Acrylic tank oops!! PLEASE HELP

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
a_c_arnold;2230589; said:
Got a router table? A good flush trim bit would do the trick. Glue it up and trim it down. A hand held router would also work, but you need a steady hand.
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Yep, you heard right. However, the assembled tank can't be manuvered on a router table. The pieces have to be machined prior to assembly.

And there isn't a pair of hands on the planet that are skilled enough to free hand acrylic edges to the precision that is required for fish tanks. Routers just don't work that way. The rotating bit always pushes away from the work until some of the shavings decide to melt. Then the router will pull into the material. It is very unpredicable. A fence or jig will be required.
 
Yep, I have some. :) The tricky part will be when you flip it over to do the other half. Since the tank will be solvent welded, the edge should be done in one pass rather than two halves (just for precisions sake). I think it would just be easier for a noob to clamp on a straight edge and go to town doing it all from one side. I'd also hate to see someone with little experience try a bearing guided bit on a project like this.
 
Why don't you just get another bottom the correct size? Maybe even add it to the bottom in addition to the "Inside" one?
I would think you would want the forces to be "shear" rather than "tensile".
And having the front and back being the longest lines and the most flex I would think shear is the way to go...
 
zennzzo;2244751; said:
...I would think shear is the way to go...
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You assumed wrong. The tensile strength of acrylic is stronger than the shear strength.
 
When you picked the high number from the Mechanical Properties Spec. Sheet, you forgot to look up what it meant.
 
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