Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!

[Gii]

Hello to all
I'd like to build an acrylic tank.
unfortunately in Europe (more precisely Italy) on Acrylic we are very backward.
You think that the companies that produce tanks craft asking 900 Euros (more than $ 1,000) for a small tank of 100 x 45 x 50 cm (39.3701 "x 15.748" x 19.685 "inch)
the weld-on 4 is almost impossible to find because it can not be shipped by the United States, the only one that sells it on amazon is a German and asking $ 50 for the small package!
Acrylic sheets fortunately only cost twice as much to use But the price increases excessively increasing the thickness of the sheets!

Those cheap are the Altuglas®, are a good product ??

what is the minimum thickness for a small tank with written policies to top ?? (In inches without scrivetemele not with 1/4 1/8 altromenti can not convert millimeters)

There are other excellent bonding and safe as the weld-on 4 but easier to find in europe ??

Thank you all!

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Which dimension is the height? Altuglas is the parent company of Plexiglas. That's a good one. You want cell-cast, not extruded. "G" type (Plexiglas G). If you can find straight Methylene Chloride, that is the active ingredient in weld-on

 

[Gii]

Which dimension is the height? Altuglas is the parent company of Plexiglas. That's a good one. You want cell-cast, not extruded. "G" type (Plexiglas G). If you can find straight Methylene Chloride, that is the active ingredient in weld-on

Height is 19.685 inch x 39 x 16 inch

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

For that height tank, you should really use 1/2" (0.472" or 12mm) but you might be able get by with 3/8" (0.354" or 9mm), it's just going to bow a bit. That is with a proper eurobrace on the top. If you go rimless, you're going to need much thicker material for the walls.

 

[Gii]

Ok for cel-cast not extruded!
I did not understand ... ok for methylene chloride, But "straight"??? And for rimless how much???

 

[theatrus]

Can you source solvents made by Evonik? They're a German company - in the US the acrylic and solvents are marketed under the "Acrylite" brand, unsure about the EU.

 

[sinisterreef]

Hi, I'm needing some advice on edge prep. I have an incra router table with a split fence. When I route my edges (3/8" currently), I get some slight scalloping. I used Weldon 3 on a test piece and I didn't see any bubbles but I didn't think any scalloping was acceptable. I have tried different feed rates and I tried lowering the router's RPMs. The bit is a double flute 1/2", probably a cheapie. What router speed, feed rate and bit do you guys use for smooth edges?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I use a 2 flute straight cutter, 3/4" Bosch, at 26,000 RPM (max) and probably a feed rate of 1 ft/s

 

[sinisterreef]

1 ft/s seems pretty darn quick. Do you use the same with small pieces?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

That was just a rough estimate, it's kind of a feel thing. But it's about right. When you say small piece do you mean thinner material?

 

[sinisterreef]

Sorry, I meant L x H.

And you don't get any scalloping using your method?

 

[sinisterreef]

LOL... My Makita is 23000 RPM, my Ryobi is 25000 RPM and my Porter Cable is 27000 RPM. I'm going to try the Porter Cable with speed controller to back it off a little.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Any of those are fine, just max it out. PC 27000 is good.

What do you mean by scalloping?

 

[sinisterreef]

Any of those are fine, just max it out. PC 27000 is good.

What do you mean by scalloping?

In woodworking scalloping refers to small ridges. Usually caused by poor bit, improper feed rate and/or improper RPM. Wood definitely routes easier than acrylic, IMO.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

If you take off too much material, you might get pitting, which is what it sounds like. Little tiny pits in the cut edge.

If you're referring to the appearance of lines in the cut edge that are parallel with the bit, these are not a concern. Your last pass should be 1/16" of material removed or less and these will be minimal.

 

[sinisterreef]

If you're referring to the appearance of lines in the cut edge that are parallel with the bit, these are not a concern. Your last pass should be 1/16" of material removed or less and these will be minimal.

Yes, lines not pits. So how many passes do you do?

I was browsing the old posts in this thread and I believe I saw photos of your router table. It appeared that you do not utilize offset fences, is this correct?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Nope just a bar of acrylic, I laminated 2 scrap pieces of 1/2" together and ripped it straight on both sides.

I usually make at least 2 passes but it depends on the quality of the rough cut. My table saw sucks so I typically have to make 2 or 3 passes just to get the rough cut completely gone, then once that is done, 1 last pass.

If I'm squaring material or matching dims, the number of passes needed to do this typically is more than is needed to get a clean edge.

 

[sinisterreef]

do you cut the trailing edge or leading edge?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Not sure I understand the question

 

[sinisterreef]

Sorry, a better question would have been: How do you ensure you take off an even amount throughout the entire cut?