I wanted to make some "outrigger pads", which are square pads something like 24x24x3" thick. I have some scrap polyethylene cutoffs and I was wondering, if I just melt and cast them, do I lose any possible assurance of strength?
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I've played a bit trying to melt very small pieces of PE, and I usually got charring and smoke long before I got any kind of fluid state that I could pour. I think there is a reason they use injection molding with PE and not simple pouring - get it hot, pump it in so it doesn't need to have a very low viscosity, and get it cooled before it can decompose. Guessing that you only want two or four pads, I'd weld up a pan to use as the mold from mild steel, maybe 1/4" thick or more on the bottom for decent temperature uniformity and 1/8" or whatever on the sides with some angle for easy release, and put it on a stove top with two or all four burners going. Put in your chunks of PE and try to melt them in place, stirring as you go as much as you can. Even if you don't get it all truly molten you might get enough mixing to get a fairly cohesive mass. Then just turn off the burners, cover it and let it cool slowly, and hope it doesn't crack too badly. Do your pads have to be solid, or would high density foam work? You can get some pretty thick foam from ULine for not that much $$.
----- Regards, Carl Ijames