Tools for working with acrylic?

JPG@CFI · Feb 13, 2014

Taylor,

I don't use 1/4" but the 3/8" seems high, but the 1/2" is about what I pay, and I buy a bunch of plastic every month. If you have a project in mind, let us know, and I'll tell you what thickness to use. It never hurts to step up the thickness to the next thickness.
The router table sounds good, just seal all the surfaces so the MDF doesn't absorb moisture. I put plastic laminate on top, and put poly on everything. Jason

thejuggernaut · Feb 13, 2014

Yea, I thought the jump from 1/4 to 3/8 was crazy with only a $5 increase to 1/2. I was reading on the woodworking forums and they recommended the Johnson Wax to make it resist water and slide easier. Just had three days off while it was wet, cold and miserable. Now that its 65 an sunny, I have work to do. Did get the new garage door opener put up so I'm good for at least a month of honey do's... lol...Any suggestions for a good dealer in my area. I definitely don't mind picking up, so I'm not too worried about delivery costs.

Regards,
Taylor

Themonsterisme · Feb 14, 2014

Here is some great info for working with acrylic
http://www.glassreef.com/proj_frag_fuge.php

shred5 · Feb 14, 2014

Most of the stuff I see tells you how to do it, but very few show what type of blade or bit you want for each type of application....

Themonsterisme · Feb 14, 2014

shred5 said:
Most of the stuff I see tells you how to do it, but very few show what type of blade or bit you want for each type of application....

Why not ask the person on that page what bits he used? Not too hard to do...just click on the posts at the bottom and type in a question...he might hold your hand and build it for you too lol...seriously though ask him on his page ...he answered all the questions asked pretty quickly

Jlobes · Feb 14, 2014

Read the posts on the first page, plenty of info from jason on blades and bits.

JPG@CFI · Feb 14, 2014

Themonsterisme said:
Here is some great info for working with acrylic
Glass Reef - Projects - Frag Tank and Refugium

Good basic info, but I would not advise a 2 piece top on his frag tank. It will fail at some point, the top panel is the most critical piece. Remember how many dollars worth of fish and coral you plan on keeping in your display? How much is your floor worth. I had buddy smoke 900 sq ft of cherry hardwood a few years ago. He was careless with his plumbing. His wife strangled him, literally! Good luck on your projects, and if something isn't right, fix it before you go on to the next step. In the last 20 years, I have made every mistake there is to make, it is how you fix it that is key. I have never had a tank or sump fail, crack, leak, or craze. I stopped counting at 1200 tanks a good while ago.
Good info here, now lets see some pic's of these projects! Jason

Themonsterisme · Feb 14, 2014

Aside from the 2 piece euro brace it's still a great read on acrylic work to get ideas

thejuggernaut · Feb 14, 2014

Believe me, as soon as I have time you will see a project! lol

KoleTang · Mar 21, 2014

Hey Jason, what do you do for ventilation in the work area when gluing? Any eye protection? Respirator?

I am asking because I have never worked with Weld-On 4, and I reminded myself last night how strong Weld-On P-70 Primer is by once again nearly knocking myself out with the stuff.

JPG@CFI · Mar 22, 2014

Kole,

I have a powerful roof vent that I turn on when doing large glue ups or Weldon 40. I don't bother when bonding small stuff. I mix my own solvent in small batches. I wear eye protection for mixing, but not while bonding. I would say I wear my eyes 95% of the time I'm in the shop. I would also tell you to buy small batches of the weld on #3 or #4. Make sure it is fresh as well. It should have a date on it. They aren't nearly as harsh on the nose as PVC primer! Best of luck, J

thejuggernaut · Mar 22, 2014

So I started building a large router table today. It is going to be two 4x8 3/4" MF boards laminated together to be 1.5" thick. I plan on mounting a bosch 2.25HP router to the bottom. My question is about placement of the router. Should it be in be dead center of the table or 3' from the front with only 1' behind the bit. When cleaning up edges how do you position the fence. Is it Fence - Material - Bit or is it Material with an offset fence flush with bit? Just trying to figure out what would be the best setup. Also plan on making a few shaker style doors with the table also. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Taylor

JPG@CFI · Mar 23, 2014

Taylor,
When I flush trim the overage on a tank/sump, I use a hand held router with a 1/2" spiral down cut double bearing bit. I don't use a router table at all. I do have a flush trimming bit in my triple router table or small parts. For edge prep you can use a split fence with a spiral fluted bit with no bearing. I would make that table about 24"x48" or perhaps a bit bigger, depending on what fence you use. I have an Incra fence, but have not used it for acrylic ever. You must have a bunch more square footage in your shop than I do for planning a 48"x96" router table! If I had an extra 75 sq t, I'd have me a CNC that could do a 5x8 ft piece of plastic! Anyway, post some pic's when your done, Jason

thejuggernaut · Mar 23, 2014

I can cut it down. I just figured the bigger the better. My initial school of thought is that if I put the material between the fence and the blade, I will get an identical size for all the pieces I cut once I clamp down my fence. So regardless of size, you would suggest mounting the router in the middle of the table? Yea, right now I have a two car garage and a 500 sq ft air conditioned addition behind my house (1000 sq ft total) that right now is just junk storage for my entire extended family, but I've started making them take or throw way all of their junk, so I plan on having it cleared out in a little while. Yea a CNC has crossed my mind. I'm pretty well versed in different CAD packages like Inventor and Solidworks. But it would have to be a commercial venture at that point. I'm not going to spend the better part of 10-20k for a machine to build a few DIY acrylic parts! lol

Regards,
Taylor

JPG@CFI · Mar 23, 2014

Taylor,

I see what your thinking, and have heard of it done that way. I personally don't do it that way. The ends of the tank are the parts that need the precision machining on. I think the split fence idea is a better starting point for you. Just set it up to remove only a 32nd. Should be fine. I do the strait edge method right now, and have been doing it that way for more than a few years. It's fast and accurate. My seams are 100%. There is more to it, like your solvent, and maintaining a true 90 degree angle until your solvent does it's job. Also don't be afraid to experiment and see what works best for you. Be sure o show us some pic's! J

thejuggernaut · Mar 23, 2014

I sure will. I guess I'm having trouble visualizing your edge prep setup. Do you have a simple snap shot of it? A picture is literally worth a 1000 words in most cases! When you say straight edge method, you mean you clamp a straight edge to the acrylic and use it as a guide to run the router down by hand? My original plan for work flow was to cut oversized sheets with my table saw then to take a 1/16" to 1/32" off the edges with a router setup with split fence on a 1/32" offset. From reading on the very large thread on RC and from your input I need a 1/2" spiral downcut (away from bearing) bit for flush cutting, and a 1.5" double fluted straight bit for edge prep to get optimal finish on the edges to be bonded. It rained all day today so I didn't get much more work on the table today. Having a 3 month old doesn't lend itself to having a lot of spare time or money either!

Regards,
Taylor

JPG@CFI · Mar 23, 2014

When you say straight edge method, you mean you clamp a straight edge to the acrylic and use it as a guide to run the router down by hand?!

Taylor,
Basically, yes. I won't post a picture, too top secret. It's the end result that is important, anyway. Down cut is always towards the bearing. Up cut is towards the router, and is best for router table use. The split fence will work, and the method I use works, just need to find a way o get the end result, which is glass smooth, and strait machined edges. Solid carbide, spiral fluted cutters are the way. Best of luck, J

thejuggernaut · Mar 11, 2015

Ok, so after awhile of waiting I finally went to my local plastics guy and got a sheet of clear and a sheet of black to make an overflow kit and a ATS. I machined a few pieces of scrap using the method described above. I used my homemade router table with a solid carbide 2 flute straight bit to clean up the edges and my first attempt went really well. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get the outer box built for my overflow.

Acrylic Snow!

I used 24 gauge steel wire for hanging picture frames as my spacers and a 22 gauge squeeze applicator from Craftics to apply the weld-on 4.

Final seam looks great!

thejuggernaut · Mar 11, 2015

I do CAD work in Solidworks at work, so I made out my overflow in CAD before building. Here is what it is going to look like if I can build worth a darn. The front box will be black. The two bulkheads connecting the two boxes are 2" and the three drain bulkheads will be 1.5"