How to work acrylic???

[dieden]

I was wondering if anyone out there could give me an idea on how to work with acrylic. I would like to try to learn the basics and practice for a little bit before I actually rely on any skill (or lack thereof) of mine. What kind of acrylic is best, what thickness works best for aquariums? how do I shape and make corners without bad distortions? What bits are best for drilling? I have seen a few threads with pics of beautiful acrylic creations and would like to try to get myself capable of such things.

 

[Holygral]

I had never worked with acrylic before, built my sump last year, it was a big learning curve. Maybe start with a sump build and go from there. got most of my information from link below, you can pm me if I can help any more, I am no expert but my first sump was a success, and when I super size my tank I will build my next one also. It isn't cheap due to several factors such as wasted material due to inexperience, and having to put all the tools that you don't have and the Weld On. If you do not have anyone who sells Weld On locally, there is only a few places that will ship it. Plus the breath holding the first month that you fill it

http://www.melevsreef.com/

 

[warforged]

I used to make subwoofer boxes with it. For water volume vs thickness formula I dont know.

I do know when it comes to basic drilling and cutting ..Heat is an issue...pressure and fracturing can happen.

Since we dont need to worry about the looks of the hole..cause your gona have a piple sticking through it... do try to undercut the hole and leave some meat behind to drumm sand with a finer grit to remove rough scratches (more of a cosmetic thing) take your time durring the sand process and periodically put the pcv or what ever tube you use through the hole till it fits...you want it very snug is my guess for fish tanks...from a speaker box prospective we did cause of sound and air pressure.

Small tricks with drilling and sanding...Get a bucket and sponge...with your off hand hold the sponge against the head of the tool be it the Bit, Sanding pad, polishing pad etc...this will cause a trickle of water to flow onto the friction area to keep it cool as you cut,drill,grind, sand, polish ..what ever. Ive learned this the hard way on my first speaker box.... talk about outer edge meltdown...i drilled so fast I melted OVER the diamter I needed...thank god it was fixable mistake on that end.

I am mainling giving tool use advise on plastics vs actual tank building here.... when cutting plastics...also using C-Clamps and brace the area you may bandsaw or jigsaw to prevent over vibration..(again use sponge and water to keep things cool.

Most bladed circular cutting things for drill bits or grinding tools for angle grinders can come in Fine tooth...try to get a fine tooth type blade like a hacksaw vs tree cutting edge that looks like sharks teeth also....

I stress this..undercut a little so you have room to sand and polish your edge work...

Polishing plastics was fairly simple....you work up the grit tree till you remove large scratches and small...and to rid yourself of the smokey look you need a buffing wheel and buffing compound... thats about it...

Your local Lowes or homedepot may have someone around the acrylic cutting section to help advise on this....(my lowes in tacoma has that section)

Just general advise here...Ive made many speaker boxes...more than I wish to recall...

PS..wear safety goggles and a mask to!

(EDIT)

Just read the link...dude has better tools than me...(cheater!) but nevermind...he covers everything well.

 

[DonW]

Acrylic is really not much different than wood, You do need a bit more precision but thats about it. All the same tools and rules apply. Cutting thicker acrylic need a bit more HP just like wood but for the most part home owner wood working tools are fine for 3/8 and thinner material.
Bending is simple if you build the jigs for each task in advance. Inexpensive strip benders heat thinner acrylic just fine and are worth giving a shot if you want to practice. If you have the tools I would just suggest you buy a bunch of scraps and some weldon #3 and start sticking them together for practice. Clear joints take quite abit of practice but once you get the hang of it its easy.


Don

 

[dieden]

thanks for all the input, I just found a vid ou youtube with the strip bender (thanks for mentioning that don) I think I'm just going to get a bender and a bunch of pieces and go to town for a while.

 

[dieden]

oops, another question. Is 3/8 in. thick enough for a sump/refugium?

 

[burning2nd]

i cut acrylic are work all the time on the band saw... ive made some nice safty windows for equipment with anything from 1/8"-1".

i got a few 1/4" pieces im takeing to work tomarrow to cut my baffles... Im not gonna notch em like i see some people do.... but
Ill use the fine tooth large band saw medium speed with lub.

3/8 is fine

 

[dnjan]

oops, another question. Is 3/8 in. thick enough for a sump/refugium?

That really depends upon the height of the sump. The taller the sump, the greater the water pressure.
Also, the length of the longest side is important. 3/8 would be fine for a 36" tall sump if it was only 6" wide by 6"front-to-back (deep), but woud be horribly underdesigned if the sump was 36" wide.

 

[burning2nd]

ya i was thinking that 2.... but unless your sump is gonna be dry at the return side. and full on the inlet side.. there is no pressure at all.



you will see tonight ill bring my pieces home and set them in the sump... tomarrow ill glue.

 

[DonW]

oops, another question. Is 3/8 in. thick enough for a sump/refugium?

Lets put it this way my last tank was 110g 5ft long and made from 3/8. You could use 3/8 for a pretty huge sump. Keep in mind the sumps are usually only partialy filled and if you are using baffel they provide even more support.

Don

 

[ROLLINS]

I made a one-piece internal corner overflow from acrylic. After measuring and cutting, I clamped down the acrylic on my work-bench. Using a heat gun, starting warming up the sheet from the top and bottom along the edge that was to be bent. After about 20 minutes and a sore arm, the acrylic sheet slowing starting bending, and with a little help created a perfect 90 angle to for my corner overflow. This took 2 attempts as my first one cracked because I did not get it hot enough before attempting to bend it.
Just my .02

Ryan