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| notbillcosby:
I'm looking for something with a texture similar to Formica laminate, but with greater bendability so i can wrap it around the front of my radius'd control panel lip. Does anyone know of a plastic that would fit the bill? |
| harveybirdman:
whats the radius of the bend you're asking it to make? Have you tried sanding the bend area with a sander to make it thinner and easier to bend? |
| PL1:
Not sure what color/texture you are looking for. If you find a polycarbonate that looks good, it bends fairly easily. Another great choice is Kydex. Example of working with it: http://www.defensivecarry.com/forum/defensive-carry-holsters-carry-options/39371-make-your-own-kydex-holster.html Different colors and thicknesses available: http://www.amazon.com/Kydex-T-Sheet-Thick-Calcutta-Thickness/dp/B004U6TNTE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343299612&sr=8-1&keywords=kydex Scott |
| Slippyblade:
Heatguns are you friend when dealing with almost any polymer. As long as you heat slowly and evenly you usually wont discolor and you can get any bend you need. |
| notbillcosby:
I should say, I haven't tried doing any of this yet, i'm just trying to plan ahead. I cut out blanks for my interchangeable control panels yesterday out of 3/4" plywood and radius'd the front of them, as they will be sort of a lip that sticks out in front. I've never worked with laminate before, but it was quickly brought to my attention by my dad that it would probably crack if i was trying to make a bend that tight. After visiting the hardware store today and holding a piece of laminate in my hand, I figured he was probably right. The internet made it sound like I'd want something with a MUCH larger radius if i planned on bending Formica around it. Which is why I thought some sort of plastic would be nice. Yep, the stuff shown above looks about right. Black, kinda glossy, with a fine texture. Whatever the X Arcade panel is covered with feels perfect to my hands, and i'd like to use something with that feeling. What kind of store do I buy the stuff you guys posted at? Is that something that'll be in a hardware store like Home Depot or Menards (if anyone here knows what Menards is...) or will I need to go somewhere special? If it IS in the hardware stores, what department? I'm tired of asking their employees where stuff is and getting walked around to a bunch of different departments until someone knows what I'm talking about. Home Depot didn't know T-Nuts the other day. Sigh. |
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