POT: Acrylic Bending Jig

Bill Stock · 2004-12-02T19:00:34+00:00

Possibly OT. Excuse the x-posting, but there doesn't seem to be one groupfor this stuff.I want to bend some Acrylic, so I plan to build a jig. (Too much free time)The plan is to use a couple of knife hinges to separate (1") two pieces ofparticle board (insulated). I will place some NiChrome wire (2') between thetwo boards and heat it up with a 24V transformer and a light dimmer. Oncethe Plexi is warm enough, I'll move my hinge to the desire location andclamp it off.Has anyone attempted something similar? Should I clamp the Plexi on bothsides of the hinge when bending or do I need to allow one side to move, toprevent cracking?

Dec 02, 2004 23 Replies

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Billy 21 years ago

Will result. "must be done gently, or air bubbles and\or white discoloration will result."

my bad.

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Rick 21 years ago

Hi Bill,

No discoloration that I noticed. Your best bet is to try some scraps first, before spending money on a sheet of material. For scraps, check your local sign shops, glass shops, etc.

HTH

Rick

polycarbonate

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Rick 21 years ago

Billy,

Acrylic (Plexiglas) has that characteristic, while Polycarbonate (Lexan) does not.

These two items are completely different products with different properties.

Regards,

Rick

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Billy 21 years ago

Then perhaps what we used wasn't Lexan, sure said that on the sticky-paper. It was quite brittle, and bending had to be done with heat. I made dozens of guards and screens with it over several years time.

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