They all look awesome... one question... I use to do car audio installs and I’ve worked with abs plastic and I guess it’s kinda the same but a lil thicker and hard to work with… but how are you guys cutting it? b/c ABS is hard to cut and just melts when you try to cut it or are yall cutting it when it’s heated? and what thickness and what size of sheet 12x12 or 12x24 are yall using?
I ordered 12X24 sheets of .093. I intend to try .080 as well. Right now I'm using a jigsaw with a medium wood blade to cut. Then I use a dremel with a grinding stone to smooth the edges. I've tried snips - they could work on straight cuts, but not so well on sharp curves and corners. If anybody knows a more efficient cutting method, I'm all ears! (I'm sure a band saw would be great, but I don't have one.)
Thanks for the tips! The oven seemed like a handy way to do the big folds, then use the heat gun to "fine-tune" everything. What makes you get away from the oven altogether?
Where do you get your rubber hose? At a hardware store? Is it stuff you'd find in the gardening section or plumbing?
Good looking work there!
Ace Hardware. Lowes. Home Depot. They all carry thick wall rubber hose - just find some (3/8" maybe?) that fits over the blind nut or whatever hardware you want to use.
They all sell small black hose by the foot. Buy a few feet - its cheap, and will last a long time.
Heating the entire piece - takes time to warm up the oven, then you have to watch it till it gets soft, then use gloves to handle... and the entire thing is hot, so its a little dangers and you can burn yourself, plus its cumbersome.
I do the entire thing with a heat gun.... but if the oven thing works for you, do it that way!
I personally cut everything out on a 60+ year old cast iron 14" Walker-Turner bandsaw. It cuts fast. I smooth the edges after final shaping with a die-grinder with a 3M Brillo-pad type attachment. It smooths and shapes all at the same time.
.093 is the most common stuff out there... .125 for special purpose stuff like some belt clips or ????
.060 for thin pocket holsters for keltecs etc.
I can easily cut .060 with a set of vinyl sheers for cutting aluminum and vinyl siding. $10 at home depot I think.
I also got a pair of curved blade snips. Pretty easy to cut the .093 with. The curved part is not "left" or "right" but the cutting edge is curved and almost rolls the blades into each other to make the cut. I believe the grips are a cam-system that gives you more leverage as well.
They all sell small black hose by the foot. Buy a few feet - its cheap, and will last a long time.
Heating the entire piece - takes time to warm up the oven, then you have to watch it till it gets soft, then use gloves to handle... and the entire thing is hot, so its a little dangers and you can burn yourself, plus its cumbersome.
I do the entire thing with a heat gun.... but if the oven thing works for you, do it that way!
I personally cut everything out on a 60+ year old cast iron 14" Walker-Turner bandsaw. It cuts fast. I smooth the edges after final shaping with a die-grinder with a 3M Brillo-pad type attachment. It smooths and shapes all at the same time.
.093 is the most common stuff out there... .125 for special purpose stuff like some belt clips or ????
.060 for thin pocket holsters for keltecs etc.
I can easily cut .060 with a set of vinyl sheers for cutting aluminum and vinyl siding. $10 at home depot I think.
I also got a pair of curved blade snips. Pretty easy to cut the .093 with. The curved part is not "left" or "right" but the cutting edge is curved and almost rolls the blades into each other to make the cut. I believe the grips are a cam-system that gives you more leverage as well.
Nice job. How long did it take to make it.
nice you can make it they way you like
For straight cuts I would just mark it and use a straight edge and box cutter to make a couple runs down the line, then just fold and it snaps right off. I make rough cuts a little over what i want with a dremel and then for final smoothing i have found the easiest thing is to just put my belt sander in my vice so its vertical and then run the edges of the kydex up and down it. You can also round the corners easily that way.
HArbor Freight $14 angle die grinder
3" Disc Mandrel $3.99
5 pk of 3" Medium fiber discs
way more versatile than any sander, and quicker than a dremel... plus you dont have to work as hard to keep straight lines, and it rounds off edges fast.
and way cheaper than a dremel unless you get one at a pawn shop.
3" Disc Mandrel $3.99
5 pk of 3" Medium fiber discs
way more versatile than any sander, and quicker than a dremel... plus you dont have to work as hard to keep straight lines, and it rounds off edges fast.
and way cheaper than a dremel unless you get one at a pawn shop.
