dannon rhudy on sat 5 nov 05
Kelly, that plastic stuff usually has to be cut
by hand, because of the heat generated by
the saw blade friction. Also - 1/4" is not
thick enough for such a material, in my
opinion. For freebie
materials, you might like to try cadging some
sink cut outs from an installer (or cabinet shop).
I've used those, but they are pretty thick. Work
great, though. Otherwise - quarter or three-eighths
plywood works very well, in my experience. It
is not so brittle as the lexan. You only need small
pieces, so you can likely find scraps here/there.
And - not expensive to buy a small piece.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
---
---
primalmommy on sun 6 nov 05
A technical post, folks, I promise no blather about my daughter's mouse
or the mold growing in the jack-o-lanterns.
This morning I bought a cheap, central machinery scroll saw, a variety
of blades, and a sheet of Lexan about 1/4 inch thick. I proceded to make
myself some dies.
The problem I am having is that the saw blade seems to cut through the
lexan and then melt it back shut, from the friction/heat it generates. I
tried faster and slower speeds, thicker and thinner blades. It doesn't
seem to happen on the long straight shots -- like cutting the lexan into
die sized squares -- but mostly in the intricate corners inside the
shape I am cutting out. And it seems to be worse if I angle the cutting
deck to bevel the edge of my shape.
And the stuff smells absolutely awful/toxic/yuck while I cut.
The V-shaped extrusion in a lexan die I made yesterday with Diana
Pancioli wouldn't fit in my extruder unless I removed the U bolt, and it
did fine without it -- but the one die I managed to cut-melt-make work
today snapped as soon as I put it in the extruder, even with fresh
pugged soft clay. A u-bolt probably would have saved that one.
So far the only success I have had is with one I cot from a bit of
leftover laminate flooring from our sunroom project. It cut like butter
after that plastic melty mess, and made a nice extrusion even after I
fitted the u-bolt.
What else can I try? David, I am fresh out of road signs ;0)
Yours,
Kelly in Ohio... who had to summon every bit of self control to make
myself come in to bed instead of making and trying extruder dies all
night... but I have to get up early to plan the week's homeschool
assignments. So, nighty night..
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steve graber on mon 7 nov 05
it occured to me that the colleges might have access to these machines on the other side of the campus. try chasing down the engineering &/or industrial arts building. use their cad equipment to design some cool shapes.
i know my old college, the college of new jersey, have some of the rapid proto machines & a sheet metal nibbler.
see ya
steve
steve graber wrote:you might accidently live near a sheet metal company & could barter for some free dies with pottery & other stuff for trade.
sheet metal stamping houses can easily make extruder parts out of most any metals. they use "nibbling" machines which chew off edges to really fine dimensions. or they might be a laser cut house that uses laser to cut metals.
for a 3 inch die, with pottery-complex edges (simple edges in their terms) they could set up & run from scrap metal.
for other efforts at work i've gotten things done free & fast in machine shops for a case of beer or a small bottle of JD.
i had access for a few years to *star trek* equipment & made my own dies & stamps & texture tools. i passed a few around to local potters. these machines (www.3dsystems.com) use lasers to solidify liquid into solid parts or powder plastics into solid plastics. the people that use these machines are call rapid prototype companies, or rapid prototype services. look for one in your neighborhood. try to barter for some really classy free parts.
see ya
steve
"Donald G. Goldsobel"
wrote:Kelly,
The easiest medium is the white opaque plastic used in cutting boards. I buy
scraps of it at the plastics supply house-they sell it by the pound. I get
it 1/4 inch and back it with a large factory die for strencth-easier tha
cutting a 3/4 inch die.
Good luck
Donald
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David Hendley on mon 7 nov 05
I have been making extruder dies for 30 years. I've made dies
out of clay (as suggested in the instructions with the very first clay
extruder offered for sale), plywood, Plexiglas (cast acrylic), Plexiglas
backed with plywood, sheet metal backed with plywood, copper
sheet, steel, cutting board plastic, and Lexan plastic.
Aluminum beats them all - easy to cut with a metal blade in a jig saw,
jewelers saw, or scroll saw, easy to bevel, non-breakable, non-rusting,
and, if you use recycled highway signs, the plastic coating makes clean
up fast and easy.
So, you can continue to fool with plastic that melts when you try to cut it
and breaks when you use it, struggle with too-thick-to-accurately-shape
plywood or thick plastic, or you can buy and use the best material for
the job and start extruding things.
David Hendley
I don't know nothin' but the blues, cobalt that is.
david@farmpots.com
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
> This morning I bought a cheap, central machinery scroll saw, a variety
> of blades, and a sheet of Lexan about 1/4 inch thick. I proceded to make
> myself some dies.
>
> The problem I am having is that the saw blade seems to cut through the
> lexan and then melt it back shut, from the friction/heat it generates. I
> tried faster and slower speeds, thicker and thinner blades. It doesn't
> seem to happen on the long straight shots -- like cutting the lexan into
> die sized squares -- but mostly in the intricate corners inside the
> shape I am cutting out. And it seems to be worse if I angle the cutting
> deck to bevel the edge of my shape.
Jim Bob Salazar on mon 7 nov 05
hey kelly,
nothing in my opinion makes a better die than aluminum. i'm a fan of
cutting dies out of 3/16" to 1/8" aluminum. you can get it at the hardware
store or old road signs. they make the cleanest dies for my liking.
i teach an extrusion class as a special topics course. the students have to
design, create and use a dies for their projects. in class we use a coping
saw and a bench pin, like the ones used in jewelry, for cutting out solid
and hollow dies. the coping saw works fine with lexan it just requires a
little time to "clean up" the design. we have a place here called something
special. it's one of those laser engraving places. i have had students
take a black and white line drawing over to him along with their plastic and
he laser cuts the designs through the plastic. round the corners on the top
(clay side) and they work great. i don't know how much they paid but i know
it was affordable as several of the students used this method.
hope this helps,
jim bob
Jim Bob Salazar
Associate Professor of Art - Ceramics
Sul Ross State University
East Highway 90 Box C-43
Alpine Texas 79832-001
Office 432-837-8405
Studio 432-837-8280
jsalazar@sulross.edu
Carolynn M. Palmer on mon 7 nov 05
We purchased 1/4 inch plexiglas scrap from a company that replaces glass
windows. And we've also run into the lexan for sale at our hardware store.
The plexiglas scrap does not melt from the blade's friction. The lexan does.
What helped with the lexan was to spray the blade and surface with fine oil
to reduce the friction.
Take extra care, though, this makes the piece extremely slippery to handle
around that sharp little blade.
-Carolynn Palmer, Moscow, Michigan
pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on mon 7 nov 05
Hi Kelly,
Lube the little Saw Blade, 'pam', WD-40, silicone-aerosol-lube, dry lube,
Bee's Wax, try different things even, see what works best respectively for
cutting different materials.
For the Lexan, maybe a skip-tooth Saw Blade, and possibly a slower speed
also.
Have fun...!
Phil
Las Vegas
----- Original Message -----
From: "primalmommy"
<<<<>>>>
> The problem I am having is that the saw blade seems to cut through the
> lexan and then melt it back shut, from the friction/heat it generates. I
> tried faster and slower speeds, thicker and thinner blades. It doesn't
> seem to happen on the long straight shots -- like cutting the lexan into
> die sized squares -- but mostly in the intricate corners inside the
> shape I am cutting out. And it seems to be worse if I angle the cutting
> deck to bevel the edge of my shape.
<<<>>
> Yours,
> Kelly in Ohio...
Gordon Ward on mon 7 nov 05
I have made lots of Lexan and Plexiglass extruder dies and have found
that my best tool is a Dremel. I have a small tungsten carbide burr
which works quite well. I put the piece to be carved in a vise and
wear magnifiers. When extruding, I support the Lexan or Plexiglass
with a variety of aluminium plates with different sized holes. These
came with my extruder. This way the outer part of the Lexan does not
have to fit the extruder perfectly. Hope that helps. Gordon
On Nov 6, 2005, at 8:35 PM, primalmommy wrote:
> The problem I am having is that the saw blade seems to cut through the
> lexan and then melt it back shut, from the friction/heat it generates.
Donald G. Goldsobel on mon 7 nov 05
Kelly,
The easiest medium is the white opaque plastic used in cutting boards. I buy
scraps of it at the plastics supply house-they sell it by the pound. I get
it 1/4 inch and back it with a large factory die for strencth-easier tha
cutting a 3/4 inch die.
Good luck
Donald
steve graber on mon 7 nov 05
you might accidently live near a sheet metal company & could barter for some free dies with pottery & other stuff for trade.
sheet metal stamping houses can easily make extruder parts out of most any metals. they use "nibbling" machines which chew off edges to really fine dimensions. or they might be a laser cut house that uses laser to cut metals.
for a 3 inch die, with pottery-complex edges (simple edges in their terms) they could set up & run from scrap metal.
for other efforts at work i've gotten things done free & fast in machine shops for a case of beer or a small bottle of JD.
i had access for a few years to *star trek* equipment & made my own dies & stamps & texture tools. i passed a few around to local potters. these machines (www.3dsystems.com) use lasers to solidify liquid into solid parts or powder plastics into solid plastics. the people that use these machines are call rapid prototype companies, or rapid prototype services. look for one in your neighborhood. try to barter for some really classy free parts.
see ya
steve
"Donald G. Goldsobel" wrote:Kelly,
The easiest medium is the white opaque plastic used in cutting boards. I buy
scraps of it at the plastics supply house-they sell it by the pound. I get
it 1/4 inch and back it with a large factory die for strencth-easier tha
cutting a 3/4 inch die.
Good luck
Donald
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
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