Styrene angles???

[evidence]

My question is when working with styrene, if you want an angle is it better/easier to glue a seperate piece onto the case at an angle or should you use a bigger piece of plastic to start with and bend the styrene to the angle you want?

[Crimson Sky]

If you explain the shape you want a little better i can help---"bending" will only produce a curve--but I'm not sure what you're looking for. Welcome to TBCS too :D

[evidence]

I hope this picture helps.
http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/1148/bend9hf.gif
I want both planes to be flat so would I be best to glue on a seperate piece or bend the same piece up a bit at one end? Btw thanks for the welcome saw your site, got your book and havent been able to put it down since.

[Crimson Sky]

Hmm...To make that bend seamless you could sandwich the sytrene between two blocks of wood, with the edges of each where you want the angle. Apply some heat with a torch and bend to the angle ya want.

You could also make it in two pieces, using a cyanoacrylate glue like Zap-A-Gap® or similar to bond the parts. Make several small "triangles" from styrene, glue it behind your angle to brace it up. Use Bondo body filler or Squadron putty to fill in any seams. ;)

[Rankenphile]

Bending would be a good option for this, as angles are not strong like this, especially if used structurally, if they are not reinforced. If you want to bend it and want it to be accurate, I recommend making a jig for it. Cut a piece of wood off at the desired angle using a miter saw, sand it to a fairly smooth surface, clamp your styrene between your cut piece and another piece of wood as Sky reccommended. See my example below:

http://rankenphile.com/images/bending_styrene.gif

Then again, I've never done it this way, exactly, but it should work. The best one to listen to would be Sky, Tribal, Defyant or any of the others that have great worklogs showing their experience with styrene.

Hope this helps.

[Crimson Sky]

That is an excellent illustration of how to do it. Remember that it doesnt take much heat with Styrene..about 180 degrees F to soften it. A jig would make the cleanest bend, but would take some practice. Good thing Styrene is pretty cheap---for now--watch it go up in price because its a petroleum product.

[evidence]

Thanks for the help ill give it a shot.