A few Acrylic questions.
I plan to use the TS to cut my Acrylic. Can/should I use a plane to clean up
the edges for gluing? Any better suggestions? BTW, The only plane I have was
last used as a boat anchor on the QEII.
What sort of clamping for butt joints? Plain ol' corner clamp?
I seem to have read that respirators are useless for Methyl Chloride?
How does one store Methyl Chloride? The guy at the plastics shop said that
the can wouldn't last a week once I broke the seal. Would some Teflon tape
on the threads extend this any?
max wrote:
> An easy way to finish the edge of plexi is with a torch. Use an open flame
> near the edge but not too close and it polishes and seals the edge to a
> finished state. We once had to make over 100 little plexi shelves. We were
> sanding for hours when someone showed us this trick.
> max
>
Does this work with ABS?
-Peter De Smidt
"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 20:53:49 -0500, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >I plan to use the TS to cut my Acrylic. Can/should I use a plane to clean
up
> >the edges for gluing?
>
> No. Get a Dreadnought file instead - a rasp with wide, curved teeth.
Looks a lot like an Axe file, but it's hard to tell from the pictures.
> Commonly used for working car body filler. For a really smooth
> finish, go to a coarse metalworking file, then a fine file, then
> silicon carbide paper, then polishing compound.
>
> >What sort of clamping for butt joints? Plain ol' corner clamp?
>
> I rarely clamp, except with my fingers. You should get a reasonably
> fast tack for solvent welding. Normal clamping won't hurt though.
>
> >I seem to have read that respirators are useless for Methyl Chloride?
>
> It's hardly Arsine. Just don't sniff the stuff - unless you're one of
> those delicate Californian flowers who probably think it's instant
> death. Maybe Arnie is afraid of solvent damage to his cogwheels ?
Californian Flower? No, slightly cooler here. But I'm guarding my three
remaining brain cells. :)
> Use sensible ventilation and yes, you can get respirator filters for
> it. You're only solvent welding, so you don't need much. Paint
> stripping will give you far more exposure.
>
> >How does one store Methyl Chloride?
>
> Mine's in a big glass bottle with a plastic anti-breakage wrapper -
> normal lab reagent bottle.
I was considering a mason jar.
> > The guy at the plastics shop said that
> >the can wouldn't last a week once I broke the seal.
>
> Evaporation will tend to do that. Dichlor is a bit infamous for this.
>
> > Would some Teflon tape on the threads extend this any?
>
> Not unless you re-thread the can with a tapered thread. Just try some
> 3M Magic Tape over the outside of the screwcap.
> --
> Smert' spamionam
Thanks for the feedback.
An easy way to finish the edge of plexi is with a torch. Use an open flame
near the edge but not too close and it polishes and seals the edge to a
finished state. We once had to make over 100 little plexi shelves. We were
sanding for hours when someone showed us this trick.
max
> "Bill Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I plan to use the TS to cut my Acrylic.
>
> One thing to be aware of is that unlike some materials, cutting faster
> is usually better than cutting slower with plexi. If you cut too slow,
> the heat builds up, the plastic starts to melt onto the blade, and then
> you've got a real mess.
>
> It's been a long time since I worked with plexi, but when I did, what we
> used to do was have an air hose blowing on the blade to get better
> cooling. It probably wasn't necessary, but it didn't hurt either :-)
Try it, it might. ABS is heat sensitive so it probably will.
max
> max wrote:
>> An easy way to finish the edge of plexi is with a torch. Use an open flame
>> near the edge but not too close and it polishes and seals the edge to a
>> finished state. We once had to make over 100 little plexi shelves. We were
>> sanding for hours when someone showed us this trick.
>> max
>>
> Does this work with ABS?
>
> -Peter De Smidt
"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 20:53:49 -0500, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>I plan to use the TS to cut my Acrylic. Can/should I use a plane to clean
>>up
>>the edges for gluing?
>
> No. Get a Dreadnought file instead - a rasp with wide, curved teeth.
> Commonly used for working car body filler. For a really smooth
> finish, go to a coarse metalworking file, then a fine file, then
> silicon carbide paper, then polishing compound.
a scraper can get a really good flat and almost polished edge. use a flame
to get a polished edge.
>>What sort of clamping for butt joints? Plain ol' corner clamp?
>
> I rarely clamp, except with my fingers. You should get a reasonably
> fast tack for solvent welding. Normal clamping won't hurt though.
>
>>I seem to have read that respirators are useless for Methyl Chloride?
>
> It's hardly Arsine. Just don't sniff the stuff - unless you're one of
> those delicate Californian flowers who probably think it's instant
> death. Maybe Arnie is afraid of solvent damage to his cogwheels ?
>
> Use sensible ventilation and yes, you can get respirator filters for
> it. You're only solvent welding, so you don't need much. Paint
> stripping will give you far more exposure.
>
>>How does one store Methyl Chloride?
>
> Mine's in a big glass bottle with a plastic anti-breakage wrapper -
> normal lab reagent bottle.
>
>> The guy at the plastics shop said that
>>the can wouldn't last a week once I broke the seal.
>
> Evaporation will tend to do that. Dichlor is a bit infamous for this.
>
>> Would some Teflon tape on the threads extend this any?
>
> Not unless you re-thread the can with a tapered thread. Just try some
> 3M Magic Tape over the outside of the screwcap.
> --
> Smert' spamionam
On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 20:53:49 -0500, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I plan to use the TS to cut my Acrylic. Can/should I use a plane to clean up
>the edges for gluing?
No. Get a Dreadnought file instead - a rasp with wide, curved teeth.
Commonly used for working car body filler. For a really smooth
finish, go to a coarse metalworking file, then a fine file, then
silicon carbide paper, then polishing compound.
>What sort of clamping for butt joints? Plain ol' corner clamp?
I rarely clamp, except with my fingers. You should get a reasonably
fast tack for solvent welding. Normal clamping won't hurt though.
>I seem to have read that respirators are useless for Methyl Chloride?
It's hardly Arsine. Just don't sniff the stuff - unless you're one of
those delicate Californian flowers who probably think it's instant
death. Maybe Arnie is afraid of solvent damage to his cogwheels ?
Use sensible ventilation and yes, you can get respirator filters for
it. You're only solvent welding, so you don't need much. Paint
stripping will give you far more exposure.
>How does one store Methyl Chloride?
Mine's in a big glass bottle with a plastic anti-breakage wrapper -
normal lab reagent bottle.
> The guy at the plastics shop said that
>the can wouldn't last a week once I broke the seal.
Evaporation will tend to do that. Dichlor is a bit infamous for this.
> Would some Teflon tape on the threads extend this any?
Not unless you re-thread the can with a tapered thread. Just try some
3M Magic Tape over the outside of the screwcap.
--
Smert' spamionam
"Bill Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I plan to use the TS to cut my Acrylic.
One thing to be aware of is that unlike some materials, cutting faster
is usually better than cutting slower with plexi. If you cut too slow,
the heat builds up, the plastic starts to melt onto the blade, and then
you've got a real mess.
It's been a long time since I worked with plexi, but when I did, what we
used to do was have an air hose blowing on the blade to get better
cooling. It probably wasn't necessary, but it didn't hurt either :-)