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  • Results 1 to 15 of 15

    Thread: First attempt at welding plastic

    1. #1
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
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      Thumbs up First attempt at welding plastic

      Last winter I bought a plastic welder and hadn't had a chance to play with it. At least until today. This is the unit I have.

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      I took apart my "laboratory" pond and had some 5 gallon buckets with holes in them so I figured today would be a good to try to patch them. The first one was a Home Depot bucket and had holes for a 2" pipe in the bottom and a 3/4" pipe in the side. I cleaned the bucket with soapy water and cut patches to close the holes. I set the welder on 580* with low air and started out.

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      I did pretty good on the bottom.

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      The side was a little more difficult. As you can see in the picture the hole was a little pulled out and wasn't flat. In the end I got it.

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      Best part is it held water!!! So with my confidence up, I decided to try another bucket. This one was a spackle bucket. I am sure you have noticed they are heavier then the HD buckets. I suspect they are a slightly different material too. As I was working on the HD bucket it melted to look shiny and wet. The spackle bucket on the other hand looked like it was "sweating".

      I cleaned this bucket with soapy water and cut patches out of the same "sacrificial" lid as the first one. As soon as I started I noticed the differences mentioned above. It was not a happy outcome. The more I tried, the more the orange plastic melted but the white in the bucket didn't. Eventually the orange plastic just fell through. I never could get it to weld.

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      But I wasn't going to give up. I found a lid that came from a spackle bucket. It was almost as thick as the bucket. I cut patches from it and got them welded on. I had to raise the heat to 750* to get it.

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      Not the neatest of welds. But they are utility buckets and they hold water.

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    2. #2
      CdnJCR's Avatar
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      Hi Bob,
      What model of Master ProHeat did you purchase?
      Jim

    3. #3
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by CdnJCR View Post
      Hi Bob,
      What model of Master ProHeat did you purchase?
      Jim
      PH 1400

      http://www.hardwaresales.com/master-...-heat-gun.html

    4. #4
      stevek is online now Supporting Member
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      Maybe Zac will take you on as an apprentice now that you have some experience....

    5. #5
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by stevek View Post
      Maybe Zac will take you on as an apprentice now that you have some experience....
      His pockets aren't deep enough...

    6. #6
      Norm Walsh's Avatar
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      Bob, are you using rod to weld or simply melting a puddle?


      I love a good red.

    7. #7
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
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      Didn't need rod for these. Next time I practice it will be on something I need rod for. I have 10 pounds of hdpe rod.

      Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

    8. #8
      icu2's Avatar
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      Thanks for sharing!
      I've always wanted to try one of the plastic welders but never gotten to it.
      --Steve



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    9. #9
      BWG is offline Senior Member
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      Looks like a good first start. I have one of the Harbor Freight welders but it requires an air compressor and low pressure regulated air to weld. I wonder if the Dewalt setup pictured is any good. It comes with a 3 year warranty and has a reasonable price.
      Attached Images Attached Images  

    10. #10
      Jaymeseywaymsey's Avatar
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      To do rod welding the correct way you need the correct nozzle.
      http://www.amazon.com/Steinel-Weldin.../dp/B0006GTGW6
      Or something similar. YouTube has several tutorials on the correct way. If your gun has a variable temp control its easier to fine tune the heat to the correct setting for the material used.

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    11. #11
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      How does the air work? Does it cool the tip or the plastic?
      Vicki


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    12. #12
      Rich L is offline Senior Member
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      The plastics must be similar if they are to take a weld.

      There's really not much to welding. I had been making too much of it until I talked to someone who had been doing it professionally, in the past.

      Any way to heat the two surfaces to the melting point(250 to 700 deg) which varies in different materials. I've used a cheap Harbor freight iron, soldering irons, a heat gun and a blow torch(carefully). They all can work to a point. I really like looks of the DeWALT heat gun but have no experience with it. It actually regulates the temperature; not all heat guns doo that.

      How about it, do any of you folks with dedicated welders see any problems with the DeWALT?

    13. #13
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Rich L View Post
      How about it, do any of you folks with dedicated welders see any problems with the DeWALT?
      The DeWalt is $70 less than the one I have. From what I can see, mine has more fine temp control and also has the ability to control the air output. From my limited experience I think the 50 degree increments in heat and no air control in the DeWalt will not make too much difference and is probably acceptable to the DIY crowd. I would consider it a better tool than the Harbor Freight higher end unit.

    14. #14
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      Just a little FYI... if you look at the bottom of each container you will see a recycling code (its that triangular arrowed symbol)... this should help you determine which plastic it is and only weld together similar type plastics.
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      Black one
      Last edited by T9D; 11-12-2015 at 12:24 PM.

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