Working with arcylic

[fishes2889]

How hard is it?
What steps are involved?
And what materials do i need to do some acrylic work?

I heard you need to use weld-on to fuse the acrylic together. Which type of weld-on?


Thanks Steve

 

[minibowmatt]

I use weldon 4 and 16. Basically acrylic work is measuring your part, cutting it out on a table saw, taking a router to the edges to smooth them nicely, and solvent welding the pieces together.
If you dont have a table saw, you can use a circular saw, you would want a good blade, preferably one for plastic ($$$) and set yourself up a very good fence for the saw to follow. Make sure your on a good steady table or horses.
Routering is easy too. Any router with a good flush trim bit. (http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_flush.html) I like to use one with a larger swing so you have less contact with the plastic, thus less heat. I use carpet tape to attach a hardboard straightedge to the acrylic, and run the bearing on it.
There are several methods for gluing. Some use the pins method, which is great for 1/2" and thicker. I use capillary action to get the solvent in between the panels. You need to use some type of 90* jig to secure the panels to as they are welded. Use bar clamps or C clamps to hold the big pieces, and heavy spring clamps for smaller pieces. Carpet tape and masking tape can really come in handy when gluing acrylic too.

This is a very rough guide. Lemme know what else you want to know

 

[Azurel]

Matt pretty much has it there, I have done the same when I built my tank. I will be having a future in acrylic tanks by the end of summer.....

 

[fishes2889]

I have seen people use circular saws and just sand down the edges with a power sander. Would that work? Or would using a router work better?

You guys are probably wondering why i am asking all these questions, well i am in the planning stages of a new tank. Of course, it is going to be acrylic and around 45-60g display.

Also, Matt or Azurel, what brand of router or circular saw would meet the requirment for cutting?

Thanks Steve

 

[minibowmatt]

Circular saws vary. IMO, the price dictates quality this time. If you only need the saw for this project, look to craftsman. If you plan on using it regularly, look at milwaukee, makita or dewalt. when purchasing a blade, you want a plastic blade. If that isnt a possiblity, you want to get a good quality Combination blade. I would not recommend the "thin kerf" blades for plastic, many I have tried have too much give in the blade, resulting in an edge that isnt perfectly true.
DO NOT run the blade backwards like some people say. it causes more heat/melting, and can knock the carbide teeth off the blade.


I would not recommend sanding the edges. Unless you have an edge sander, your sanding will cause more damage that the fresh sawn edge. I would also recommend the Porter Cable 690 router. It is a great all around, well priced router.

 

[rottface4]

If you don't own a router I have also used a razor blade to scrape the edges smooth instead of sanding. Again it doesn't not give you as nice of a finish as a good router setup, but it does the trick. Most arcylic shops will precut your pieces to size for you. So all you would need to do is finish up the edges. I bought a Hitachi router for my acrylic work and I love it. They haven't been around nearly as long as porter cable, but they seem to be well built. I don't think variable speed is neccesary for router using acrylic, most people run them at max speed anyways. Steve I'm fairly local to you PM me and we could talk.

 

[fishes2889]

Well, since im only 17, i am still aquiring new tools every year for projects i will do in the future. So, in the coming months i will purchase a router, circular and some other tools neccessary for arcylic work.

I plan on doing this project when i move back to PA in the middle of the summer, so i just wanted to know before hand what i had to do to prepare for this project.

But i will be making small tanks while i am here in orlando, just to get some practice on.

I will post pics of the dimensions i have in mind and and overal veiw of the tank and equipment i will be using.

Thanks alot Matt and rottface4!

Steve

 

[phisigs79]

Do you need a router table?

 

[fishes2889]

Are you asking me? or to do the acrylic work?

If so, no i dont at the moment....

 

[fishes2889]

Heres my rough draft of what i am trying to accomplish.

Equipment includes:
Css 65 skimmer
250w w/14k phoenix DE pendant w/ 2-24w T5 actincs
2 nanostreams or just 1....
Mag 7 return
30 -40 lbs of sand
Have to get bigger peices of LR 45lbs worth


Thanks Steve

 

[fishes2889]

Dimensions i am considering:
24x20x20= 42g
24x24x20= 50g
28x20x20= 48g
28x24x20= 58g
30x20x20= 52g
30x24x20= 62g

Which one? LOL :hammer:

Steve

 

[fishes2889]

bump...

 

[MarvinsReef]

Dimensions i am considering:
24x20x20= 42g
24x24x20= 50g
28x20x20= 48g
28x24x20= 58g
30x20x20= 52g
30x24x20= 62g

Which one? LOL :hammer:

Steve

62g...

so you can have a little more room for F&F wrasses..

 

[fishes2889]

Just to get an idea, what are the dimensions of your 32g Marv?

I might go the bigger 62 or 58g....still have some time to make a decision.

 

[fishes2889]

bump, i need some other opinions....

 

[Azurel]

Remember Steve that with every increase in volume eventually you will have to have thicker acrylic. Acrylic is not cheap as it was about 5 or more years ago.

Personally I would not use a circular saw to cut the acrylic, a good table saw will be your best friend for cutting the large panes of acrylic. One of thing to look for is how accurate the table saw will be in the vertical cut. The closer you get to true 90 degrees the better. A cnc which I had my acrylic cut on is accurate to .001 which in all practical uses is true enough that you will not notice. I like to use garf tank DIY.....

http://www.garf.org/

It will give you the thickness of the acrylic that you will need to use for each set of measurements. Now when I built mine I went with 1/4'' while Garf said to use 3/8''. But I have bent corners and bracing on the top so I don't get any bowing what so ever, as well it's a corner tank. I would think with your dimensions you should be OK with 1/4'' but night want to take it up to 3/8'' or 1/2'' just to be safe if you don't have any top bracing.....

 

[minibowmatt]

If your going with acrylic, you can get away with 1/4" if it isnt taller than say 18-20". you will need to eurobrace it. If your going taller, you will need 3/8" at least.

I second the table saw. If you have one, it will be that much easier...

 

[fishes2889]

Hey Matt are you directly in Philly or do you live on the outskirts?

I might just go with 3/8" just to be safe. How much is acrylic sheets going for these days? I havent researched......

 

[chadfarmer]

3/8 cast acrylic in st louis mo

is 160.00 for a 4X8

1/2 inch is 250.00 for a 4X8


if the price of gas is high so is the acrylic

 

[surfn]

i'm having my 24"x24"x20" cube (50g), which should be done soon, built out of acrylic.

you really need to find out what size sheets you can get before deciding on demensions.

i only needed 1 sheet based on my demensions.

also, i'm getting mine done out of 1/2" acrylic. apparently the 1/2" was only like $50 more than the 3/8", so thats a no brainer in my mind. also, i like that b/c it means i can go with a smaller eurobrace. i'm thinking about putting a 400w MH above the tank, so i dont want to have to worry about the heat of the light messing up the eurobrace and fogging it up.

i dont remember how much i'm getting my 1/2" acrylic sheet for...i should find out... i'm having mine built by a LFS, i'm just paying for the sheet, and the labor will be in exchange for some zoa frags.

i love the feeling of accomplishment in building something myself, but i live in an apartment, so having a table saw isn't exactly practical.