Getting acrylic pieces to stay together?

[Haynie]

I am trying to get some alternate ivory and black acrylic to stick together. They keep popping apart.

Tried all three levels of CA. Tried epoxy. Tried with roughed edges, tried with smooth edges. Any thoughts?

 

[StephenM]

Are there any acrylic fabricators around you ? There's a product called WeldOn which specially made for bonding acrylic and other plastics.

IPS Weldon 5 Oz 16 Acrylic Cement - 10315

I know that there are various numbers WeldOn 16, 4, 2, etc. I'm not sure what they represent but it might be the viscosity. If you can't find any, check with a pet store (not PetsMart or PetCo) and see if there's someone local who builds acrylic tanks. They would probably be happy to glue it for you for a few bucks and if you happen to have a wild looking blue acrylic pen you "accidentally" drop in front of them, you might make a sale...

 

[Sylvanite]

Do you have any idea what the alternative ivory is made of? I wonder if methylene chloride would work.

Regards,
Eric

 

[Haynie]

No clue what the alt ivory is. It smells similar to acrylic when being drilled.

 

[johnspensandmore]

I have glued quite a few pieces of alt ivory with other acrylics, and not had a problem with them breaking apart unless they get over-heated during the drilling or turning process.

At which step are your blanks breaking? Heat is the killer, so drill with water and low RPM.

 

[Haynie]

I ended up drilling each piece separate then gluing. I don't think I was keeping things cool enough. They were breaking during drilling.

 

[Dai Sensei]

Heat and blunt drills are enemies of many acrylics or composite blanks. I also never drill all the way through, I use an oversized (length) blank and drill to the length of the blank, then sand back to correct size. For these sensitive products, I also wrap the blank in gaffa tape to help hold it together, plus use sharp drills and use plenty of water to keep the blank cool at all times.

cheers

 

[watch_art]

weld on. use it.

Delvie's Plastics Inc.: Acrylic Cement