Looking for 1/8" ABS plastic board...??

On 24 May 2004 12:51:01 -0700, [email hidden] (Jeff Potter) may

have said:

I'm trying to find a piece of 12" square ABS plastic board that's 1/8"
thick. I need two such pieces or the equivalent size board.

I've heard there's a company/website called Mc?-Carr that sells
plastic stuff in small amounts.

That would be these people:

http://www.mcmaster.com/

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Jeff,

Sounds like you are thinking of McMaster-Carr. Here is their URL:

www.mcmaster.com

Hope this helps.

Gary
"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm trying to find a piece of 12" square ABS plastic board that's 1/8"
thick. I need two such pieces or the equivalent size board.

I'm fabricating chainring guards for a 66-tooth Paragon ring on my
lowracer fullyfaired HPV.

Paragon no longer makes rings or guards for them.

My only need is to keep a chain from derailing---it won't get a lot of
wear and tear.

Basically I need two rings about 11.5" in diameter and about 2" wide
(bolt-holes are in the outer part of the ring).

I've heard there's a company/website called Mc?-Carr that sells
plastic stuff in small amounts.

--JP

On 24 May 2004 12:51:01 -0700 (Jeff Potter) said:

I'm trying to find a piece of 12" square ABS plastic board that's 1/8"
thick. I need two such pieces or the equivalent size board.

The company is McMaster-Carr. Go to www.McMaster.com.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney [email hidden]
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

[email hidden] (Jeff Potter) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'm trying to find a piece of 12" square ABS plastic board that's 1/8"
thick. I need two such pieces or the equivalent size board.

snippp

Is "ABS" required? Lowes & Home Despot sell polycarbonate in 1/8"...
Also goes under the trade name Lexan... Cuts easily with a scroll saw.
This stuff is bullet proof. Drills & sands easy, but you can't break
it with a hammer... dale

Ploycarb is 15% heavier than ABS, is more expensive thasn ABS and it comes
in metric thicknesses, i.e. 3mm=.117" .
"dalev" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Jeff Potter) wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm trying to find a piece of 12" square ABS plastic board that's 1/8"
thick. I need two such pieces or the equivalent size board.

snippp

Is "ABS" required? Lowes & Home Despot sell polycarbonate in 1/8"...
Also goes under the trade name Lexan... Cuts easily with a scroll saw.
This stuff is bullet proof. Drills & sands easy, but you can't break
it with a hammer... dale

Is Lexan brittle? I thought that's the main problem with the plastic
board commonly available. Actually the Depot people said they had
plexiglass---that sounds brittle to me. Is Lexan the same? Or similar
in terms of brittleness? --JP

On 26 May 2004 06:47:41 -0700, [email hidden] (Jeff Potter)

Quoted message said:

Is Lexan brittle? I thought that's the main problem with the plastic
board commonly available. Actually the Depot people said they had
plexiglass---that sounds brittle to me. Is Lexan the same? Or similar
in terms of brittleness? --JP

Plexiglass- acrylic- is BRITTLE! I wouldn't use it for any structural
element. It will crack easily, especially at a bolt hole. When it does
shatter, it has sharp edges- not good for any accident on a bike.

Lexan is polycarbonate. It is NOT brittle. Very good for fairings,
chain guards, etc. Not the easiest to machine- tends to melt, discolor
slightly, and leave burrs, but these can be scraped away. Doesn't take
paint easily, though.

ABS- acrylic butyl stryrene?- is not brittle. It does come in
different 'mixes,' where they change the ratio of the major materials,
which leads to different qualities. Takes paint pretty well, and comes
in a few stock colors.

For a chainguard/chainring guard, I'd go with the polycarbonate first,
ABS second, and masonite before acrylic 🙂

If you have are willing to search around, you can probably find a
local laser cutter who will have materials in stock. Send them an
accurate drawing or sketch (preferably a computer file- .dwg or .eps
most likely- or expect to pay a bit for their CAD time) and they will
cut it cleanly. An example-
http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html

This firm does very nice work- I use them al the time- but they aren't
the cheapest and they have a $75 minimum-
http://www.lasercut.com/

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 26 May 2004 06:47:41 -0700, [email hidden] (Jeff Potter)

Quoted message said:

Is Lexan brittle? I thought that's the main problem with the plastic
board commonly available. Actually the Depot people said they had
plexiglass---that sounds brittle to me. Is Lexan the same? Or similar
in terms of brittleness? --JP

Plexiglass- acrylic- is BRITTLE! I wouldn't use it for any structural
element. It will crack easily, especially at a bolt hole. When it does
shatter, it has sharp edges- not good for any accident on a bike.

Lexan is polycarbonate. It is NOT brittle. Very good for fairings,
chain guards, etc. Not the easiest to machine- tends to melt, discolor
slightly, and leave burrs, but these can be scraped away. Doesn't take
paint easily, though.

ABS- acrylic butyl stryrene?- is not brittle. It does come in
different 'mixes,' where they change the ratio of the major materials,
which leads to different qualities. Takes paint pretty well, and comes
in a few stock colors.

Pretty close. It's Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. For chunks from McMaster
it will probably be black with a hair cell texture one side. From the scap
bin at a plastics supplier (Laird, Regal, Caddialc etc) you might find
choices. PVC type2 would be another choice (grey, about the same density as
polycarbonate.

Quoted message said:

For a chainguard/chainring guard, I'd go with the polycarbonate first,
ABS second, and masonite before acrylic 🙂

I'd never use acrylic for a chaingard. It is too brittle. However another
material called Sintra, a foam pvc sheet sold through distributers is
lighter than straight PVC and Polycarbonate (Lexan) and has good UV
stability.

Quoted message said:

If you have are willing to search around, you can probably find a
local laser cutter who will have materials in stock. Send them an
accurate drawing or sketch (preferably a computer file- .dwg or .eps
most likely- or expect to pay a bit for their CAD time) and they will
cut it cleanly. An example-
http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html

I know that acrylic is often laser cut for signs etc, ABS doesn't cut well
with laser (too much smoke), but I'm not sure about polycarbonate. Not all
plastics lase well. Waterjet cutting works well, but unless you want several
parts, the set up and programming charges will be a killer. Plan on using a
scroll saw, drill, files and sandpaper and lots of elbow grease.

Quoted message said:

This firm does very nice work- I use them al the time- but they aren't
the cheapest and they have a $75 minimum-
http://www.lasercut.com/

harv said:

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 26 May 2004 06:47:41 -0700, [email hidden] (Jeff Potter)
wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ABS- acrylic butyl stryrene?- is not brittle. It does come in
different 'mixes,' where they change the ratio of the major materials,
which leads to different qualities. Takes paint pretty well, and comes
in a few stock colors.

Pretty close. It's Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.

THanks for the correct name.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For a chainguard/chainring guard, I'd go with the polycarbonate first,
ABS second, and masonite before acrylic 🙂

I'd never use acrylic for a chaingard. It is too brittle. However another
material called Sintra, a foam pvc sheet sold through distributers is
lighter than straight PVC and Polycarbonate (Lexan) and has good UV
stability.

Quoted message said:

I wonder how it would do as a chainguard. It doesn't shatter, but it
does chip and flake and bend easier than the other materials you
mention.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you have are willing to search around, you can probably find a
local laser cutter who will have materials in stock. Send them an
accurate drawing or sketch (preferably a computer file- .dwg or .eps
most likely- or expect to pay a bit for their CAD time) and they will
cut it cleanly. An example-
http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html

I know that acrylic is often laser cut for signs etc, ABS doesn't cut well
with laser (too much smoke), but I'm not sure about polycarbonate. Not all
plastics lase well. Waterjet cutting works well, but unless you want several
parts, the set up and programming charges will be a killer. Plan on using a
scroll saw, drill, files and sandpaper and lots of elbow grease.

Quoted message said:

I've had 1/8 inch ABS lasercut with excellent results.

Polycarbonate discolors at the cut point. You get a brown tint right
along the cut edge. And a melt ridge- very slight. Sometimes it will
burn and or melt right at the cut edge, depending on how well the
operator sets up and runs the machine. Most of this can be scraped
away, but the brown tint is best sanded away. The most annoying thing
is that the paper masking gets sealed into place along the edges- a
royal pain to remove because you have to do serious scraping of the
edges.

A disk sander will make doing it manually go very fast!

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

harv said:

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 26 May 2004 06:47:41 -0700, [email hidden] (Jeff Potter)
wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ABS- acrylic butyl stryrene?- is not brittle. It does come in
different 'mixes,' where they change the ratio of the major materials,
which leads to different qualities. Takes paint pretty well, and comes
in a few stock colors.

Pretty close. It's Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.

THanks for the correct name.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For a chainguard/chainring guard, I'd go with the polycarbonate first,
ABS second, and masonite before acrylic 🙂

I'd never use acrylic for a chaingard. It is too brittle. However another
material called Sintra, a foam pvc sheet sold through distributers is
lighter than straight PVC and Polycarbonate (Lexan) and has good UV
stability.

Quoted message said:

I wonder how it would do as a chainguard. It doesn't shatter, but it
does chip and flake and bend easier than the other materials you
mention.

You could buy a chaingard from the Hostel Shoppe like the one on my
Speedmachine for about $30. It's metal. Doesn't flake or chip, has a nice
rounded profile.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you have are willing to search around, you can probably find a
local laser cutter who will have materials in stock. Send them an
accurate drawing or sketch (preferably a computer file- .dwg or .eps
most likely- or expect to pay a bit for their CAD time) and they will
cut it cleanly. An example-
http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html

I know that acrylic is often laser cut for signs etc, ABS doesn't cut

well

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with laser (too much smoke), but I'm not sure about polycarbonate. Not

all

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

plastics lase well. Waterjet cutting works well, but unless you want

several

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parts, the set up and programming charges will be a killer. Plan on using

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

scroll saw, drill, files and sandpaper and lots of elbow grease.

Quoted message said:

I've had 1/8 inch ABS lasercut with excellent results.

Thanks for the clarification. Now I remember that we were experimenting with
a flame retardant grade of ABS, and it kind of smoked a lot and sort of
melted. Could be that more modern lasers (pulse/gas curtain???) would do a
better job.

Quoted message said:

Polycarbonate discolors at the cut point. You get a brown tint right
along the cut edge. And a melt ridge- very slight. Sometimes it will
burn and or melt right at the cut edge, depending on how well the
operator sets up and runs the machine. Most of this can be scraped
away, but the brown tint is best sanded away. The most annoying thing
is that the paper masking gets sealed into place along the edges- a
royal pain to remove because you have to do serious scraping of the
edges.

A disk sander will make doing it manually go very fast!

harv said:

...
I know that acrylic is often laser cut for signs etc, ABS doesn't cut well
with laser (too much smoke), but I'm not sure about polycarbonate. Not all
plastics lase well. Waterjet cutting works well, but unless you want several
parts, the set up and programming charges will be a killer. Plan on using a
scroll saw, drill, files and sandpaper and lots of elbow grease....

Polycarbonate can be cut with side cutters, a Dremel tool cutoff wheel,
etc., and then sanded smooth. I have done this on kit fairings from Zzip
Designs and Mueller Human Power.

The Dremel tool makes a horrible noise when cutting thin polycarbonate
sheeting.

There are also special bits for drilling holes in polymer sheeting -
regular bits will work but can leave a messy edge on the exit side of
the hole.

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area

Tom Sherman said:

harv wrote:

Quoted message said:

There are also special bits for drilling holes in polymer sheeting -
regular bits will work but can leave a messy edge on the exit side of
the hole.

You can get much cleaner drill holes in plastic with reduced or no
breakthorugh by flattening the cutting edge of the drill bit. How to
describe..... take a small fine sharpening stone and lay it against
the cutting edge on end of the bit, Move the stone radially,
flattening the edge slightly.

Not perfect for drilling in open air, but works well when drilling
against a solid surface, like using a drill press with a wood board
underneath.

Dan Daniel <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On 26 May 2004 06:47:41 -0700, [email hidden] (Jeff Potter)

Quoted message said:

Is Lexan brittle? I thought that's the main problem with the plastic
board commonly available. Actually the Depot people said they had
plexiglass---that sounds brittle to me. Is Lexan the same? Or similar
in terms of brittleness? --JP

Plexiglass- acrylic- is BRITTLE! I wouldn't use it for any structural
element. It will crack easily, especially at a bolt hole. When it does
shatter, it has sharp edges- not good for any accident on a bike.

Lexan is polycarbonate. It is NOT brittle. Very good for fairings,
chain guards, etc. Not the easiest to machine- tends to melt, discolor
slightly, and leave burrs, but these can be scraped away. Doesn't take
paint easily, though.

ABS- acrylic butyl stryrene?- is not brittle. It does come in
different 'mixes,' where they change the ratio of the major materials,
which leads to different qualities. Takes paint pretty well, and comes
in a few stock colors.

.....

What paints, etc., are safe to use on polycarbonate? What surface prep
needed?

I'd like cover over all the marks and stains and scratches, since I don't
look through the fairing much anyway.

Thanks,
--
Dave
98GTW
[email hidden]
(remove nospam to reply directly)
Presto, Presto II, Screamer

"98GTW" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dan Daniel <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On 26 May 2004 06:47:41 -0700, [email hidden] (Jeff Potter)

Quoted message said:

Is Lexan brittle? I thought that's the main problem with the plastic
board commonly available. Actually the Depot people said they had
plexiglass---that sounds brittle to me. Is Lexan the same? Or similar
in terms of brittleness? --JP

Plexiglass- acrylic- is BRITTLE! I wouldn't use it for any structural
element. It will crack easily, especially at a bolt hole. When it does
shatter, it has sharp edges- not good for any accident on a bike.

Lexan is polycarbonate. It is NOT brittle. Very good for fairings,
chain guards, etc. Not the easiest to machine- tends to melt, discolor
slightly, and leave burrs, but these can be scraped away. Doesn't take
paint easily, though.

ABS- acrylic butyl stryrene?- is not brittle. It does come in
different 'mixes,' where they change the ratio of the major materials,
which leads to different qualities. Takes paint pretty well, and comes
in a few stock colors.

....

What paints, etc., are safe to use on polycarbonate? What surface prep
needed?

I'd like cover over all the marks and stains and scratches, since I don't
look through the fairing much anyway.

Thanks,
--
Dave
98GTW
[email hidden]
(remove nospam to reply directly)
Presto, Presto II, Screamer

You should probably look for tech info on general electric website or google
for painting polycarbonate. Our experience has been that aromatic
hydrocarbons like MEK will make pc shatter.

On 27 May 2004 07:56:06 -0400, 98GTW <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

What paints, etc., are safe to use on polycarbonate? What surface prep
needed?

Krylon makes spraypaints specifically for use on various plastic
surfaces.
--
Rick Onanian

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm trying to find a piece of 12" square ABS plastic board that's 1/8"
thick. I need two such pieces or the equivalent size board.

I'm fabricating chainring guards for a 66-tooth Paragon ring on my
lowracer fullyfaired HPV.

Paragon no longer makes rings or guards for them.

My only need is to keep a chain from derailing---it won't get a lot of
wear and tear.

Basically I need two rings about 11.5" in diameter and about 2" wide
(bolt-holes are in the outer part of the ring).

I've heard there's a company/website called Mc?-Carr that sells
plastic stuff in small amounts.

--JP

That would be McMaster-Carr. They probably have a website with sales.

Also try looking for companies that provide materials for aircraft and
ultralight planes.

Regards,

Tom