HDPE Questions...

[Storms]

Hi all, hope someone can help.

Ok, so say I cut a 5 gal. bucket in half from top (opening) to bottom, then I cut off the flanges, resulting in a smooth (vertically flat) semi-circle of HDPE plastic...

Can I flatten it out horizontally with just a heat gun, or do I need a press of some sort?

Thanks ahead of time!!!

[LarryW]

I think you can do it with a heat gun, because..... HydroMike made a skid plate for his attex with only heat. He heated it up and formed it to fit his lower tub with out a press.

[duckhunt81]

????

Is there a thread on what hydromike did? Like steps, material, things to look out for? If not, I'm really intrested in reading about it. I've seen some pics, but I sure would like to know more.

[superdave]

Poly skid plate

I was able to find Hydromikes thread on the poly skidplate, but I am not sure how to place a link here for you........

Go to "search" above, click advanced search. Then enter "Hydromike" in the user name field to the right. Enter "skid plate" in the keyword field to the left. Click search at the bottom, and the thread will come right up.

Hope that helps. Nice step by step instructions.

[Storms]

Hmmmmmm.

Guess I'm just gonna have to piddle around some with it.

I'm not looking to make a repair patch, at least, not at this time, but I'm wanting to make a low profile, very specialized box of sorts, for mounting on the front of the self-standing windshield frame that I'm currently fabricating.

That's why I wanted to know if a heatgun would flatten out a piece like that.

Once flat, squaring it, then cutting panels out, and welding them together to form something simular to a dust/weather shield would be great, not too mention other possibilities. It'd be lightweight, tuff, and easy to paint.

[lewis]

hdpe

You can buy HDPE in sheets and avoid all the pressing and flattening. Look at Hydro Mike's machine. 4x8 sheet around $127.00 (.25) thickness. That is what a sheet around my neck of the woods cost. Master makes a very nice heat gun with a diverse range of heat temperatures. They are around $95 dollars but they work great and will give you years of service, we use them in our shop. Made in U.S.A. (we still make a few things).

Lewis

[LarryW]

Hydromikes skid plate

[superdave]

Poly

Storms, there are several sources to by poly stock from. It is relatively inexpensive actually, probably less than the gas can you are going to cut up! McMaster-Carr is an industrial supply house that sells it, McMaster-Carr as well as at least a half dozen online only retailers. Starting with a nice square piece might work out better for you. Its available in many thicknesses and sizes.

[Storms]

Yeah, I saw HydroMikes pics an all, but didn't find to many explainations of things except on how to repair cracks and such in the body.

I'd just like to know if all I need is a heatgun, which I already have, in order to turn a pc of HDPE bucket into a completely flat pc of stock. I'd hate to destroy a bucket, to find that it can't be done, as I use buckets for other important things.

Another reason as to my question, is because of budgeting. My financials suck, so if I can make it myself, then it saves me money. I get food grade buckets and lids free, from time to time, from a local resturant, cause I know the owners. I use them for my own dry food storage (grains). If however, I can make other handy things from it, that would be cool too.
Buying a sheet would be great, but again, I don't have un-limited resources like some ppl do.

[LarryW]

Yeah, I saw HydroMikes pics an all, but didn't find to many explainations of things except on how to repair cracks and such in the body.

I'd just like to know if all I need is a heatgun, which I already have, in order to turn a pc of HDPE bucket into a completely flat pc of stock. I'd hate to destroy a bucket, to find that it can't be done, as I use buckets for other important things.

Just heat gun.

For the buckets.... To be a piece of a amphib is a wonderful way to retire.

[Storms]

An thanks for all the answers so far.

Cool Beans!!!

Thanks Larry, an everyone else!

[duckhunt81]

Thanks for the link LarryW. Seems to be a good idea!

The more I read on this site, the bigger my dreams get!!

[ygmir]

I posted some hdpe welding photos and such in the gallery......
for repairs........

I'd say, for repairing cracks, my old soldering iron worked just fine........

Are buckets that hard to come by?

Usually, house painters have tons. I've gotten many for free.
also, heavy equipment owners and shops.
Most all 5 gal buckets are hdpe.

I wonder if an iron would work?..........

good luck

Henry

[hydromike]

I'm way too absent... I should check the board more. Sorry dudes.

I never really did a writeup of the process, but it's straightforward enough that anybody can accomplish it. Basically, my HDPE came in two sheets (1 sheet would be better, I think). You don't need a press at all, since the plastic is extremely maleable when heated with a run of the mill heat gun. As I said, you don't need a press, but I did all of the work on mine using the help of gravity. I began the process by aligning the sheet(s) (we'll just assume for the sake of this paltry writeup that it's a single sheet; really makes no difference) on the bottom of the machine.

On the Attex, as with most other amphibs, the center of the machine is higher than the chain troughs. I took a length of 2x6 (it fit well, and I had it on hand) and supported the HDPE along the length of the machine, essentially jacking up the entire machine by the HDPE. Of course, this starts to bow the HDPE considerably. After that, I started to heat the HDPE with the heat gun at the center of the point that it bowed along each side. Pretty soon (minimum of 10-15 minutes of heating on *EACH* side), the machine began to sag back down to mother earth, forcing the hot HDPE to conform to the bottom of the body where the jacks were supporting it.

After this point, I riveted the bajesus out of the skid plate to where it was good and tight along the body. At this point, the task at hand is to wrap each side that's bowed down (see pics) back up to the body. The process is basically the same, but you just need to put jack pressure on each side (floor jacks work great) and heat up the area where the sheet needs to bend. As before, once it's up flush, rivet the heck out of it (be sure to countersink your rivets!!!). The last bit is to simply wrap the front and back end up, rivet again, and you're in business! These plates are really an amazing asset. It's truely difficult to hurt the machine once it's installed. The cool thing about the thick HDPE is that it's far too soft to really "crack". Hit it with a hammer when it's 0 degrees F out and it just looks at you. It scratches and gouges readily, but you can jack it up with a bottle jack without fear of hurting it. Run it straight into a rock. Run over a log. Anything. It's a lot of effort, but that's all it is. It's a cheap, really clean job.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier.

~m

[Storms]

Thanks for the write-up HydroMike.

Much appreciated!!!!