good place to buy acrylic for DIY TT

[ironcitymadman]

Hello all!!! This is my first posting. I've been intently reading all the DIY TT threads, and the thought of making my own TT seems HELLACOOL I need a little help in finding a good place to buy acrylic. Is it all the same? (quality, density, etc) Also how do you samich metal (ie aluminum, stainless) to plastic for a platter? Glue?Screws? Sheer will? thanks for any help

BEER

[SY]

McMaster-Carr has all. So does TAP Plastics. There are a lot of grades of acrylic available, both filled and unfilled. Horses for courses- there is no "best," only good and bad choices for specific applications and design tradeoffs.

There are a lot of options for metal-to-plastic attachment. Screws, certainly (though one has to be mindful of torque and design in a way of spreading out the force). Adhesives, too- being careful to allow enough compliance to not have failure from mismatch of thermal expansion.

[Vinyl-Addict]

I highly recommend CAST Acrylic Sheet. That is what I use in my machining projects. Look for Lucite L Cast Acrylic sheet. If you have never worked with Acrylic, be careful, do not drill pilot holes and then chase them with larger drills unless you have the work held down securely, otherwise it will suck up and cause you injury. Acrylic will also crack if you don't have a good method of drilling. It saws easily and machines well, but you must have a good process in mind before starting the project. Good luck!

[Peter Daniel]

Originally posted by Vinyl-Addict
I highly recommend CAST Acrylic Sheet. That is what I use in my machining projects. Look for Lucite L Cast Acrylic sheet. If you have never worked with Acrylic, be careful, do not drill pilot holes and then chase them with larger drills unless you have the work held down securely, otherwise it will suck up and cause you injury. Acrylic will also crack if you don't have a good method of drilling. It saws easily and machines well, but you must have a good process in mind before starting the project. Good luck!

Any recommendation on drilling speed and lubricants if any? Sometimes I got chipped edge on a hole, but usually it's fine.

[Vinyl-Addict]

Any recommendation on drilling speed and lubricants if any? Sometimes I got chipped edge on a hole, but usually it's fine.

I would perform a search on google to find specific speeds for drilling since I only deal in SFM to calculate drilling speeds and feeds on CNC equipment. I also use water soluble coolant when drilling/machining all plastics and metals.

Are you doing this project in a garage and using hand tools?

1 important thing that will help you obtain good entry and prevent chipping when the drill goes through the workpiece is to place a plate underneath the piece you are drilling. That will support the acrylic when the drill breaks through the other side and prevent chipping. Also, do not drill a small pilot hole and then chase it with a larger hole. You will chip the material as well as risk the drill sucking into the work. Good drill point geometry for the drill should be between 60 & 90 degrees. Finally, always make sure you have a sharp tool.

[grataku]

I just got done making some pieces of equipment with acrylic. After drilling and before glueing remember to anneal the part with a heatgun. ~50-60 C should do it.

[Vinyl-Addict]

Here are links with some info on working with Acrylic.
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/acrylic.htm
http://www.plaskolite.com/fabguide/pg08.pdf

[JOE DIRT®]

If anyone cares on my input here......LEXAN is the best acrylic to work with....it can be machined,threaded,formed and the stuff is bullet proof...I currently buy it for my designs at 200CAN for a 4X8 sheet...I have done pretty much everything with this product....nice thing about it also is it comes with a peel off plastic backing so it does not get scratched....it also comes in different tints as well as clear...the trademark is owned by 3M but there are other manufactures that have a similar product

Cheers!!The DIRT®

[fdegrove]

Hi,

Oh, yes...almost forgot about Lexan.

Excellent idea.

Thank you for the reminder.

Cheers,

[Peter Daniel]

I didn't check it myself, but acrylic probably has better damping properties and sounds better than Lexan. You can even feel the difference when handling both. Here's my recent baffles, machined out of 2" acrylic.