MACHINING PLASTICS

Router Woodworking

Learn to machine plastics* with ordinary woodshop tools.
Plastics have their place in the woodshop. Typical apps for plastic include templets, jigs, fixtures, surfaces, components and product. Whether for the plastics shop fabricator or the woodshop commando, facility with plastics is a damn worth while skill.

The lessons are essentially concerned with the management of the material after it has been sawn**.
At this stage I take over. If further conversion is required we can & will bandsaw to rough size and then rout to dimension. Hand or table routing, straight line or pattern work, all explained and demonstrated. Inside cuts (mortices, slots, dados) & the fixturing for such are part of the deal.

Drilling is required (in most cases) to facilitate fastening or access for other components.
Drilling on center to .001" is ordinary, easy and expected. Moreover, we will learn about the drilling tools (countersinks/bores, drills, reamers, taps) and how to select & use them. Perfect round holes on near .001" centers with zero tearout & fracturing are easy and without heroics.

Hand wet sanding and polishing are shown. Flame polishing is not addressed. Whence heated, precision machined edge & hole geometry may be lost. MCl and other solvents and adherents are not covered. This is essentially a machine experience.

* Acrylic, PVC, Polycarbonate, Phenolics and others (up to 1").

**It is assumed the student has the capability of rendering 4 x 8's into handleable workpieces.
Tho I do address the rough sizing of materials; it is expected the student either buys his material to rough net dimension or table-saws the stuff to size.

Lesson plans can be dictated by the student.
Material is taught one-on-one or up to 3 students at a time.
There are no scheduled dates and times. Dates/times are largely at the student's pleasure.
7 days/wk, usually up to 6 hrs/day. Rates are ~$50/hr, $40/hr for 2 or more students. Note, the lessons are not a substitute for kitchen cabinet Formica seminars.

Email for more knowledge or appointment.

Captions

A) Ordinary templet and straight line routing.

B) Indispensable, & not so ordinary, drill press work stop. Tracks on Aluminum fence, square left and right.

C) Short knife-scribe for marking metal bar stock.

D) Drill in a circle or whatever. Tap the stuff. Counterbore or countersink, (CS under CB). All with simple woodshop tools.