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Anyone wants to build Calcium Reactors together?
- Thread starter Armando
- Start date
MarkO
...
FWIW:
US Plastics also sells 6" OD x 1/4" wall thickness clear plastic tubing.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.asp
Part number:
44079
$29.64 per l.f.
US Plastics also sells 6" OD x 1/4" wall thickness clear plastic tubing.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.asp
Part number:
44079
$29.64 per l.f.
OP
OP
Armando
v 4.0
they only have 36" option. total:
Products
Line Quantity Part Number Description Unit Price Total Price Ships
1 1
Each 8486K938 Clear Cast Acrylic Hollow Rod 6" OD X 5-1/2" ID, 3' Length (Same as 8486K935) $73.11 $73.11 today
Merchandise $73.11
Shipping $5.25
Your credit card will be charged $78.36
Products
Line Quantity Part Number Description Unit Price Total Price Ships
1 1
Each 8486K938 Clear Cast Acrylic Hollow Rod 6" OD X 5-1/2" ID, 3' Length (Same as 8486K935) $73.11 $73.11 today
Merchandise $73.11
Shipping $5.25
Your credit card will be charged $78.36
NateHanson
Non-member
Ryan's advice works if you have something flat and round (i.e. not a dinner plate - you need it to have good large-area surface contact in order to safely stick it to the acrylic). Use double-sided carpet tape, available in the flooring section of HD/Lowes. After sticking the two together use a clamp to press around in various places to make sure you have a secure bond. It could be hazardous to your present 10-fingered-state if the pattern and stock were to separate during routing. After all that, carpet tape is more than sufficient for pattern routing.
A good way to make an initial pattern is to cut an acrylic square a quarter inch larger than the circle you want to make. drill a 3/8" or larger hole through the center of the acrylic square (the hole-center needs to be exactly the pattern radius away from one edge, and slightly farther from the other edges). Get a piece of plywood that you can clamp to the top of your router table. Drill a hole in it a little more than the pattern radius away from where the router bit will be. Push a 1" length of dowel into the hole. Mark where the edge of your circle will be on the board, and run the board into the router bit until you are just up to the line. Do it once more to widen the path for the bit. Turn off the router. Clamp the board in place on the router table. Put your square onto the dowel, turn on the router and turn the workpiece. You'll get a perfect square.
Now if you want different sized circles, just drill another hole in the plywood, and move the dowel to the appropriate radius distance from the router bit.
A good way to make an initial pattern is to cut an acrylic square a quarter inch larger than the circle you want to make. drill a 3/8" or larger hole through the center of the acrylic square (the hole-center needs to be exactly the pattern radius away from one edge, and slightly farther from the other edges). Get a piece of plywood that you can clamp to the top of your router table. Drill a hole in it a little more than the pattern radius away from where the router bit will be. Push a 1" length of dowel into the hole. Mark where the edge of your circle will be on the board, and run the board into the router bit until you are just up to the line. Do it once more to widen the path for the bit. Turn off the router. Clamp the board in place on the router table. Put your square onto the dowel, turn on the router and turn the workpiece. You'll get a perfect square.
Now if you want different sized circles, just drill another hole in the plywood, and move the dowel to the appropriate radius distance from the router bit.
NateHanson
Non-member
Or tell me what size pattern you need and I'll turn one on the lathe and bring it to the meeting.
![reactor3[1].jpg](/forums/data/attachments/2/2635-df8e0ddedeec44c74c830c2d7ff0646a.jpg?hash=344N3t7sRM)
spectrum
Non-member
I make my flanges exactly how Nate said in the above message. I start with a roughly 8inch blank. I draw line from from all corners to their opposing corner. This gives you a center mark then I take a square and mark from the center mark out to the sides. This will leave you with 8 lines converging on a center point. Drill a 1/8 hole on center and follow Nate's instructions above.
Now at the 1/8 hole on center and use a compass to lay out my bolt hole pattern, about 3 3/4 from the center I swing an arc. everywhere the arc crosses a line is where I drill a hole. It makes it easier to mate the top and bottom part of the flange and drill one hole, tap that hole and insert bolt. Now drill another hole and tap, insert bolt. Now you can drill the other 6 without messing up the hole patter on the two pieces.
Now at the 1/8 hole on center and use a compass to lay out my bolt hole pattern, about 3 3/4 from the center I swing an arc. everywhere the arc crosses a line is where I drill a hole. It makes it easier to mate the top and bottom part of the flange and drill one hole, tap that hole and insert bolt. Now drill another hole and tap, insert bolt. Now you can drill the other 6 without messing up the hole patter on the two pieces.
Scuba_Dave
Non-member
hmmmm. never thought of square flamges... 
spectrum
Non-member
No real reason not to make square flanges, in fact the reactor I made for HeavyDc2 has them. I just make mine circles because I made the router jig to do it, plus I can polish the edges nicely by attaching it to my drill press and hitting the edges with progressively finer sandpaper and then 0000 steel wool. I figure if I'm going to make somebody a reactor, it may as well look quasi-nice. I'm a frustrated yankee craftsman woking in a computer engineers life. And yes, after a couple of pops, I've made a few flamges
