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Acrylic work: Routing Acrylic Projects

melev — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 04:34:29 +0000

Acrylic work: Routing Acrylic Projects melev Mon, 06/29/2020 - 07:34

Working with acrylic isn't very hard, but you do have to be meticulous. Straight cuts are important, and the smoother the edges you achieve, the better your joints will bond. Many people wonder how sumps are assembled and don't realize that the bonding agent literally welds the two pieces into one piece with a chemical reaction that melts and merges the material. You need a triple cut (ATB) blade with 80 or more teeth for a clean edge.

I use Weld-On #3 for my joints, and #16 for gaps as well as in seams that I feel need a little more reinforcement. Looking for extended tips at the local hobby shop, I was able to force a long nozzle on the #16 to better control the amount of glue coming out because it had a smaller diameter tip.

Weld-On #3 needs to be applied with a needle applicator. This fluid is like water in consistency, and feels cool when dripped on my skin. It doesn't burn or glue flesh together like Super Glue does. By the way, silicone is not an option when building a sump or any other acrylic project. If you are working with glass, silicone is the stuff to use. Not with acrylic.

Usually when I build my projects, I work alone. All the cuts are made outdoors, along with anything that is routed. Once my pieces are ready, I bring them in to assemble the unit on my kitchen table where conditions are stable. Working in the sun, wind, humidity or cold can all contribute to issues, including general discomfort. If you choose to work indoors, cover your surface with a sheet of MDF to protect your furniture. Acrylic can be quite sharp and will scratch surfaces remarkably well.

A couple of local hobbyists came over for the weekend to build their own weir and sump. After cutting and heating their acrylic to bend it to the shape they desired, it was glued. Once it had time to cure, it needed to be routed. Here is a picture of it before routing.

The router table is clamped to the surface to keep it steady. Router switched on, the project is worked around the router bit to trim off the excess acrylic as the bearing traces the project. Since there is no room for safeties, mind your hands.

Note the bit is raised up only high enough to trim the thickness of the bottom piece.

The bearing affixed at the end of the bit rolls along the edge of the weir, guiding the cutting blade.

And this is what it looked like once it was drilled and the DIY bulkhead installed.

When it comes to building a sump, I like to oversize the pieces, and route them once it is assembled and cured.

The bottom piece is a little longer and a little wider than necessary.
The front and back pieces are longer than necessary, but the height is correct.
The ends and internal baffles are exactly the same size width-wise.
End pieces must be the same height as the front and back pieces.
Baffles should all be the same height to maintain proper water levels. Opinions vary on this, of course.

Here is a rimless sump that has been assembled and ready to be routed. Note the end of the sump - the end piece seems recessed, but it is not. All overhang edges extended past the end piece will be routed off, leaving clean corners and edges. The ends are excessively long in this image, all it needs is about 1/4" extra.... which is trimmed off via router later.

Using a helper to keep the sump in place is a good idea. The bearing on the router bit will follow the walls of the sump, providing a beautiful edge once done.

Just finishing the last corner, you can see this sump is ready to fill with water to check for leaks.

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Fragging Tools

melev — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 14:55:39 +0000

Fragging Tools melev Thu, 06/25/2020 - 17:55

Fragging corals is a big part of the hobby. Being able to acquire frags from others has benefits. Corals are shared rather than the constant harvesting of wild colonies in the ocean, and they are already accustomed to dwelling in a closed ecosystem. The giver prunes the colonies in their reef, allowing for better flow. They are able to 'bank' a coral with you in case theirs perishes for whatever reason. The receiver enjoys watching the little piece grow into something beautiful over time, and then will one day be a giver as well.

Over the years, commercial sales have shifted from colony-sized corals to frag-size. Getting bigger colonies is nearly unheard of. Just about anything can be fragged, which is to cut a fragment off the bigger colony. I have a general rule: I won't frag a frag. I'm more of a hoarder, preferring to grow them into big colonies but from time to time I have to cave in and snip a few piece here and there.

Here's my old fragging kit. I keep it in a simple container from the Dollar Store.

Harbor Freight Rotary Tool kit. It was only $8, and rather worthless. I also own a Dremel, but sometimes wished I'd purchases a cordless version even though it's quite a bit more ($79-ish).

Here it is, all laid out.

Everything is used and abused, so just ignore rust stains and/or damage in these closeups.

I used Cyano Acrylate, from Ca-Plus.com It is super glue gel, but in a larger tube (20g instead of .5g tubes). I also use some accelerator from them, to speed up set time. We used to buy 50 of each from that site for around $220 a couple of times a year in group buys. There are other products on the market that work quite well, such as the Cg Coral Glue from Ecotech.

When gluing an acro frag or a zoanthid polyp, dry off a spot on your live rock rubble (or boulder), then apply the accelerator either with an applicator, or with the spray nozzle that comes with it. Either seems to work. Then blot off the coral's base, and apply some glue. Press it into place, and within 5 seconds, it is secure. I dip it in bowl of tank water to remove any toxins before it goes in my tank.

Alternately, you might want to use two-part epoxy putty, like the one pictured by Two Little Fishies. You mix it in your hand until it is uniform in color, press it to the LR and form it around the base of your frag. This stuff will make your skimmer overflow, so turn it off for a while, or just use a little bit each day instead of one monster session of epoxying. Another two part epoxy I use is by DD, and here's the product review: http://melevsreef.com/articles/d-d-aquascape-putty

Here are the tools I use to cut corals, or to pry them off the LR. These work with all kinds of corals, including mushrooms. They came from Premium Aquatics.

The dental tools came from my dentist. I just asked for some old stuff they no longer use but still have in a drawer. I prefer stuff like the middle one you see. I've found similar at Harbor Freight.

The cutting wheel I use on the Dremel. I got this one from Ebay, as we did a group buy and ordered 40 wheels and the shank that holds it. They are pretty cheap. The one drawback is that they don't cut deeply because once you've hit the central shaft, you no longer can penetrate the coral. Radius matters.

The tile cutting saw blade made for RotoZip would work much better depth-wise, because the blade was 2.5 or 3" in diameter. But with a larger blade, you end up having to work out in the open. You lose the precision of being able to cut in a nitch area.

Anthony Calfo demonstrated using a $50 fisher-price tile cutting wet saw at our Next Wave conference. He sliced right through favias and acans and it didn't take long at all.

Pictured also are razor blades, toothpicks and rubberbands. These come in handy for trimming stuff and securing fraglets. Having all this stuff in one spot will make your fragging sessions easier to manage, so gather up all your tools and pieces and keep them in a carrying case. Lastly, I have a small bucket filled with frag plugs, frag disks and small bits of rock rubble to select from.

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