I figured. That was the first time I showed them. They’ve been copied in other how to vids since. I also added side pieces to the bottom of the jig to be able to screw them down to the table to essentially lock the panel in place to keep it from sliding from side to side.
Thanks a lot for that. I made up some small ones quick for my test seams and ran a second set today. The seam came out a lot better than the first, however there is still some or that same air creep on one side.
Alright thank you. I was using some older, and pretty beat up Quick Clamps. I will try to acquire some bar clamps and experiment with how much pressure to apply.
Have you ever tried or considered going along the outside edges with a thicker solvent, such as Weldon-16, to reduce any air coming in on the edges? Almost a similar method as silicone for a glass tank.
Looks great!
My last few tanks have been built using the marga cipta brand..in fact I picked up a few sheets of 3/4 yesterday to build one for a client. It’s all about soak time with it. It’s a harder acrylic for sure. But the few tanks I’ve build are holding strong a year in. The biggest is a 375 8x3x2.
Not sure if I’d trust it only being made of 1/2” material. I always use 3/4” on tanks that high.
I was initially going to use 3/4” but after seeing multiple commercial tanks at 24” high being sold made out of only 3/8” I figured it would be adequately safe
The nice thing about using 3/4 is there’s room for error when it comes to getting the seams perfect. There’s only one way to find out if it’s going to hold! Lol. Good luck with it.
Did you use pin method? Did you use Weldon 4? Remember about 90 seconds when you pull the pins. Then adjust the piece as it will slide. Once in proper place, gently tighten your clamps.Hello there,
I am in desperate need of help. After months of research I have finally purchased enough acrylic to build two tanks. One will be about 20 gallons (as a practice tank) and one will be 150 gallons.
Before I touched any of that material I bought a 1 square foot x 1/2” thick cast acrylic sample which I cut into 4 pieces. I did this to test my seams, as well as edge cleaning. I have bonded two seams, one with a cut and scraped edge, and another with the factory polished edge. I used the pin method on one, with very thin wire.
About 20 seconds after applying Weld-on 4 I pulled the pins and everything looked 100% perfect. No bubbles or missing solvent anywhere. I could not find a single flaw.
I went upstairs then came back down about an hour later. Nothing had been moved or messed with at all. What I found looks like air has somehow crept in along both sides of the seam. Please see the attached pictures. I can not have seams look like this as it will drive me crazy and I will not be confident with the durability of the tank. I am looking for any and all feedback as to why this may be happening.
Thank you for taking the time to read.
Best,
Chris
