Amazing what a little artistic capability will get you!

[Gary and Jessica Houghton]

I ran across this link while looking for photos of lasered acrylic. (long story) This person's ideas are fabulous and work looks astounding! Does this work belong to anyone on the creek? Very fun!

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/b/0/0/36/4/AAAAC2UvpbEAAAAAADZN6Q.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/new-new-york-city-skyline-cuff-laser-cut-and-laser-etched-hand-painyed-acrylic&usg=__VkMl3fx5usBO7Q_mK4RQOpaY_kI=&h=300&w=300&sz=33&hl=en&start=52&um=1&tbnid=S8pImRPRROlVaM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlaser%2Betching%2Bacrylic%26ndsp%3D18 %26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1I7DLUS_en%26sa%3DN%26start%3D3 6%26um%3D1

[Cassondra Bennett]

Those are awesome....how do you get the acrylic to form like that...and what is it painted with??:confused: I have used gold rub n buff but its not nearly as bright and vibrant is there something else to color is with???

soooooo much to learn!!!

[carl stevenson]

For one off items It is possible to form acrylic with a little heat (even in a domestic oven) and using a mould to form it. I have done some vacuum forming with acrylic. You have to take care not to overheat it as it can burn

I am guessing they heated the small bracelet in an oven and used a pipe for forming the bracelet shape

[Scott Challoner]

Check out the thread FUN IDEAS part 1 by Jackie McGowan.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=95966&highlight=ideas+part

[Gary and Jessica Houghton]

Those are awesome....how do you get the acrylic to form like that...and what is it painted with??:confused: I have used gold rub n buff but its not nearly as bright and vibrant is there something else to color is with???

soooooo much to learn!!!
Cassondra,
I did not do these. They say they are made to order and makes it to fit the circumference of your wrist. They are hand painted. I just thought they were cool!

Jackie was the original designer in my book and love her ideas as well.

[Lee DeRaud]

She's not on SMC AFAICT, or else keeping a very low profile.
There's some more of her stuff here: http://www.getpersonalart.com/

[Scott Balboa]

Not that I would ever put Acrylic in MY oven, but if I did, what temp are we talking about, approximately? I wonder if the same could be done with boiling water?

[Lee DeRaud]

Not that I would ever put Acrylic in MY oven, but if I did, what temp are we talking about, approximately? I wonder if the same could be done with boiling water?This may be helpful: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6619/is_12_54/ai_n28718616/
(Looks like the magic number is up around 300 degrees F, so boiling water won't do it.)

[Scott Balboa]

Thanks for the info, Lee. Gonna have to try baking some acrylic cookies here soon...

[Michael Hunter]

Scott - It's OK to put acrylic in your oven : just do it when the Mrs is out as it can get a bit smelly if you overcook it.

Domestic oven thermostats are not usually up to the job, but you can get round this by investing in a simple temperature probe.
I bought a cheap electronic multimeter that came with a thermocouple wire which is perfect for sticking inside the oven.

Make sure that you are cooking CAST acrylic! Extruded acrylic sheet tends to contain moisture which boils and causes bubbles (LOTS of them), giving an interesting effect, but not one which is often required.

[Panos Fioros]

How about a weber bbq?

[Scott Balboa]

Good tips, Michael. So long as our oven doesn't smell like plastic forever! Hmmm, what about a mini-oven? I guess you'd be limited to size, but I bet I could pick one up at Goodwill for a few bucks.

[Dan Hintz]

Scott,

I think Hasbro or Mattel sells Easy Bake ovens ;)

[Marc Myer]

I use a toaster oven to heat and form acrylic. It's fun and not difficult. Acrylic softens and becomes pliable at around 170-190 degrees Fahrenheit. Let it heat slowly and don't overheat.

After removing from the oven, let it cool, add icing and cut into nice tasty squares. Serves six.

[Bill Cunningham]

Did these drum labels for a customer that makes custom drums. Granted, it's not a big bend, but just enough to fit the drum. My customer used a hairdryer to heat them up.. No flame, and just enough heat to form it..

[Darryl Jacobs]

Toaster ovens are great and cheap.

As well, you can get a hot air gun from the hobby stores for about $20 that are like a hair dryer, but much hotter. They are used for the RC aircraft guys to heat shrink the covering they put on the wings and fuselages. Any good hobby store that sells supplies for Radio Control Aircraft should have them.

Darryl

[Michael Hunter]

Here is one I cooked earlier (actually one of four that I made).

The Queen visited our town in 2007 and the Mayor wanted to give her a copy of the town's old royal charter (1607). A roll of parchmet was not much to give, so they wanted a holder and I made this.
The wording round it says "Romsey Royal Charter". The holes along the edges are for a ribbon to be braided through.

It is 3mm smoke-grey cast acrylic, engraved and cut, then heated in Mrs's oven and formed round a 4" diameter iron tube.
I learnt a LOT about forming acrylic doing this!

[Sam Sunwoo]

I guess it depends on what you're used to.

For me, unless the piece you're trying mold is big, using a heat gun will be better. It's easy to turn on and off as needed, and easy to control the heat. Of course, the downside is, with the oven, once you know how long you need to heat it, you can just stick it in the oven and go about doing your business, but with the heat gun, you have to physically do the molding for however long it takes.

This is what I used to make many years ago. I used to make these and sell to customers on the web. It's basically extruded acrylic rod that is cut to size, molded to shape using a heat gun, cut each of the little lines using a small saw, used a small electric screwdriver to drill 3mm holes, stick in the LEDs, wire it up, and there you have the final product, 100% handmade. I can't imagine doing that now. It's one of the reasons I found this forum, because I plan on getting a small engraver in the next couple of months and making something similar but with a laser.

http://www.sharkracing.com/acecart/bin/images/ledring.jpg

[Sam Sunwoo]

On a related note, does anyone know what the melting point is of extruded acrylic versus that of cast acrylic?

We found that when making rings extruded stock, in some cases, because of the heat from the headlight bulb, the ring would slowly melt after a few months. By melting, I mean, the top would begin sagging down and the ring would slowly lose it's shape.

How much higher is the melting point of cast stock?

[Rodne Gold]

Cast needs to get to 180 degrees and extruded 170c to be formed or shaped.
Acrylic doesnt melt, it will soften near to those temps and droop.
Most rod is extruded.

[Alexa Ristow]

Hi Creekers,

We have a Heat press for sublimation work. My husband has used it to heat up perspex to 300 degrees and then formed it around a mold. We use the thin cotton gloves that workmen wear inside their welding gloves and the acrylic can be handled fine. We place the acrylic between two sheets of plain paper to prevent any defects in the sponge from transferring. We have not done any " work" using this yet but the heat up time is certainly fasy enough to allow for production runs!!

Cheers,

Alexa