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how to cut plexiglas & finish the edge?

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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 02:51 PM
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04ctd's Avatar
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From: Charleston SC
how to cut plexiglas & finish the edge?

gonna do a home made fairing for my bike, put it on the stock detachable bracket, and not pay $150 for it.....

want to make it stock height, then cut an inch off once a week till the buffeting goes away.


can i curve it with plumbers torch?
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 03:09 PM
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I've never had much luck with spot heating plexiglass to bend it ... end up with uneven bends and odd looking marks. I guess if you had a couple torches moving rapidly along the line of the bend you might be ok.

What are you going to use to cut the plexiglass ?

Give er a try ... like you said, it sure beats payin out the wazoo for the same thing.

PISTOL
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 03:15 PM
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i bend plexiglass and pvc all the time. i use a wagner paint stripping gun, looks like a hair dryer but alot hotter. it works real well just don't stop in one spot for any amount of time or you will burn it.
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 03:45 PM
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I know of one person that made their faring out of plexiglass and at about 70 had it break and slice his forehead.

Be careful
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 04:33 PM
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Use a carbide tool on a router to shape the edge. Heat it in an oven and form on a mold to the desired shape. Do all this before you peel off the paper of course.

Edwin
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 04:35 PM
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Originally Posted by PsRumors
I know of one person that made their faring out of plexiglass and at about 70 had it break and slice his forehead.

Be careful
Lexan would probably be a better choice.
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 05:24 PM
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The right way is to make a mold and put it in an oven until it takes shape but this method takes time .
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by John Halter
The right way is to make a mold and put it in an oven until it takes shape but this method takes time .
Yes, trying to heat it some other way will probably leave stress in the plastic and it'll crack later on.

Edwin
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Old Apr 2, 2006 | 09:16 PM
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i'll call around for some lexan tomorrow....sounds safer...

a buddy has a router, borrow it.

tks for the advice
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Old Apr 3, 2006 | 09:11 AM
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after you cut it heat the edges with a propane torch gradually to smooth them out, or you can sand them with fine grit and get finer until you can polish it with some polish.
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Old Apr 3, 2006 | 09:17 AM
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From: Dufur Or
a little off topic but we live like 20 miles from any body out here and the house that i am remodeling for me some one thought it would be fun to shoot all the windows out i was thinking about buying a large sheet of lexan or plexi depending on and making tempory windows only gonna use them for about a 1yr. the windows are a odd shape as the house is a 1800 bunk house.
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Old Apr 3, 2006 | 11:47 AM
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From: markham, ontario, canada
Originally Posted by 04ctd
i'll call around for some lexan tomorrow....sounds safer...

a buddy has a router, borrow it.

tks for the advice

be sitting down when you hear the price... 2-4x more than polycarb which is already more than plain plexiglass.. i had some 1/16" stuff and man is it nice to work with.. get the sheetmetal snips out and cut away.. poly and plexi will crack doing that.. pop's trailer windows are made out of the 1/16" lexan. self drilling screws right through it into the 1x1 tube frame.. lexan will eventually discolor though from UV.. the trailer windows look ok though for being nearly 10 years of being exposed to sun everyday
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Old Apr 3, 2006 | 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by DodgeCowboy83
a little off topic but we live like 20 miles from any body out here and the house that i am remodeling for me some one thought it would be fun to shoot all the windows out i was thinking about buying a large sheet of lexan or plexi depending on and making tempory windows only gonna use them for about a 1yr. the windows are a odd shape as the house is a 1800 bunk house.
Why not just use it permanently if you're going to the expense of buying Lexan. It ain't cheap but it will take BB's and even 22's will bounce off the thicker panes. It's used for bullet proof windows.

Edwin
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