Acrylic 101!!!!!

[Troylee]

please ask your questions i will help much as possible...
first off plexiglass and acrylic are both the same thing.. polycarbonate "lexan" is a different substrate that can not be used for anything in this hobby it does not glue/weld/ bond at all and will not hold water at all..besides being very flimsy...
#1 cast vs. extruded....
when building any pressure vessel ie:tank, sump etc.
i would recommend a good high quality cast such as "acrylite gp." "plexiglass g" "spartec polycast"...
there is numerous cast materials including different kinds of cast such as contionius cast etc. you wanna stick with the 3 mentioned...

extruded i would not recomemnd for anything in this hobby althou most use it and some get away with it some don't..brand names for example" optix", plexiglass "mc" or acrylite "ff"..
reasons not to use it...
extruded does not bond as well with solvent's/ glues it breaks down extremely fast and creates weaker joints than your cast..again it will work but not recomended, it bows alot more than cast being it is a weaker material, both cast and extruded both absorb water,extruded 1.3% cast 1%...
what looks good without bowing on intial fill has a good chance of becoming unsightly a month or so down the road...

choosing a material thickness...
heigth plays a major factor but it is not the only contributer in determining a thickness..
lxwxh... this is what you need to know... there is nothing really set in stone on what thickness to use, the calculators you see online will get you close the rest comes with exp. feel free to ask i will help...

solvents..
mc-bond
weldon #3, #4
all work great i perfer weldon4 but all work well..
the difference in 3 and 4 is curing or setting time...#3 dries very fast good for smaller projects it has about a 30second working time where #4 gives you 45seconds to a min. depending on outside temps and humidity..
same with mcbond it has a slower working time than #3..
weldon16 a thicker glue body fills gaps and voids but is very unsightly shrinks back 30% and leaves thousands of bubbles "very ugly" but it works in a pinch..
weldon 40/42 both good high quality glues 40 and 42 is the same thing but 42 uses a dispenser gun and a static mixing tip... weld on 40/42 is a 2 part system acrylic monomer and a hardner, similiar to fiberglass resin...

list of tools, pics, methods of gluing, etc. coming soon....
this is gonna be a long thread.. tons of pics and more info coming, this will get you started..

 

[Troylee]

ok here is the glue / solvents..

weldon40.. 2 part system..

weldon42.. 2 part system with mixing gun.. very expensive but here it is..

and the applicator bottle i use for solvents.. hypo-25 green tipped..

 

[Troylee]

ok tools.....
a table saw is always nice
what blades to use??? i perfer armana tool non ferrous triple chip 80tooth blades little pricey but the best imo...go cheap on the tools and it creates more labor for ya..

a router is a must!!!!!i perfer porter cable like a 690lr which is 1-3/4 horse power...will do ya just fine unless you get up over 1" thick acrylic...
router bits... i use armana triple flute flush cut 1/2"shank and also whiteside rft5125 spiral upcut bits..expensive but last along time..
router table is also a must have...making one is better than anything you can buy..."im gonna show you how it's real simple...

a jig saw or band saw is always nice to but not really necessary...
for aq jig saw i use bosch with bosch blades...blade numbers t101a0 and t101d for thick stuff both cut very nice and like butter....

a jointer is also a good thing to use if you have it if not a router is fine...."need perfect edges for solvent welding" thats later...

polishing..
a drill motor with a buffing pad works well for scratches and minor imperfections..
micromesh this is about the best stuff out there for polishing acrylic Model: 3KLDKD is a good kit it also is availible in a da. sander kit..
rainbow kits will also get the job done...
polishes..novus 1, 2, 3 are excellent to use with the first method im gonna show or a drill motor with a polishing pad....
micro mesh, and rainbow kits come complete with polish..
FLAME POLISHING IS NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!!
this rapidly heats the material weaking it and causes premature failure also causes crazing and un-glueable edges..

 

[Troylee]

this is about as simple as it gets, and yet better than any table you can buy!!!
first pick a table, any table...i built mine lol.. its a 4ftx4ft table..
second get a extra router base and mount underneath it with counter sunk screws on top..and your done..:smile:
there is not a better one money can buy!!!
mine is a little more fancy i put a switch box on it so i don't have reach all the way under it to turn the router off and on..
pretty simple just get a 4x4 elec. box with a switchplate/outlet cover wire it up with a extension cord..this will mount to the table permanatly and i added a little peg off to wrap the cord and some casters so i can move it around easily..
this table will allow you to route anything from templates to straight edges just anything long and straight as a fence with a couple clamps on it. ....:smile:now were ready for those wooden stand,canopy and acrylic jobs...
enjoy!!!!

 

[Troylee]

Plenty more to come.... Gotta get back to work now lol...

 

[swannyson7]

Troylee- Can you explain what the "pin method" is? I've heard it mentioned a few times, but I have no idea what it is.

 

[youngtimothy]

nice thread, I have used lexan and bonded it together with weld on 16 and it held water hope it dont give out! it was 1/2 thick. I cut all my acrylic with a band saw then I use a mill but that is what I have available!

 

[Troylee]

Troylee- Can you explain what the "pin method" is? I've heard it mentioned a few times, but I have no idea what it is.

Will do... I take my lunch at 10:30 so I'll try to knock it out then.. Lol
It's pretty simple I just gotta dig through my huge photobucket album and find the
Pics..

 

[dougers31]

This is awesome! Thanks for taking the time to post this. Looking forward to seeing how to put(clamp) a tank together.... Also, what would you recommend to glue extruded acrylic rods to live/reefsaver rock??

 

[Troylee]

This is awesome! Thanks for taking the time to post this. Looking forward to seeing how to put(clamp) a tank together.... Also, what would you recommend to glue extruded acrylic rods to live/reefsaver rock??

you could try putty such as aquamend or jb water weld etc... what i have always done is drill the rock and feed the acrylic rod through the holes to hold the pile stacked up real nice... i did a sweet one when i had my solana i loved it....

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

My hero!! Thank you Thank you Thank you for doing this Troy! I'm glad you're sharing the secrets of your mad skills

 

[chris goetz]

Can you please talk more about which specific router bits you use for a specific application and why?

Thanks Troy,
Chris

 

[Captain Nemo]

WOW!!! Aweomse info Troy!! I knew you were a DIY'r but wow! Keep this good stuff coming.......

 

[Wy Renegade]

Nice thread Lee, couple questions for you . . .

Can you use a fine toothed carbide tip blade to cut the acrylic on a table saw?

Where can you find the weldon to purchase?

 

[raymond]

wow thats a great lesson, i dont even need a new sump, but im on my way to get supplies just to see if i can make one lol

 

[youngtimothy]

I bought my weldon on line, just do a search you will find a few places! I must say this is a great post! STICKY!

 

[Troylee]

thanks guys i tried to sit down earlier and add some to this but the site was down for a few minutes i guess.... im sure when im done with it and we get the diy forum it will be stuck!!!

 

[Troylee]

Nice thread Lee, couple questions for you . . .

Can you use a fine toothed carbide tip blade to cut the acrylic on a table saw?

Where can you find the weldon to purchase?

i use armana or tenryu non ferrous triple chip aluminum blades my self "100 tooth" they seem to give the best cuts and smoothest finishes but regardless you need to route the edges to prepare them for solvent welding... a sawcut will never do!!!!
as for sourcing weldon i would look in the local yellow pages first under plastic manufacturing or plastic suppliers and beat the shipping and hazmat charges associated with it.... same goes for finding or sourcing acrylic always look local first before going online...

 

[Viva'sReef]

Great thread can't wait to see more

 

[litenyaup]

can you explain the weldon 40 2-part?