Complete DIY Custom 144x15x15

[Jeff Worsham]

Very cool idea. I think I'll tag along!!

 

[calvin415]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12689519#post12689519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by foofooree
wow, thats awesome. I guess you wont have any problems with light penetration! lol

Thanks, no problems with penetration but instead the biggest obstacle will be light coverage.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12697163#post12697163 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Deceptive
Do you apply it simular to applying PVC Cement? Small thin coat good enough for a thin smooth thorough coverage? ''If it gets away from you , just sand polish etc and voila? Every other Acrylic Tank building site uses different methods such as Weldon and after its finished, silicone on the inside around all connected joints. Sound about right?

Doesn't sound about right... Nothing like PVC... But yes once it's together any excess solvent is sanded and polished away. I'm not sure what sites you're looking at, but silicone should not be needed on any acrylic aquarium. There are a number of great threads here to show you step by step but I hope to document this build even better than my last.

 

[calvin415]

Let's see, where did I leave off? 220 Wet right?

Next step is 400 Wet

600 Wet

What it looks like when sanding...

and when toweled dry.

 

[EBOLII]

getting there yeah?...

 

[calvin415]

1500 Wet

1800 Wet

2400 Wet

3200 Wet

After 3200 is 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000, I typically only go to about 4000, after than a buffer can remove the haze.

 

[calvin415]

Here is what I buff with.

And what it looks like 1/2 way done.

And finished.

For those of you obsessed with the details, here some short vids of what sanding looks like...

Note the direction of sanding changes with each grit, you want to sand until all remaining previous grit pattern is gone.

400 grit


600 grit


1500 grit


1800 grit

 

[foofooree]

wow, thats loads of sanding. cant wait to see it when its done. Are you going to remove that line you can see in the acrylic?

 

[calvin415]

Sure, just as soon as you tell me how. No that's the finished product, this is the closest I can get to a clear butt joint given the tools I have.

 

[calvin415]

Here's panel two being glued up...

First tape it off...

And if you're not sure how to tape, here ya go...



And cutting off the excess...



Clamping down just one side.

Note the gap for the WeldOn 42.

42 Gun.

And Tape on the bottom to prevent the solvent from running out.

 

[calvin415]

Applying the 42



Squeezing the pieces together



And un-tape one side to see how the weld turned out (bubbles or not) Unfortunately this one has some small bubbles toward the end, so hopefully I can keep it in the sand to help hide them. Or it will become the bottom since I now have 2 more attempts.

 

[larryl]

Looking good, Eric! How much time would you say you took doing each of the sanding steps?

Is the remaining line on the surface or internal? If it's on the surface, could you lay a bead of 42 over/in it and then sand it back down?

How fast does the 42 set up? I'm wondering if before glueing you could raise the panels near the joint a bit, so the gap is a bit V-shaped, and then after filling with the 42 let it drop back down - maybe that would squeeze the 42 up and out more evenly so it's more likely to fill cleanly? Not sure if that would help or cause more of a mess...


Larry

 

[calvin415]

About 5-10 minutes with each grit. As for the line, I'm not sure where it is coming from, as I can't feel a thing on the surface and the 42 was already squeezed above the joint and sanded back down to it. ??? I guess it's just something I'll have to try again on the next ones or I'll just have to live with it. 3 more panels to try...

 

[Deceptive]

Is Weldon 42 the best to use on all larger acrylic tanks 140 to 400g?

 

[dzeadow]

Calvin, I know it's not exactly the same, but I work w/ corian type countertops and have to seam things in a similar fashion. The line is more than likely where the seam wasn't tight enough and you're seeing the glue vs. material touching. I use a "mirror seam" template when doing seams, and you have to be careful that your edges get pushed together and lined up how they were cut. Also, I usually hot glue a couple of blocks to each side of the seam and use squeeze clamps to squeeze the seams together to get them tight. I don't know how hot glue will be on acrylic , but you're sanding it anyway so I'm guessing any mars could be fixed in that process. Just a thought.

 

[calvin415]

WeldOn 42 is the strongest thing to use for any acrylic joint especially where clarity is required.

Danny, I could use that same method, but if I squeeze the joint like that, it will result in a dry joint and will not hold. It's best to just keep it hand tight and just clamp it in place.

 

[dzeadow]

gotcha. I thought it might be different. corian's a polycarbonate vs. this being acrylic. I guess I didn't read enough, did you use a router to do the seam?

 

[foofooree]

hey, I dont know if it would work or not, but you could try making the plexi vibrate to remove the air bubbles

 

[calvin415]

Danny, yes both pieces were routered clean to give a nice square edge for welding.

Not sure how I would even try to vibrate it, nor do I think it would give good results. If there are that many bubbles I can pull the pieces apart easy enough and try it again.

 

[Lucky Strike]

Calvin,
Thanks for the nice videos and documentation!!! Thats awesome.

 

[FFrankie]

Nice work dude!