for those of you that want to work with acrylics

I just wanted to give any of you DIY'ers out there with a couple personal experiences that I just went through so you won't have to make the same mistakes that I did.

#1 First point of experience was actually by accident. The lady I purcahsed a couple sheets of acrylic from accidentally sent me scratch resistant sheets instead of normal plain acrylic. Funny thing is, she sent me more expensive stuff that ended up being a complete waste of time and money. Scratch resistant acrylics have a surface coating that makes it IMPOSSIBLE to glue to. Plain and simple, it won't bond, end of story. I bought the sheets to make surface viewers out of, not gonna happen now. So, don't waste your money buying the stuff with the intention of "I don't want my tank or sump to get scratched up, so I'll get the abrasion resistant stuff." If the stuff would bond, the tank manufacters would be using it too.

#2 Second point is a safety issue. I am very lucky that I wasn't injured over this. If you have a small piece of acrylic to cut, do NOT use a miter saw. Cutting a piece of plastic should never be done on a miter saw. Miter saws cut from the center of the piece and move outward to complete the cut, versus cutting from the initial contact edge and completing at the opposite edge. What happens is that the center gets cut away which creates a pressure on the edges (that haven't been cut yet since only the center of it has been cut) that will cause the plastic to snap and go shooting off like a cannonball. Remember it happens in a matter of milliseconds. I ALWAYS stand to the side of the material and never in front of that or the blade, keep my hands clear of the cutting area, and I always wear protective gear (trust me, acrylic shavings are HOT when they fly off the saw/router blades). Well the plastic that shot off ended up hitting my wooden shelfing in my garage and put a nice divot in it. If it would have hit me, it would have put me in the hospital with a really bad wound. My thumb was numb for an hour from the snapping action of the piece I was holding down on the miter table/fence.

So anyhow, any of your noobies that want to work with acrylic, take it for what it's worth: just my own personal experience. I do suggest you keep these in mind though, I wouldn't want to see anyone get hurt. I consider myself extremely lucky in point #2. Be safe, and always have safety practices as priority #1.

 

excellent advice. sorry you had to be the guinea pig , , but someone has to be. lol. thnx for sharing mike

 

Very good information and I'm glad you weren't seriously injured! I learned the hard way while cutting schedule 40 pvc with my miter saw. The shattered piece penetrated my denim jacket and left a bloody welt the size of a grape on my stomach.

Cutting plastics with any power saw is risky but you can greatly reduce the risk by using the right blade. Now when I cut either pvc or acrylic on my 10" miter or table saw I switch the blades out and use hollow ground fine tooth blades with no off set. They have at least 5 teeth per inch. Also when I make a cut with the miter I let the blade come to a stop before raising the head.
I do however wear my lumberjacks apron, gloves and eye protection now though.

 

glad your ok. thanks for the heads up.

 

I have not delved much into acrylic work. Thanks for the advice

Now as far as the acrylic view boxes, couldn't you use some sort of glue or silicon to attach the scratch resistant acrylic to something to make a box?

I have used GE silicone that I used for my tank to secure 2 pieces of acrylic sump baffles together and it worked very well. I wouldn't trust it for a DIY tank, or any real holding powers, but for a view box it should work.

 

An additional safety tip is to use the weld-on outside and do not put your head directly over the wet glue. Also do not breath until you are far away. FYI, it causes cancer...

 

Excellent advice. I've had PVC pipe thrown at me but luckily was standing to one side so it missed.

FYI I make viewing boxes by siliconing a piece of acrylic to one end of a 4" PVC coupler.

Jack

 

Man, I'm glad you weren't seriously injured either. These things can be very dangerous. I typically use 80 Tooth blades made for plastics, but how acrylics are composed and how a miter cuts, I don't think there is a safe way to cut them if they are larger pieces than 1" wide. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't want to test it out, lol.

I tried using silicone and epoxy and nothing worked. The coating they use on these abrasion resistant acrylics are completely chemically resistant. The only thing that would glue were the edges that were cut to non treated acrylic. There are some sheets that are only coated on one side though. I just happened to be given sheets that had both sides coated. TAP Plastics sells one-side coated sheets.
Acrylic AR (Abrasion Resistant) Sheets : TAP Plastics

I always use a respirator when I paint, cut acrylics, or glue acrylic for that reason. I STRONGLY suggest anyone that works with acrylics to invest in something like this:
AOSafety® : Professional Quality Respiratory Protection

Glad you didn't get hurt either. I had a sliver of acrylic slice my thumb. Luckily it wasn't bad. Shards go in all directions. Coated acrylics won't accept silicone, I tried it, but your idea works if regular acrylic is used.

 

"weee weee weee weeeeeeee"
As long as I can prevent someone from getting hurt by sharing my experience, then I done my job. Thanks my friend!

 

LMAO at the guinea pig noises! Reminded me of the ones I had.