Need Acrylic construction help / advise (1 Viewer)

[dwnbydasea]

I am looking to build a few acrylic tanks and need some help.
1. what size / type of blade is recommended for table saw?
2. Do you have to sand the edges after cutting before glueing?
3. What is a good thickness for a tank 12"x12"x72" with or with out top bracing?
4. Also is there a recommended type of drill bit to use to reduce cracking or is it more about technique?
As always any help or recomendations are greatly appreciated and if there is anyone that would be willing to help with some handson instruction I would gladly compensate you for your time.

Thanks
James

 

[steveb]

1 - one for acrylic ideally. if not then a high tooth count thin kerf carbide tipped blade

http://www.amanatool.com/circular-saw-blades/non-melt-lb86401.html

2 - absolutely not. You need to run the edges through a router (jointing the edge) or use a jointer. Anything less is asking for trouble.


3- not sure but there are thickness calculators out there. Probably 3/8 or 1/2" with bracing 3/4 or 1 w/out. My 60" sump is 3/8" but has lots of cross bracing and has a water depth of about 8" in it.

4 - routing larger holes is preferred but you can use a hole saw if its sharp (again get a quality one). For smaller holes there are drill bits specifically for acrylic. Regular can work but you run a risk of melting or cracking.

http://www.plasticsmag.com/features.asp?fIssue=Sep/Oct-01



I would suggest reading over this http://edge.rit.edu/content/P10022/...documentation/acrylic-fab-guide-plexiglas.pdf

and there is a thread in the DIY forum over on RC started by Acrylics (James). This is the split so you will have to go back to the beginning Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help! but my advice would be to read the entire thread and start on something way smaller than 72" long. You will also need to learn to use the "pins" technique to allow the solvent to wick into the joint.

My 2 pennies... I'm no expert by any means... Hopefully some of those with acrylic fab experience will provide additional info.

 

[tektite]

Read through this article, will go over tools to use:

Learn How to Cut, Drill and Finish the Edges of Plexiglass (acrylic)

For making tanks to hold water, you need a router to finish off the edges, not just a tablesaw.

 

[dark8nge1]

Good link Cat!

One thing about the info though. The part about scraping and flame polishing is not relevant to making tanks. Do not ever flame polish an edge that you are planning on welding or have already welded. Flame polishing an existing weld reduces the strength of the joint significantly. Polishing an edge that has not yet been welded will lead to crazing when you weld.

Scraping cannot be used as proper edge prep for welded joints. It is fine for cosmetically cleaning up an edge, which is what they are doing in the link, but not for gluing up.

I would not try and glue up a 72" tank as your first foray into acrylic. Anything over 10' total edge is literally a sprint when gluing up so you have a two person job for the bottom and euro brace.

If you are serious about doing this I would first invest in the proper tools then start practicing on scrap. I did not start building start building things that could hold water until I was completely confident that I could get a perfect weld.

SteveB's link on reefcentral is probably the best resource you can find on the internet. Acrylic work is pretty hush hush for some reason but James is great about answering any questions. I harassed the ATM (tanked) guys at MACNA about acrylic fabrication and got a few pointers. They definitely weren't looking to provide any tips

 

[steveb]

I would investigate glass too, glass pricing/construction vs. acrylic pricing/construction.

 

[dwnbydasea]

Thanks everyone I knew you guys and gals would come through with some great info.
Yeah I was thinking glass as wel, thing is I need this done farely quick.....like yesterday. As well as I need 8 or 10 of these tanks...BOOOM!
I have a good acyrlic sorce and can just get them to cut the lengths needed I suppose. Any suggestions or recomendations for glass sorce would be great as well.
Actually the tank lengths will now be 60" instead of the previously mentioned 72" so yeah.

 

[dark8nge1]

Cutting to size is the easy part. Virtually all suppliers will do that for you. Maybe 5% of the time and effort is getting the acrylic and getting it cut. Since it seems like you are in a time crunch I would go glass. Your project is not something I would take on in a rush.

Have you tried glass cages? They're pretty quick and cheap for glass tanks.

 

[steveb]

One of the local acrylic suppliers will do edge jointing but I don't remember which one it was and I'm not sure how accurate the cut requests are. If I can dig it up I will post it.

 

[TiAg]

Or call Ocean Aquatics, they're local and will bill to spec (and they're cheap). Talk to Eric he's the owner. 281-356-3560

 

[steveb]

They will? Is this the same as Texas Ocean Aquatics? Texas Ocean Aquatics

When I talked to then mmmm I think it was a couple of years ago now they told me they would only sell to stores and that I would have to work through a store. I was looking for glass frag tanks for my fish room...

 

[dwnbydasea]

even if they only do stores thats cool since .....uuummmm yeah...

 

[steveb]

I'm sure if your opening a brick and mortar store front that is not an issue. I called them about starting a farming operation that was going to more or less wholesale. They where not interested since it wasn't a store front. Just sayin...

 

[dwnbydasea]

yeah funny how some place are like that. I checked with glass cages and what I wanted was like 630 each but then when I told her I wanted 8 to 10 yeah they dropped the price a little more...
I will check with this other place tomorow and see what they have to say.
As anyone had dealings with the arcrylic shop in Stafford?

 

[steveb]

Yeah I know places are goofy like that, and who know when I contacted them that was probably 1.5 yrs ago. They may have changed their tune now...

I have only seen the place in stafford advertise on craigs list on/off. Maybe someone from that area has worked with them.. If you do go with them be sure and post some info/notes or whatever...

 

[TiAg]

I'd be surprised if we're talking about the same guys because eric is done a lot of work for me including building a tank and repairing two other tanks

 

[steveb]

Was it this company? Texas Ocean Aquatics

 

[TiAg]

Steve, I'm not sure if that's his website or not. He has a reptile store up front and a big fabrication building in the back. His reptile website is Ultimate Reptile Shop. I've always just called him on the main number there - and the numbers don't match so it might not be.

 

[inigomontoya]

yeah funny how some place are like that. I checked with glass cages and what I wanted was like 630 each but then when I told her I wanted 8 to 10 yeah they dropped the price a little more...
I will check with this other place tomorow and see what they have to say.
As anyone had dealings with the arcrylic shop in Stafford?

Let us know if you find out anything good or bad about the local acrylic guy, always good to have more resources.

 

[dark8nge1]

As anyone had dealings with the arcrylic shop in Stafford?

Do you mean Sabic? I like them because they carry the good stuff at a decent price. Just wish they were closer to me.

 

[dwnbydasea]

Fabriplast is the name of the place ...I just found them on craigslist...dont realy know anything about them as of yet