Acrylics

Acrylic work: Routing teeth

melev — Sun, 05 Nov 2017 12:43:01 +0000

Acrylic work: Routing teeth melev Sun, 11/05/2017 - 15:43

How would you like to route some teeth for a baffle of your sump? Here is one of the methods I've used.

You could create a "jig" that is re-useable, such as the thumbnail to the right. It provides me with a series of grooves for the router bit's shaft to trace, but over time it melts the material of the jig and has to be replaced. This is a good choice for a few uses, at most.

Or you could cut teeth individually, especially for a one-time application.

I made a template that fits the width of my router base. Using a piece of plywood or MDF, trace the half-circle of your router's base onto the wood. It is very important that the half circle is recessed from the edge of the board 1.5". Basically, you'll have a U-shape in the template, so that the router can slide straight in and back out. It will travel 1.5" each time, creating each individual tooth.

After marking a small line every 3/4" on the acrylic along the edge that needs teeth, clamp the acrylic to the workbench. Clamp your template to piece of acrylic, lining up the template so it is flush with the edge of your acrylic and on one of the marks you made. You can use an oversized piece of acrylic, to practice the first few cuts, and trim those off on a table saw later. Using a longer-than-necessary piece gives you more material & space for easy clamping.

Turn on the power, run the router into the template, and carefully back it out. Turn off the router.

Unclamp the template, move it over 3/4" to the next mark, making sure the front edge is flush, and repeat...until all the teeth have been cut.

Be sure to leave clearance for the router bit so it doesn't cut into your workbench. Take your time, and you'll have a project to be proud of.

Note the wise use of protective goggles. Oops... I do wear them, honest! :)

This piece is ready to be secured in a sump. (Remove protective film before gluing.) Having a baffle like this is useful as the divider wall between the refugium and the return zone, to prevent macro algae from washing over into the next zone.

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Acrylic work: Tools I use...

melev — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 21:55:00 +0000

Acrylic work: Tools I use... melev Thu, 10/19/2017 - 00:55

Due to the abundance of emails, it was time to put some pictures on the site. Here are a number of items I use to build the sumps and other acrylic wares I fabricate. While not everything is absolutely necessary, I find that if you have the right tools on hand, your end result will be better. Keeping track of all these items can be a task, since they scatter during the construction phase...

The most important ingredient: Weld-On. Above you can see several kinds. #3 is for fast setting smaller projects, #4 for sumps, and #16 for repairs. Dead center, a needle-tip applicator. If you plan to try your hand at this, buy two applicators. They can clog, and there is nothing you own small enough to unclog them! However, you can use a match or a lighter to heat the needle for a second or two, which will unclog the tip. Unfortunately, the tip can only be unclogged a limited amount of times, so get a second bottle so you aren't stuck mid-project. Another method of unclogging the tip is to submerge the tip in the solvent, and pour more solvent in the cap. By morning it should be unclogged again.

When I use #3 or #4, each piece is bonded using the "pin method" Zephrant explained on Reef Central. When one seam has been joined, I remove the wires (explained below) within 15 seconds, as AcryLite FF melts quickly. Here's another Sample Project where Zephrant explains the pin method.

#16 is a semi-runny solvent, and I strongly recommend buying a pack of plastic nozzles at your local hobby shop. I buy 5 tips for $0.99. Take your tube of Weld-On #16 with you to make sure they will fit.

Weld-On #16 should be applied sparingly, not like applying caulk. When it cures, it shrinks 30% in volume, and can create air pockets in your project. It also can melt craters into the material, thus my recommendation for plastic nozzles. It helps provide more measured control.

The turkey baster above is made of glass. Plastic ones melt quickly when used to transfer Weld-On from its can to the applicator bottle. I found this one at Linens & Things for under $10. Also, a couple of markers are used to write on the acrylic. I use them to mark where pieces go, and later can wipe these off easily.

These clamps come in handy, when preparing material as well as when bonding some pieces.

The sanding block and my DIY scraper is used to prepare the edges that are to be bonded.

Two pieces of wood are screwed together to hold a regular utility knife blade. Inside, there are two small screws strategically located to prevent the blade from slipping too deeply within the wood. This holder has been used for about a year.

Using both hands to hold the blade level, I scrape the edge of the acrylic. The clamp pictured above holds each piece against the table saw's rip fence securely. Once the edge is scraped smooth, I run the sanding block a couple of times over the edge to avoid any burrs or sharp edges.

Rather than using pins, I use the smallest guitar strings I could find, such as the "g" and the "e" strings. I cut them into 3" long pieces, and have been using them for months. The shims are used to align the acrylic before it is joined. (Explained in the pins method)

These are plastic Speed Squares, commonly used for carpentry. At Home Depot, they sell for about $4 each. Note that the corner has been cut off each, intentionally.

In this image, you can see how the lack of a corner helps keep the joint of two pieces devoid of contact. If the corner was still on the speed square, when you wick the solvent into the joint, it would also wick under the square and glue it to your project. If you happened to notice in time, it would still marr the acrylic where the puddle had occured. This is why the corner has been nipped off, to avoid damage.

Reflections in this picture may be confusing. This is a common 90° angle where a baffle is glued to the base of a sump. This image is just to illustrate how that seam is safe from interference. I use the square to glue parts at perfect 90° angled-corners, rather than just trying to guess if parts are bonding straight at perpendicular angles. Here are more construction pictures of a sump being built.

These are my spacer blocks. The longer pieces are 1" wide, which I use between the baffles of the bubble trap. The shorter piece is 1.5" wide, which I use as a gauge to raise the center baffle 1.5" off the base of the sump.

Spring clamps are handy, such as when I have to cut the teeth for the refugium section.

Here is my teeth template. Using the spring clamps, I'll secure this template on the acrylic panel that will become the refugium baffle. The shank of the router bit traces the template, while the router bit blades cut teeth into the acrylic clamped beneath (not pictured). Using a template, it takes 30 seconds to route the teeth of a 16" wide baffle.

Here is an alternative: How to cut teeth

More tools. To the left is a soft bench clean-up brush, which wipes away acrylic chips from the sumps without scratching. It was $2 at Harbor Freight Tools.

Safety Goggles. Not the coolest thing to wear, but I do every time I use my table saw and router. You just never know when something bad might happen.

Using an older electric drill, I have a buffing wheel and some Tripoli (Jeweler's Rouge) to polish out imperfections and lighter scratches. Home Depot sells a polishing kit in the hardware department that runs about $12.

This router has worked out great. It also comes with a plunge-router attachment, but I've never used it.

What bit do I use? A Laminate Trimming Bit. Above, that is a 1/4" shank 3/8" cutting bit. The bearing is what makes it possible to trim off the excess acrylic after the project has had time (24 hours) to cure.

A couple more bits. The yellow one is 1/2" wide, the lower bit is a 3/4" bit. The benefit of larger bits is that as they cut through the material, they run cooler than the thinner bits. These are both well-worn.

A brand new bit waiting to be used.

To make the flange, I have a router guide. The top is a solid piece glued on the sump, and after I drill a starter hole, the router cuts the opening as I run the guide along the periphery.

Another view.

The guide has small adjustment knobs to fine tune the cut. The flange is 2" wide on this sump.

Here is a view from just under the top flange of the sump, with the router and guide on the opposite wall. The bearing on this bit does nothing in this application and a regular straight bit would work fine instead.

This is a 10" table saw. To the right, a Model F sump is ready for its new home.

The saw blade is made by Freud, and is 80 tooth. Maybe more. It cost about $70.

Here is a blade that would work nicely. DeWalt 10" blade

Using bees wax on the blade helps keep it cutting smoothly, and perhaps avoids some heat buildup.

This is a new tool. Instead of scraping and sanding each edge, I bought a bench jointer.

Twin blades spin rapidly, while the acrylic is moved across it steadily to create a clean edge. I use it all the time. I created a wooden guide to keep the acrylic straight or perpendicular to the blades, as well as a stand to keep it at waist level.

To drill a hole in the sump, a holesaw bit will do the job. There are several choices.

My preference is the ones made by Blu-Mol. They do a good job, are easy to switch out, and don't overheat the acrylic. When it is time to tap out the part that was drilled out, the openings in these bits provide good access. These cost more. The arbor and one holesaw can run $20 to $25, but additional saws cost around $10 to $14 each. I have a bit for 1", 1.5" and 2" bulkheads.

The drill arbor has locking pins to keep the bit securely attached. The knurled area is twisted to raise the pins into position, as you can see in the following images.

In this picture you can see how the pins are engaged.

A less expensive option is a hole saw kit, which permits you to switch out the hole saw as needed. I bought this kit at Harbor Freight for about $5 to $7.

By unscrewing this nut, you can remove and exchange hole saw tips. This type of holesaw does run hot, and the acrylic may melt somewhat. Getting the piece out of the saw will be a little more challenging, especially if the bit is still hot.

Finally, here's a very inexpensive bit that is not-interchangeable. It runs hot, and getting the acylic out of it is tough. A nail or awl will have to be poked through to press it out.

Still to come, images of the propane torch I use to flame polish the edges, and the accupucture needles I use now when gluing seams.

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Acrylic work: Routing Top Flange

melev — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 14:11:00 +0000

Acrylic work: Routing Top Flange melev Wed, 10/18/2017 - 17:11

There are a few ways to accomplish the top flange (the rim or one-piece euro-brace) of a sump. Originally, I would build the sump, squeeze in pieces of wood inside the upper edge of the sump, and use a router with a ball bearing guide to trace the lumber. This was tedious, and cutting wood for each sump would end up costing too much.

Later I bought an Edge-Guide that mounts to the router. Once the sump was built, I could use the edge guide to follow the outer periphery of the sump while the bit cut out the opening. This is fine, but it is possible to make an error, or even damage the sump if the center piece drops inwards too hard. Plus the sump would fill up with shavings that had to be removed afterwards. Some images of this procedure are included on this page when you scroll down quite a bit.

So I decided to make a jig, which varies from one sump to the next. Below, I explain the process and hope it helps you as well.

First, determine the size of the top piece, including any overhang during the gluing process. I always leave an extra 1/2" (both length and width). The flange will be 2" wide for this sump. What you see above is white MDF with thin brown screen moulding nailed in place.

Using a large piece of MDF as my work surface, I bradnail the white strips in place. The area in the center between the white strips matches the actual opening of the sump. In this case, the top piece I'm using is 54.5" long, and 18.5" wide. The finished internal opening will be 50" long and 14" wide, providing a 2" wide rim plus the 1/4" overhang on all four sides that will trimmed off via router once the sump is assembled and cured.

The brown wooden strips are used to hold the acrylic in place, and are 1/4" tall so they don't interfere with the router base. It can slide over them cleanly. Getting the jig ready the first time took me about 20 minutes. Now I can modify it as needed in about 10 minutes or less, reusing lumber often.

The arrow is pointing to the lumber that the router will be tracing. Normally, I would use only the white MDF, but in this case I was out of it and grabbed something handy to handle the width necessary for this project.

The brown strip is 2 1/4" from the inner edge, on all four sides. So here's the math for this piece:

2 1/4" + 14" + 2 1/4" = 18.5" wide

2 1/4" + 50" + 2 1/4" = 54.5" long

Remember, the inner edge of the frame you build should be what your finished opening size needs to be.

The extra 1/4" of material on all four edges gives me a little lattitude during construction. Once the sump is glued together, any overhang is routed off, leaving a nice clean edge.

The sheet is in place, and then it is clamped in a few choice spots, just in case. You don't want it to shift.

Drill a hole for the router bit to go through. The router bit you must use in this project will have a bearing guide at the tip, so you can't just lower it into the acrylic (it can't cut downward).

The router bit should extend deeply enough that the bearing can trace the inner edge of the lumber. It should not be so deep that it touches or drags on the MDF work surface. The blades of the bit should be at the correct depth to cut the 1/4" thick acrylic. Check closely before turning on the router.

The bit is inserted through the opening, and checked to make sure the depth is set correctly. If the router is rocking back and forth, the bit is too deep. Visually inspect before you turn the router on to make sure the blade will fully contact the acrylic and the bearing will trace the inner rim of the jig.

Ready! Hold your router tightly, and turn it on. Cutting clockwise within the perimeter of your jig, route out the opening. Take your time, wear safety goggles, and within about 60 to 90 seconds you'll be done.

Here you can see how the router bit traced the brown lumber and cut the acrylic in a nice straight line. I used a compressor to blow out the shavings to give you a better view; normally it would be full of white shavings as you run the router around the jig.

At the corner, you don't have to do anything. Just continue routing as you did the first edge, letting the bearing trace the inner perimeter of the jig.

Note the clamp in the upper part of this image. If you don't clamp it, the material may wander and you'll ruin the flange. The clamps do get in the way of the router, so you'll have to move them, or route around them only to come back later and route those areas after the clamps have been relocated.

Done! The center piece drops down into the opening.

Remove the panel, and blow out the shavings. I suggest you run the router a second time just to clean up any burrs or spots that didn't get routed precisely the first time.

And this is your final piece, ready to glue to the top of the sump. If you wanted a cross brace or two, all you would need to do is insert cross bars in the jig before starting, drill a starter hole in each section, and then route out each section.

A nice clean edge. If you wanted to flame polish the inner edge with a propane torch, be sure to remove the protective film and work away from any flammable materials. I usually only flame polish the opening after the sump is built.

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