noobtothereef
08/21/2010, 09:26 PM
Allright here goes, im building a 700+ gallon tank, its 96x48x35 tall. Material is acrylite gp cell cast 1 1/4" acrylic. I got the material on a killer deal, less than 25% of cost, the bottom and top are 48x96" sheets with saw cut edges that will trimmed off with router after tank is built(they are oversized by about 1/4"). The front back and sides i had a plastic shop cut them to size and route the edges for a perfect fit. I have since sanded the edges with 180 grit sandpaper and a da sander holding it nice and sguare.
here are my questions
1- where the sides sit on top of the bottom panel do i need to sand that area before boding? in 1.25" from the edge around the parameter? along ith the other panels that will be bonded?
2-i will be using weld on #40 using a larger hypo needle to apply, its a large one and holds 100cc/ml , ive allready tried a test to make sure the #40 will flo through it, works like a charm.
3-i will not be annealing the acrylic as i dont have a $100,000 oven to do this, do you see a problem in this?
4- i am building this in my garage and have 2 small chain hoists to lower the panels while bonding, whats the best procedure for this? Should i apply the #40 on one surface to be bonded and then place a couple pins to allow a gap so the panels can soak and then pull the pins and allow the access to squeeze out? Or should i place pins, set panel and try a capilary action with the #40 using thicker pins like .03"-.06"? and then allow to soak and then pull pins ??? ive never used #40 before
5-any tips on routing the edges of the panels? i have a 3/8"x2" router bit for acrylic with nylon bearings, one bearing is 3/8" and the other is 7/16" so i can route it in 2 passes rather than trying to take off alot of material in 1 pass, router is a 3/4 hp model(not a cheapie)
ive built a few acrylic tanks and sumps before so im not that new to acrylic, just never messed with anything thicker than 1/2" and never used anything other than weldon #4 using capilary and #16 for the occasional flaw.
Ive searched all over the net trying to find info on this and there isnt much.........
here are my questions
1- where the sides sit on top of the bottom panel do i need to sand that area before boding? in 1.25" from the edge around the parameter? along ith the other panels that will be bonded?
2-i will be using weld on #40 using a larger hypo needle to apply, its a large one and holds 100cc/ml , ive allready tried a test to make sure the #40 will flo through it, works like a charm.
3-i will not be annealing the acrylic as i dont have a $100,000 oven to do this, do you see a problem in this?
4- i am building this in my garage and have 2 small chain hoists to lower the panels while bonding, whats the best procedure for this? Should i apply the #40 on one surface to be bonded and then place a couple pins to allow a gap so the panels can soak and then pull the pins and allow the access to squeeze out? Or should i place pins, set panel and try a capilary action with the #40 using thicker pins like .03"-.06"? and then allow to soak and then pull pins ??? ive never used #40 before
5-any tips on routing the edges of the panels? i have a 3/8"x2" router bit for acrylic with nylon bearings, one bearing is 3/8" and the other is 7/16" so i can route it in 2 passes rather than trying to take off alot of material in 1 pass, router is a 3/4 hp model(not a cheapie)
ive built a few acrylic tanks and sumps before so im not that new to acrylic, just never messed with anything thicker than 1/2" and never used anything other than weldon #4 using capilary and #16 for the occasional flaw.
Ive searched all over the net trying to find info on this and there isnt much.........