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Bending Plexiglass: I need a jig DerbyDad03 05-02-2007
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Posted by DerbyDad03 on May 2, 2007, 4:14 pm


I need to make a jig for bending plexiglass so that I can get
perfectly straight bends.

I'm mounting some 4" wide x 6" long strips of 1/8" plexiglass in my
vise and bending them by heating them up with my heat gun. The problem
I'm having is that the bend isn't always straight because I'm having
trouble keeping constant pressure and constant temperature across the
4" wide bending area. Even when I use a 5" wide piece of wood to bend
the plexiglass, my bends tend to come out a little "twisted". In other
words, the bend isn't always at a right angle to the edge of the
stock.

The problem gets worse if I don't bend it to the correct angle the
first time. It's next to impossible to put it back in the vise in the
exact same position so that the stock will continue to bend along the
original bend.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help me get consistantly straight
bends everytime?

Thanks!


Posted by charlie on May 2, 2007, 4:27 pm



>I need to make a jig for bending plexiglass so that I can get
> perfectly straight bends.
>
> I'm mounting some 4" wide x 6" long strips of 1/8" plexiglass in my
> vise and bending them by heating them up with my heat gun. The problem
> I'm having is that the bend isn't always straight because I'm having
> trouble keeping constant pressure and constant temperature across the
> 4" wide bending area. Even when I use a 5" wide piece of wood to bend
> the plexiglass, my bends tend to come out a little "twisted". In other
> words, the bend isn't always at a right angle to the edge of the
> stock.
>
> The problem gets worse if I don't bend it to the correct angle the
> first time. It's next to impossible to put it back in the vise in the
> exact same position so that the stock will continue to bend along the
> original bend.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions to help me get consistantly straight
> bends everytime?
>
> Thanks!

use a strip heater rather than a heat gun. also, you can set up a jig out of
wood that has the correct angle in it. after you heat the plastic, place in
the jig to let cool and it should keep the bend aligned correctly.



Posted by DerbyDad03 on May 2, 2007, 4:48 pm


>
>
>
>
>
>
> >I need to make a jig for bending plexiglass so that I can get
> > perfectly straight bends.
>
> > I'm mounting some 4" wide x 6" long strips of 1/8" plexiglass in my
> > vise and bending them by heating them up with my heat gun. The problem
> > I'm having is that the bend isn't always straight because I'm having
> > trouble keeping constant pressure and constant temperature across the
> > 4" wide bending area. Even when I use a 5" wide piece of wood to bend
> > the plexiglass, my bends tend to come out a little "twisted". In other
> > words, the bend isn't always at a right angle to the edge of the
> > stock.
>
> > The problem gets worse if I don't bend it to the correct angle the
> > first time. It's next to impossible to put it back in the vise in the
> > exact same position so that the stock will continue to bend along the
> > original bend.
>
> > Does anyone have any suggestions to help me get consistantly straight
> > bends everytime?
>
> > Thanks!
>
> use a strip heater rather than a heat gun. also, you can set up a jig out of
> wood that has the correct angle in it. after you heat the plastic, place in
> the jig to let cool and it should keep the bend aligned correctly.- Hide
quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks, but...

I don't have a strip heater and not sure I want to invest in one for
the few times I need to bend plexiglass. Funds are tight right now.

Angles are not always the same, so I would need to build multiple
cooling jigs. I guess I'm just looking for a jig to help do the actual
bending. Besides, my limited experience has been that as soon as I
remove the heat, the stock cools so quickly that I wouldn't be able to
get it into a jig before it stiffened up. Maybe I need to experiment a
little more. Thanks again.


Posted by mm on May 3, 2007, 12:33 am



>>
>> use a strip heater rather than a heat gun. also, you can set up a jig out of
>> wood that has the correct angle in it. after you heat the plastic, place in
>> the jig to let cool and it should keep the bend aligned correctly.- Hide
quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
>Thanks, but...
>
>I don't have a strip heater and not sure I want to invest in one for
>the few times I need to bend plexiglass. Funds are tight right now.

I think a strip heater is easier to find, but before I needed it, I
bought some I guess you'd call metal tube heaters. 1/4" in diameter
or a little more, with two wires coming out of one end. They were sold
on Canal St. in NYC. Surplus from something. If you have a scrap
laser printer or laser copier or even a regular copier that uses light
and mirrors, I guess I mean if you have a scrap anything that uses
toner, there's a metal tube inside that fixes the toner by heating it.
It's the last step, so the heater is near the exit. I have the
feeling that they're hotter than my heaters, but I really don't know.
Mine took maybe 15 seconds to a minute to heat the plastic enough,
starting from cold. It was consistent, but I can't remember any
closer?.

I might have seen them at some hamfests also. But go to a big one to
maximize your chances. They'll be with the guys who have lots of
open plastic boxes on their tables. New stuff that is surplus, like
Canal St. Check www.arrl.com to find hamfests in your area. The season
is just starting. Buy and sell used stuff too.

Allthe ones I have and have seen are long enough for this application.

>Angles are not always the same, so I would need to build multiple
>cooling jigs. I guess I'm just looking for a jig to help do the actual

Or one, with a hinge or brackets behind it to hold it at the right
angle.

>bending. Besides, my limited experience has been that as soon as I
>remove the heat, the stock cools so quickly that I wouldn't be able to
>get it into a jig before it stiffened up. Maybe I need to experiment a

I think with the hot tube you can reheat it at the same spot, but it's
harder to hold the heater in place the second time. The first time, I
just lay it on the plastic, iirc. 110 volts.

>little more. Thanks again.

I think I just eye-balled it to get 90 degrees. I'd never bent
plastic before, and I think I was lucky enough to get it the first
time. Just two bends. Like a Z, with a smaller middle segment. I
was making a vent window for a '73 Buick Centurion. One end went into
the window slot, a triangular part was horizontal, and the main part,
the other end, rested against the side view mirror. It worked well at
up to 80 mph.

I used it for something else too, years later.

Posted by jim menning on May 2, 2007, 5:50 pm



>I need to make a jig for bending plexiglass so that I can get
> perfectly straight bends.
>
> I'm mounting some 4" wide x 6" long strips of 1/8" plexiglass in my
> vise and bending them by heating them up with my heat gun. The problem
> I'm having is that the bend isn't always straight because I'm having
> trouble keeping constant pressure and constant temperature across the
> 4" wide bending area. Even when I use a 5" wide piece of wood to bend
> the plexiglass, my bends tend to come out a little "twisted". In other
> words, the bend isn't always at a right angle to the edge of the
> stock.
>
> The problem gets worse if I don't bend it to the correct angle the
> first time. It's next to impossible to put it back in the vise in the
> exact same position so that the stock will continue to bend along the
> original bend.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions to help me get consistantly straight
> bends everytime?
>
> Thanks!
>

Bend it over a heated piece of metal pipe.



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