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| slappyhooper:
So I work at a plastic manufacturing company, and one of the many products we make are black laminates which we sell to a well known furniture manufacturer. These rolls are massive....64" wide and over 1500 yards long. Every roll that comes off the line has to be trimmed down. Normally we throw away these cutoffs, but my line leader let me take some home.... I didn't get greedy, but even the cutoffs are about 7' long and still 64" wide. The bonus is that this film is UV resistant, very scratch resistant, and very strong so it should hold up very well. I'm pretty sure that these are normally fused to the wood products with a ton of heat and pressure, but I'm gonna give these a go with just a heat gun and some patience and see what becomes of it. This COULD be a relatively inexpensive way to laminate stuff. I don't know what my company actually sells these rolls for, but from what my co-workers tell me, they're relatively inexpensive to what you can find online. The downside? My company only sells these in large rolls like you just saw.... Very early in the game, but I'm gonna experiment with my scraps and find out what these rolls sell for. It's really, really hard to find good quality laminates that are wide enough, tough enough and won't break the bank. |
| BadMouth:
Awesome! Back in the 90's I was into the car audio thing and people would bring me large pieces of mdf scrap from a furniture company and fiberglass resin/hardner from a bathtub company. Whenever I asked for more, I got more. I had no idea materials were so expensive until I had to start paying for them. :lol Those were the days. I used to work in a factory warehouse and loved my job. It was relocated to Mexico and I went back to school. Now I'm stuck at a desk and miserable. I protest by spending all day on BYOAC. |
| RandyT:
--- Quote from: slappyhooper on June 14, 2013, 09:11:35 am --- I'm pretty sure that these are normally fused to the wood products with a ton of heat and pressure, but I'm gonna give these a go with just a heat gun and some patience and see what becomes of it. bank. --- End quote --- Very nice! Does this stuff have some sort of heat activated adhesive on one side, or is it designed to fuse to the substrate when heated? If the former, try a good hot iron with an old sheet in-between. Otherwise, a can of 3M spray adhesive might be all you would need to get this laid down permanently. |
| Gray_Area:
If it works, you might talk to your honcho about selling the scraps in the arcade hobby and stuff. I can't imagine they would say no to money from loose ends......and you might get a bonus. |
| slappyhooper:
That's just the thing. They already sell the scrap for pennies on the dollar. They can't sell the cutoffs, so those just get scrapped. The thing about the manufacturer QC is that any rolls which aren't PERFECT in every way, including thickness are scrap. They regrind some, but there's still a ton of waste built into the business model. Side note, heat gun method didn't work. next up will be testing the 3m spray method. I have a feeling that will work very well. |
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