Thread: Thank goodnes for Tap Plastics!

Well I live in a historic shopping district, and so 250 feet from my front door are several businesses. Tap Plastics is one of them. I have used them for years for things like high grit sand paper when I need it and don't want to order it, bufing wheels, fiberglass supplies for my race boats, and such. Normally when I leave I always make a pass by their dumpster for odds and ends. Normally it is pieces of acrylic that had something round cut out of it, but there is enough usable for a couple sets of scales, well today I was looking through their "cutoffs and scraps" bin, all cut to 7"x10" for $1.00 a sheet! That's enough for 5 pairs of standard size scales per sheet! $0.10 cost in material per scale! I picked up this small stack of 3mm clear amber, clear, black, forest green, red, smoke poly carbonate, and a 2mm piece of white. The kid behind the counter charged me $5 for the stack, even after I told him there were 7. I also picked up a bottle of Novus 2 plastic polish to finish up after a white rouge buff.

Can't say I don't like getting a deal!






Time to finish up a set of smoke acrylic I dug from the dumpster now.


-Xander

A very good purchase, please post pics of the finished product.

Jerry
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Here is the set of smoke acrylic I am working on now. In the picture, the scale on the left hadn't been polished yet and I'm not done with the one on the right. This is the second wedge I made for this razor, lost the first one from the buffer pitching it across the shop.






-Xander

Can't wait to see some more, thanks for sharing.

Good looking pair of scales! Well done!

Great Stuff,Love tap plastic.

Thanks for sharing....
What type and thickness do you look for when you are "hunting?"

Originally Posted by MJC

Thanks for sharing....
What type and thickness do you look for when you are "hunting?"

I basically look for 2mm and 3mm acrylic and polycarbonate. If metric is unfamiliar to you, that's 1/8" and less. I look for a usable area of roughly 2"x7" for one set of scales. Polycarbonate normally has a plastic protective film while acrylic will have the brown paper backing. Just 4 or 5 drops of Elmers white glue and clamp them together for 20 minutes will b enough to work them together. Clear, smoke, black and white are by far the most common you will find. Be careful using power grinders on acrylic it will get hot and melt or deform easily.


-Xander

I've got a sheet on the way, and had been wondering if acrylic would work. I decided to give it a try, and am glad to see the results you get.

Can't wait to mess with it.