Would using a raft solve my problem? I'm going to try a couple gears using rafts. I'll let you know what my results are.

A raft would not solve your problem, as it has been said they are very hard to remove as they do bond to your bottom layer. They also leave very visible marks on the bottom where it was in contact at. All a raft is, is an initial layer that is laid down which has very wide and thick lines with about a 1mm space between each line. The main purpose is to compensate for an unlevel bed, misshaped bed such as one with a ship in it or bubbles under the tape if used. It is also used to help with very small foot print parts to get better adhesion to the bed.

The better alternative to raft is using a brim if the software allows it. A brim is usually about a 5mm wide single layer that is added to the perimeter of the first layer. This helps with adhesion and is easily removed.

Your issue again however is not adhesion. but the distance your nozzle is form the bed. It need to be about .15mm and that should give you a bottom layer that might be just a hair larger than your next layer but again this normal and is easily sanded or trimmed with a hobby knife. I usually just give it a few passes with a fine sanding block.

Rafts are tough to clean off. Your problem is your "offset" height as stated above. This is the distance from your nozzle to the glass bed on the first layer. So, what you need to do is calibrate your printer so the nozzle is just a tad further from the bed.

Do a quick search for bed calibration on this forum for more info.

There is actually a sticky for the manual method at the top of this section..

Do a quick search for bed calibration on this forum for more info.

I printed the planetary gear from youtube video (nerdgasim guy) I noticed that the first layer or so was wider then the rest of the gear. It seems as though most of what I print has a thicker/wider dimension on first layer. Ounce you get past the first layer things print at right dimension. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to correct this.

Thanks

This is not an error. The bottom layer should be squished compared to the rest. This assures that it sticks to the bed properly. Now how much it is squished is controlled by your bed calibration. Ideally it should be about half of your desired print layer. Usually around .15 to .10mm is perfect for all thicknesses except .10. Then you would need to use .05 as your bed height. I guess you could use .05 all the time but it puts stress on your extruder motor trying to push out higher volumes for thicker lines under more pressure due to the closeness of the nozzle to the bed.

Thanks