Machining powdery plastic

Awl,

A 3/4 x 4" by 3 foot bar of a marble-ish white plastic machines to a pretty fine powder, drills almost to a powder--slight "chips". Wife sez she can look at it under a 'scope at work and at least tell me if it's fiberglass, got asbestos in it, etc. Not that I don't trust her, but you all got any feedback here, as to what I should look for, perhaps how to get a clue as to what this material is? Can bakelites be white? It machines very easily, didn't appear to dull the endmills, as I'm told fiberglass would. At first glance, it sorta looks/feels like nylon/delrin, but my experience with this stuff is the "chips" are stringy/crappy, not powdery. Altho some of this, from the drilling, looked like mini-mini-short strings.

How do you all handle stuff that produces powder, like cast iron, etc? Vacuum attachment of sorts?

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®
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PV:

We've been machining some Boron Nitride for a customer lately. It's white and machines like chalk. Powdery, very brittle in thin sections. Cubic Boron Nitride is a different crystalline form of Boron Nitride and is very hard and is used as an abrasive.

If we're going to be machining much of it we use sheet plastic to cover the inside of the machine and put the vise on top of the plastic. No compressed air, and vacuum out the excess when done.

Reply to
BottleBob

It sounds like it's nothing more than Corian. If so, you have nothing about which to worry.

Harold

Reply to
Harold and Susan Vordos

A machinable ceramic like Macor?

Reply to
skuke

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in news:zi5dh.414$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe10.lga:

Just a guess, but it could be Corian. You now, the stuff of kitchen countertops. Well it used to be before every hovel HAD to have granite.

Boston Digital used to machine it at shows. They digitized a Venus de Milo statue and would machine them out of Corian and give them away.

IIRC, it would machine to a kind of powder like chip. Not at all long and stringy like plastic, but not quite a powder either.

Reply to
D Murphy

Apropos of your kind response, I suppose I should withhold the zinger I had prepared, re your occasional use of *67 in the galvanized thread. You might even be able guess the gist. If you would like to hear it, perhaps just for curiosity's sake, I will oblige.

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®

Reply to
woodworker88

Sounds like Corian or one of its clones. It's a filled acrylic type plastic, they never have said what its filled with, though. I'd assume something inorganic like chalk or marble dust. It's nice to turn, doesn't seem to dull tools very fast like Micarta does. If there was some distinct pattern and layering in there, I'd suspect Micarta. It's a dusty material to machine, too. You don't really want to breathe any of that dust, some sort of dust control system is a must as well as a mask. There's been plans in the woodworking press for dust collectors, a shop vac is better than nothing but won't catch much of the really harmful fine stuff, it just sails right on through. A cyclone unit followed by a bag unit is what's used in industry. You can buy the things from woodifworking suppliers or make one up if you do a lot of it.

Cast iron I usually machine with way covers on, I use a magnet in a bag to pick up the stuff afterwards. It's not light enough to fly around like the plastic or wood dust does.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

Could be that it's some kind of an aerogel...

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SVL

Reply to
PrecisionMachinisT

Chuckle!

Fire away! (But keep in mind, you can't insult me-----I'm too stupid!)

BUT-------please try to do it without such vulgar language as you're known to use. I'm no prude, I've worked in machine shops with the best of them, and know and use such language when appropriate. This just isn't the place. It makes you look like a degenerate------someone that has nothing else to offer.

Give this some thought::

If you think that when I called Home Depot to report the scam pulled by a customer, I did it anonymously, you'd be sadly mistaken. I would have given them any information they desired, even a signed statement had they asked. I felt no need to be anonymous when I placed my call. As it turned out, the manager, with whom I spoke, had no interest in any of that information. He just wanted to know how the scam was executed.

As much as you find it hard to believe, I'm driven by the want to be treated fairly in life. That's likely a result of having lived in a society that was premier at shunning those that didn't subscribe to their choice of religion, so I fully understand how it feels to be set aside by people. If one goes through life treating others with disdain, cheating them in the course of doing business, don't you assume it might be unreasonable to expect anything less in return?

Regards the point at hand-----my suspicion that the material in question is Corian. I've machined it, and know that it is available in thick sheets-----3/4" for sure, perhaps thicker. Years ago, shortly after divorcing my first wife, I remodeled two bathrooms that were back to back, combing them into one large one.

If you're not familiar, there's a wonderful soap imported from Spain, Maja, that comes in round bath sized bars, and also small rectangular bars. There was enough room between the two Kohler lavatories to accommodate one of the small rec bars, assuming I could come up with the proper sized soap dish. There was no such critter, so I machined one from some of the

3/4" thick Corian. I have moved twice since then (this was back in '75), and still have the little soap dish, still serving its purpose.

Corian machines very well, and provides a chip in keeping with your description. It should have a chemical smell of sorts when being machined, as I recall. Could be wrong. I'm getting old and don't remember as well as I once did.

Harold

Reply to
Harold and Susan Vordos

For graphite, we use a large portable dust collector made by Torrit. We try to limit our graphite to just a couple of machines that are slightly past their prime.

Reply to
Dave Lyon

Reply to
cbenson

Assuming your employer provided it to you as materials for a job, demand the MSDS for it.

Wes S

Reply to
clutch

Well, sometimes vulgarity pretty accurately reflects on the situation it attempts to describe. Altho clearly it can also compromise the message.

Life--and lack of sleep--has temporarily beaten the vulgarity out of me. I shall, however, soon arise to vulgarigate once again. Also, I have almost gotten over the HD incident.... proly another 6 months or so, and I should be well again.

But you gotta admit: The shtick is better. About as bad as I got recently was estimating the mil size of facial and pubic hair on Russian women. .015 and .030 respectively, iirc. I caught a little shit f'dat, too. Elson did piss me off for a while.

And you anticipated well:

I was going suggest *not* using *67, when calling HD to rat out any future employees, lest there be an unanticipated *bounty* attached to subsequent prosecution and conviction of sed hapless employee. I'm sure all these ultra-hyooge predatory corps have hot-lines for this, and toll free, at that.

Actually, it is not a surprise. We just diverge in our execution of good will--and justice. You would, at least in spirit, tackle the HD shop-lifter, whilst I would provide the getaway car. Both thinking we're improving the world--or at least making a correct statement/gesture. I would, however, keep my hand over my change box whilst whisking sed shop-lifter away. :)

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®

Dude, this is Yonkers.... The water supply has already compromised about 3/4 of the population.

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®

Does the water utility provide an annual MSDS?

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

Sounds like one of the "solid surface" materials. Avonite, Corian, etc. ...lew...

Reply to
Lew Hartswick

Man, was that a lot of crap

Reply to
J. Carroll

Sorry--I'll be back in better form, after I catch a second wind....

But the Russian women thing wasn't bad, right?

Hey, even in misc.fitness.weights, they're cleanin things up.... wow.... :)

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®

LOL Just sayin' howdy was all.

Reply to
J. Carroll

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