DIY- "Pins" method of gluing acrylic.

[Acrylics]

Zephrant, I'm reviving this thread because my seams are still a tad messy. I'm getting good bubble free seams for the most part, but too much product oozes out.

I'm currently using twist ties that come with trashbags or sandwich baggies. What size wire would be ideal, and would it be something I can find at Home Depot perhaps? Or Fry's Electronics?

King Acrylite,
What type of material? what thickness? what solvent? how long are you waiting to pull wires? What is the surface prep on the material? Are the ooze bubbles large (bb size) or smaller?
My off hand guess is that the wires used are too big and you're waiting too long and you're using extruded material
Try using thinner wires, .007" is about all you need for the wire, twist ties are twice that (.014") which gets too much solvent in there, it dissolves plastic, and when you pull the wires it's gotta go somewhere. Assuming you're routing the gluing edges - you only need to have the wires in the a few seconds with extruded material as the stuff breaks down real fast.
BTW, if ya can't find anything locally, try www.http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/SAW.cfm
This is where I buy the malleable stainless wire.

King Acrylite - love it

James

 

[melev]

Hi James,

I'm using 1/4" Acrylite FF, with Weld-On #4. Edges are cut with a Freud blade on a table saw, then scraped with a razorblade, and hand sanded (a few strokes).

I put the piece on the wires, fill the void, and wait about 30 seconds. Then I pull the wires, and get a puddle in some zones. It isn't a flood, but I do get some oozing, and it is more than a BB. I'd post pictures, but...

I could speed up the wait time if necessary. I know I had to move more quickly with #3.

I'll have to find out where to buy .007 stainless steel wire. I'm going to assume it comes on a spool, right?

Btw, you are one of the few that gets my moniker. :lol:

 

[Acrylics]

King Acrylite,

I'd stick with #4, #3 is the right "speed" but doesn't flow as well as #4.
Use a smaller wire, I screwed up the link above but it's http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/SAW.cfm
They are an excellent company to work with, you can peel strands off of a larger wire to get the right size if that's more convenient for you.
If you can wait only 5-10 seconds - this is usually plenty for extruded material IME.
The wire comes in 25' spools, I'm about out myself (I lose 'em) so if I buy more in the near future - I'll send ya some.
Maybe I'll change mine to King Polycast

Hope all is well,
James

 

[melev]

:lol:

I've not seen you on r.a.m.r much lately, but I've been hitting it less often myself. I think I've just built my 70th sump this week.

I fixed the link and found the roll for $14, plus $8.45 UPS Ground.

So this stuff isn't a fine wire on a spool, it is stranded and I have to peel it apart?

I can definitely reduce the wait time before pulling wires.

It's good to be King.

 

[Acrylics]

King Marc,
No, it is fine wire on a spool. I was just saying that if you have other wire around the house that's more conveniently available - you can use that instead. The wire is expensive, so if you do have something around the house - go for it.

I still go on RAMR once in a while to see what's going on but there's too much "other stuff" that I don't particularly care for. It seems better in here
BTW, congrats on the 70th, I'll have a beer (or 10) in your honor

James

 

[melev]

James, can you email me your email address and phone number? I'd love to have that on hand in case I need to reach you in a hurry some time.

Thanks for your suggestions. Enjoy the beers. :beer:

 

[Zephrant]

Mark- As James says, the difference may be in the Extruded material. I've only used extruded tube, and just enough to learn that I hate dealing with it.

Zeph

 

[melev]

That is nice to know. GP is darn expensive, and people don't want to pay for it, when it merely a sump.

 

[Drizzy]

I have a question - hope you dont mind me posting on this thread... I have some cell cast acrylic I'm using for an aquarium and I'm using some non-cell cast acrylic for a built in wet/dry filter (its a small tank for my nephew) - what weld-on should I use and how long should I let it sit etc since I'm using both cell cast and non cell cast? thanks.

 

[melev]

Cell Cast is stronger than Extruded. You can wait as Zephrant suggests in this thread (page 1) about 30 seconds. With Extruded, James just pointed out to wait only 10 seconds.

 

[Drizzy]

Yeah that is where my problem lies. Using both types in a seam - how should I treat it? They set differently - the extruded "melts" a lot faster... so I was wondering what would be the suggested amount of time to wait. Should I just average the times?

 

[melev]

Yes. I've been waiting 30 seconds on extruded for all my projects, and it is working just fine. Just not so pretty in the seams, as I admitted in a recent post.

 

[Zephrant]

Sounds like a plan to me- Play with it a little with some scraps if you can.

Zeph

 

[bulkhead]

Sorry to bring this back from the dead again....

Marc, have you tied the thinner guage wire and 10 sec wait time yet? I'm just curious if it solved your problem?

I'm getting ready to attempt my first sump project. Not unlike you, I'm using FF because of the cost. Locally they want $200 a sheet for GP and $150 for FF. I ordered a sheet of FF from a guy on ebay, cut into thirds and shipped, for $107.

Assembly question, I read that most folks join the ends to the front and then all three to the back and then the box to the bottom. I'm curious if there is ever a problem lining up the bottom of the end pieces to the bottom of the front and back. It seems they would have to be perfectly aligned to get a good, flat, edge to join to the bottom piece...no room for error....Am I retarted and missing something or just over analyzing a simple procedure.... I practiced on some cheap 3/16 acrylic, trying to make a speciman container. I ended up with a crazy amount of bubbles. However, I didn't use the router on the edges, just the edge of a razor blade, weld-on 3 and didn't bother with the pins....so I guess the results are as expected....

I'm using weld-on 4, frued blade and using my router as a joiner to clean up the edges ever so slightly for the sump project. Any other advice before making a paper weight out of a sheet of acrylic????

Thanks...

 

[Acrylics]

Assembly question, I read that most folks join the ends to the front and then all three to the back and then the box to the bottom. I'm curious if there is ever a problem lining up the bottom of the end pieces to the bottom of the front and back. It seems they would have to be perfectly aligned to get a good, flat, edge to join to the bottom piece...no room for error....Am I retarted and missing something or just over analyzing a simple procedure

This will depend entirely on how you machine your pieces, if you use a jointer - this can be a real problem hence my aversion to these machines for tanks. I use a router table with a fence so you push the pieces between the fence and the router ensuring identical width (+/-.002" or so)

James

 

[melev]

No, I'm still using twist tie wiring, as I keep thinking I should be able to buy the finer wire locally. This isn't a small town by any means, and if I'd just take the time to research, I bet I can find some nearby.

I have reduced my time, and it looks better.

 

[bulkhead]

Yeah Marc, I would think you could find something locally. I have some sewing pins, the ones with the plastic ends that you can get at walmart for less than a buck a package, they measure .026, so I plan to use those. I can see where the wire may be a little easier to work with though....

Thanks for the help guys, I've read a million of you all's posts, but it all runs together after awhile, so it's nice to clarify... Next time I find myself in Ft Worth, Portland or Spokane, I definately owe you guys a BEvERage or 10.....

Michael

 

[melev]

Michael, I typed an indepth explanation of how I assemble a sump, but then thought it was TMI and resisted the urge.

If you want to give me a call, I can tell you over the phone instead if you wish.

 

[bulkhead]

Marc, that would be great....I really appreciate that....Just PM me you number....I've got a Little League game to go to right now, just let me know when is a good time....

Thanks

 

[bulkhead]

Just an update....finished the sump, it's not pretty, nor bubble free, but it holds water .... I cheaped out and just braced the ends.... When water testing, I filled it completely up and there was no detectable bow, by eye anyway. Considering what I have to pay for acrylic here, decided this would be good enough.

Marc, FYI, the refugium overflow seems to work fine. There are a few large bubbles, but nothing a couple of pieces of rock can't fix and it's quiet, which was my goal, couple more things left to do to it, but so far so good....

Thanks for the help.....Can't wait to start the next project....

Michael


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