Acrylic Jedis wanted

[H.crispa]

Ok folks. The demand for stuff made from acrylic has grown quite a bit. I understand. It is a fantastic material for many reasons. I am, at this point, convinced that we need to do a Jedi Knight type of program for this stuff whereby the folks who want to learn the "ways of the plastic" can. They can, in turn, teach the ways of the plastic to others, in a manner similar to how the Jedi Knights of Star Wars spread the ways of the Force! Honestly, this stuff is not any kind of carefully guarded secret. I learned mostly by doing and by consulting with a friend who does all the plastic work at Mouldagraph. At this point I feel it is critical to spread the knowlege because I simply can't handle it all. In addition, the more people who work with the stuff, the more new techniques that will be developed, the more new projects that will be built, etc. etc...

I have not thought this through at all! (Big surprise there huh??) Therefore, I am asking you all to come up with ideas on exactly how to do this! This is an assignment for CVRC members! YOU GUYS figure out how to do this program... right here on this thread!

Motivation??? Being able to design and fabricate YOUR OWN equipment! You see a need for something in your system that does not exist. So you MAKE IT YOURSELF! You could pattent it and make millions. Whatever.

Let's get to work!

 

[jmccown]

That would be great. I would like to make my own sump someday. What types of tools/equipment is needed to do this type of work for starters?

 

[firefish2020]

It appears you have a willing apprentice Master Crispa LOL
But do not underestimate the dark side of acrylic fabrication, for once you go down this path to leaks, and flooding and much cursing it will lead.

:strooper: :strooper: :strooper: :strooper: :strooper:

 

[MattG]

I have limited experience but i think acrylic is pretty easy to work with. IMO Its one of those things that is easy if you just need to get by but tough if you want a professional type job (super clean seams, etc)l.

The best tool for it is a router with a flush trim bit. You can use a dremel but its tough to cut anything 1/4" or thicker IMO. A table saw comes in quite handy also.

Heres some good info on building sumps if you are intersted
http://www.melevsreef.com/tools.html


I moved recently and sold all my tools and was still able to build the sump for my 30. All i used was a utility knife to score/snap the pieces, a handheld drill for a couple holes, clamps and a sander to smooth up the edges and of course some weld-on.

If you want you can get glass shops to even cut the acrylic to size for you so that all you have to do is glue the pieces together.

Its not perfect but hold water just fine

 

[Aquayne_wv]

I have a book i bought from E-Bay written by a builder of the big exhibit tanks. It is very technical and not much in the way of a good read. Lots of lists for different projects.

Wayne

 

[mcox33]

Interested. I need a bigger skimmer.

 

[H.crispa]

Nice job on that sump Matt! How did you keep those butt seams from coming apart under the pressure of the water when the sump is full? That's a pretty good trick-- or maybe I'm just paranoid.

The tools you need are varied. A good assortment of C-clamps and bar clamps is a must. You can use a table saw, a band saw is handy, a router is a good thing to have, a dremmel is a must IMO. It really depends on what you are doing. A heat gun is a great thing to have for doing bends (like in the clear center brace mod at Jo Mars-- I just use a propane torch but you have to be really careful) and for "flame polishing", weld-0n #16 and #3 (glue), Shoe-Goo, aT-square, a combination square, a good compass, a drill and bits. Anything you can use for woodworking you can use for acrylic. The difference is in the technique mainly.

For instance, when using a sanding drum to round off corners or whatever, you should use a low speed, otherwise the plastic melts instead of grinding off, slings everywhere and cloggs up your drum. Ditto for a router I think-- most of those are only one speed though so I either cut slowly and intermittently to allow the bit to cool and sometimes I'll even mist the stock with water. Of course most folks don't like the idea of water and power tools. Slow and steady wins the race with this stuff.

Mary said something about making a skimmer. Working with tubes is a little different. I recommend a good miter saw to make sure your cuts are clean and even. Something I would love to try that I have not yet is one of those disk sanders (that is a large rotating disk with a table or trough in front of it) to use for sanding the ends of pieces and even making slight bevels.

Of course drilling can be a challenge. Small holes are generally no big deal when using thick stock. Watch out if drilling the cheapo, thin plexiglass you get at the hardware store. There is a mod you can do to a drill bit that keeps it from catching an edge and cracking or chipping your stock. Here is a good place to see that: http://www.ceebaileys.com/install.htm. Basically you just grind off the sharp, "pointy" corner from the tip and change the rake a little. Most of the time I just get the hole started then reverse the drill and "friction" my way through, then reverse the drill again to clean up the hole. When drilling larger holes, I start with a small pilot hole and gradually step up the size of the bit until I get what I want-- better safe that sorry.

The best way is just to start doing it and if you run into a problem you can't figure out, look on the internet, call someone who might know etc. and share what you learn-- especially any technique you come up with on your own and that goes double for any serendipitous discoveries.

Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work gang! I'm here for you and Matt looks like he's a great one to ask as well.

 

[MattG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7786385#post7786385 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H.crispa
Nice job on that sump Matt! How did you keep those butt seams from coming apart under the pressure of the water when the sump is full? That's a pretty good trick-- or maybe I'm just paranoid.

Thanks!

I originally planned on having a nice flange on the top but it would have ended up blocking room i needed for the skimmer. The baffles help keep it together as do a few other things that cant be seen in the pics. The top pic is before everything was finished. I just wanted to check for leaks before i added anything else that would make it difficult to fix a possible leak.

If the sump was longer i think the flange would have been required. It's only about 20 galons so i got by without it, at least for now

 

[MattG]

Also figured id throw in that most glass shops will give you scrap acrylic for free. All three of the ones in huntington have given me some when asked. This will allow you to gain a little experience with cutting/drilling/gluing the acrylic.

 

[fishmon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7787370#post7787370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattG
Thanks!

I originally planned on having a nice flange on the top but it would have ended up blocking room i needed for the skimmer. The baffles help keep it together as do a few other things that cant be seen in the pics. The top pic is before everything was finished. I just wanted to check for leaks before i added anything else that would make it difficult to fix a possible leak.

If the sump was longer i think the flange would have been required. It's only about 20 galons so i got by without it, at least for now

So is the skimmer/sump up and running yet??

 

[MattG]

Yep its all setup now. Still playing with settings on the skimmer but so far so good! I am much happier with the H&S than the Deltec.