutch-bell gear and the ones RCM has now, which look "normal".

[RC-Monster Mike]

Originally Posted by glassdoctor

Now I have a question about the gears...

I have a few RCM gears and only one of them was made from a clutch bell, with the more narrow pointy teeth. The others have a tooth shape just like the other gears, such as the (soft) Century ones and Megamotor ones. They don't look much different at all.

I haven't used any of them with steel spurs yet, and would prefer to not have to. But I am curious about how they would do, and if there's a difference between the older clutch-bell gear and the ones RCM has now, which look "normal".

Our newest style hardened pinions will likely outlast the steel spur gears - they are super hard and made from premium, high wear resistant steel, then treated to super hardness. I don't want to jinx myself here, but we haven't seen a single failure or worn out pinion in well over 1000 gears sold - I have run them on the Losi steel spur for quite some time and there is barely any visible wear, if any (discoloration at the mesh point, but not wear).

That rusted pinion shown above must have been shelved for a bit to get that rusty - that is a previous version (same as Brian G's), which was heat treated for hardness as well as black oxide coated to minimize rust(black oxide is technically rust anyways) - a little oil as mentioned by others will solve this issue, but I suspect it may have been stored in a somewhat humid, musty or otherwise moist environment - steel rusts, though. Clean it, oil it and run it and you will be fine. :)

[Sammus]

Originally Posted by RC-Monster Mike

That rusted pinion shown above must have been shelved for a bit to get that rusty - that is a previous version (same as Brian G's), which was heat treated for hardness as well as black oxide coated to minimize rust(black oxide is technically rust anyways) - a little oil as mentioned by others will solve this issue, but I suspect it may have been stored in a somewhat humid, musty or otherwise moist environment - steel rusts, though. Clean it, oil it and run it and you will be fine. :)

Than pinion in the photo is one I bought from RCM in my first order just over a month ago (early feb). It has been sitting in my parts box in my house up until a few days ago when I took that photo...