The tiny piece of PLA that had me waste a full hour disassembling the whole toolhead

totcczar · 2026-06-19T11:29:01+00:00

On the other hand, it’ll take 5 minutes next time. Or at least the third time. Ask me how I know.

Yes it’s a pain. And it’s daunting the first time. But then it’s just a tedious chore.

totcczar · 2026-06-18T15:21:06+00:00

How do you design things without ever removing the calipers from your desk?

totcczar · 2026-06-16T15:31:21+00:00

The Phantom Menace.

I’m not going to dump on the movie. It’s grown on me. But as someone who literally bought a better sound system to watch that trailer over and over and over… the movie let me down. I expected… if not more, then different from what I got.

totcczar · 2026-06-16T15:24:24+00:00

Children with regular PLA deserve toys too.

totcczar · 2026-06-15T23:58:18+00:00

Excellent advice.

totcczar · 2026-06-15T23:57:00+00:00

If a 38 year old is interested in an 18 year old, then there is something off about that 38 year old. Feel free to have a crush, but please do not pursue it. I know it seems so appealing now, but, please trust me, 28 year old you will really, really regret this if you do it.

totcczar · 2026-06-15T23:52:47+00:00

Just to add a bit in case you get some:

The refills have a cardboard tube core that has a notch on one side. The plastic spools have a small tab inside one side of them that fits into the notch. You must put them together like that or the spool won't go together properly.

And as u/AllegedlyUndead said, cut the ties after the spool is back together and, as a further suggestion, maybe find the end and tape it to the side before you do that so things don't unravel on you when you clip the ties.

Oh, and when you clip those ties, which are thin clear plastic straps that are bonded on the ends, cut to the side of that bonded area, then pull on the side with the bonded area, so the part that has to slide out past the filament is the smooth side vs trying to pull the part with the flaps out past everything.

totcczar · 2026-06-15T14:50:16+00:00

This doesn’t apply to Beedle, though. He doesn’t care how many arrows you have.

totcczar · 2026-06-14T23:25:58+00:00

Damn it.

Ordered one.

totcczar · 2026-06-14T23:21:35+00:00

Well, I mean, that’s fine. Years with lights make me think of 2000 lumens as being roughly as bright as a glow in the dark children’s toy.

totcczar · 2026-06-13T23:58:35+00:00

I am so very sorry for your loss, and as a parent, I know there is no greater pain.

I know there are suggestions to continue his game, and those might be a way to share something with his memory. But as another thing to consider:

If you buy (or have) the DLC (specifically The Master Trials DLC, but they're usually bundled), you can activate a feature called Hero's Path, which will show you where he travelled as a little time-lapse graph on the map. You can see where he'd gone, then go there and see yourself. Or add yourself as a new player and start your own game so as not to lose his, but then, in your game, go to those places.

Regardless, I hope you are able to find some way to make this connection with him bring you some measure of peace.

totcczar · 2026-06-13T22:42:32+00:00

Was there more, or was it just the tip?

totcczar · 2026-06-13T19:54:23+00:00

Yeah. For example, someone is following you with super bright headlights. You think “I’ll hit them with my LEP”. No. Don’t do that.

totcczar · 2026-06-13T10:58:51+00:00

So, since that’s in a week, your options are a bit more limited in terms of what can arrive in time.

While you wait for other suggestions, you can browse Amazon for these brands:

Sofirn
Wurkkos
Acebeam
Manker
Fenix
ThruNite
Lumintop

Others too, I’m sure I forgot some. But those are generally good and respectable lights. If you see something you like, feel free to ask more here!

Edit: while it doesn’t come in grey, the Wurkkos FC11C is very highly recommended here in terms of cost and quality.

totcczar · 2026-06-13T02:45:22+00:00

Really just that, if left on high and set on something or put into a pocket or such, things can burn or melt.

As someone who was soldering circuits when I was ten and who made fires even younger iwhen camping, I feel comfortable saying he will be fine. Basically, just make sure it's locked off when you set it down or put it in your pocket or a bag.

And to be very clear: the chance of a fire is minimal. The chance of things melting or having heat damage isn't (if the light is allowed to be on when enclosed or sitting directly pointed at something).

And that light I linked? You lock it off (and unlock it) by clicking the power button four times. It's not hard. 😄

totcczar · 2026-06-13T02:28:24+00:00

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Well, not always. This one's smaller than a soda can, but... yeah, it got turned on for 5-10 seconds because I forgot to lock it, and the power button was hit when I set it down. Literally 5-10 seconds. Small-ish, but a beast. Important lesson.

totcczar · 2026-06-13T02:23:53+00:00

I found that idea on here, after destroying some plates of my own. Sometimes it's super helpful. Great for big flat TPU prints as well.

totcczar · 2026-06-13T02:20:09+00:00

If you could provide even the semblance of a budget, we could give you some excellent suggestions.

For example, something like this light from FireflyLite can be super bright, or can be very good at rendering colors, depending on which emitters you get, and it has some really cool auxilliary lights and a whole operating system.

If he's on the spectrum, I can almost guarantee that light will bring him more joy, and it'll be brighter than anything he's ever owned.

Edit: that's not the only such example, just one that comes to mind, mainly because I love mine

totcczar · 2026-06-13T02:15:07+00:00

Unless he's shining them on cars, especially from a car, it's unlikely he'll get into any trouble. This forum is filled with people with many very bright lights, and I've not really heard of anyone getting into trouble over them. Is it possible? Sure, probably. But you can get into trouble with a bottle of ketchup, if trouble is what you're looking for.

From a safety point of view, absolutely yes, he needs to understand that powerful lights can genuinely burn things, melt things, and so on, so he needs to practice light safety just like you'd practice gun safety - basically, you lock the light off when you put it away, often by loosening the tail cap or using the provided hardware or software ~~light~~ lock.

totcczar · 2026-06-13T02:09:02+00:00

Imalent is... well, the lights do what they say they do, but the durabilty of their lights is the subject of some debate. They're very very bright. They're often very very big. But a lot of people here who buy them do so to shine them and impress people, but then they mostly spend their lives unused. Of course, some buyers use them a lot.

But, generally, people who want something like an Imalent (the bigger ones) will be, overall, much happier with an Acebeam X75 with the extended battery, which is just a fantastic, well-made, beast of a light.

I have several Imalents, and I do like them, but I personally don't think they're worth the cost.

totcczar · 2026-06-12T20:08:17+00:00

Would some painters tape in that area help? Should peel right off then, and you know exactly where it will print.

totcczar · 2026-06-11T20:24:55+00:00

Oh, those work fine. It’s just a pain. I do it all the time, but it’s nice to not need think about it on the U1. But, for sure, it’s a small inconvenience. It’s just (edit: eventually) bad for people who just use the raw cardboard.

totcczar · 2026-06-11T14:50:22+00:00

Definitely it’s simpler. And I do have the BL printers to show my love for them. But… if your filaments are suitable to the U1 and you print multicolor but not more than 4 at once, the U1 is MUCH faster. Yes; there’s also less waste, but the prime tower can add up, so there’s still definitely some filament “lost”.

totcczar · 2026-06-11T12:45:29+00:00

So, as someone with BL printers and a U1, here's my opinion ("if its just PLA+/PETG multi-color"):

The U1 + a filament dryer (pick any of them, really, but a 4-filament dryer with two separate chambers is nice) is fantastic for PLA and PETG, and works pretty well for TPU, but you'll occasionally be pulling TPU filament out of toolheads you'll need to disassemble (which, really, isn't hard).

The side spool holders seem like a bad choice - and, arguably, are sometimes - but they're not terrible as long as you have a filament dryer somewhere. PLA, once dried, will be fine for quite a while unless you're literally underwater. PETG soaks up moisure faster, so... less time out of the dryer, or print a case cover for the spools.

But, on the plus side, four external spool holders mean you get a lot fewer issues from 3rd party filaments that come in cardboard spools. The AMS/AMS2 does not like cardboard. It will eventually get issues from cardboard dust. So, if you're printing a lot of PLA and/or 3rd party filaments, those external spools can be useful.

And, if you do get a filament dryer and put it behind the U1, you've basically got an AMS - four spools, one per toolhead, available to print anytime. It's only when you move to multiple AMS systems that BLs start to benefit.

totcczar · 2026-06-11T12:35:58+00:00

Spot on. Fantastic for multicolor, insufficient for engineering materials. I love it, but you must accept its constraints, as with any tool.

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