Hi,
I’m giving myself a 10 on concept, but about a 3 on execution for this prototype.
Working on swizzle sticks & hair sticks series based on my favorite fandoms. The Jayne’s Hat is the most ambitious–the others are all single color, just cutting and/or etching. (For hair sticks, I’ll change the end shape so it’s easy to go in/out of hair).
This is NOT PG material, but the Rainbow set from from xlntshop, and seems more flexible/softer than other acrylics. Also a benefit for this design, is the tighter cutting of the orange “pom pom” actually changes the color of the tips to yellow–works well for this design, but could be bad in others.
Had to “draw” each section of the hat, and need to adjust the seams a bit to make smoother & tighter fit. But real reason it’s a 3 is my weld application–made quite a mess of the backside–and had I not removed the masking first in my excitement to see what it could look like after I cut each piece, I’m sure I’ll bring up the execution score so I can have this as part of my sets at upcoming shows!
Totally agree. It’s just plastic. Nothing new there. But what of the weld? If you swizzle that into your iced tea does it make any difference? I imagine none at all. You’d probably have to down significant quantities of weld before your body would ever notice.
Well, good question–but the welded end is not supposed to go into the drink, but the leaf end–but nothing to stops folks from misbehavin’… (But once cured, I’m sure it’s OK–else millions of fish would be dying as it’s used in aquariums all of the time… but I’d not want to try it uncured!).
And as for stirring Mudder’s Milk–if it can’t actually stir it, it will look darn good sticking out of it!
Well also whatever scunge you pick up form the glowforge. A good washing ought to fix it, but the weld was what I was worried about more than anything.
It’s a good concern. I did just spend time going thru info on it, and Q&A on the Amazon listing, and no, can’t call it food safe as it’s not been specifically tested for that.
So I’ll be sure to put on a warning with this to not let the welded portion (the hat) contact any food/drink–I think it’s low risk after full curing, but it can’t be confirmed it’s food safe.
If your weld is with CA glue, there shouldn’t be a problem. CA is used in dental repairs, so…
However, I agree with putting the warning on it just to cya…
Thanks. I’m using Weld-on #4 (super thin stuff) that actually “welds” the two pieces together by softening each surface up and then they bond together as they cure vs. an agent (glue) that each side bonds to… (And CA is used within our bodies too–though I have met some folks that are sensitive to working with CA!). Thus this product can ruin the surface of the acrylic with any drips/excess.
Have you tried clear-on-clear? I have limited experience welding acrylic. When I tried with clear it left a residue that could be seen. I may have just used the stuff improperly. Do you need to let it sit on the acrylic for any length of time before putting them together? Is there any… I dunno… general advice on this?
It flows like alcohol and does not mark the surface if applied “reasonably” - like with a syringe or those little dropper bottles.
It works like the adhesive you would use to build plastic model kits, it literally melts the parts together. I’m sure you could mark the surface if you touched it while it was still wet.
Yeah… I used the typical applicator bottle with the needle tip. It didn’t “mark” the surface when I tried it on clear. It left… how do I put this… It was obvious where I’d used the weld. Like it looked like wet spots. It was a large piece. I think it was 18" x 11.5". Maybe I should have put a thin coating on the whole thing rather than sort of “spot welding” the pieces together. I didn’t want to over-do it. Maybe I under-did it.
Anyone who has left the cap off a can of Weld knows it all evaporates. I hate when I pick up what I thought was a sealed can and realize by its weight that it’s bone dry inside because I didn’t screw the top on tight enough. There’s no residue at all left - just me trying to figure out what I’m gonna use to finish the project I was working on
As @eflyguy noted, Weld 4 comes with a little bottle with needle tip, but there is a trick to using it. In my reading today, saw a comment about using a syringe (vet supply) as easier to control than with with bottle. (There is Weld 3 that is more of a goo).
I have tried clear to smoke to clear, and my technique is far from perfect (I had some pics of that work on an earlier thread). The Weld 4 doesn’t cause blushing like CA or other adhesives can. Usually takes only moments for the joint to feel solid, and full curing in 24 hours.
It really helps to leave the masking on to protect the surface until after it sets. This does minimize the risk of messing up the surface if more stuff than expected leaves the bottle!
There are some good videos showing how to use the product–and spot welding is NOT how to do it. Smooth movement along the entire joint while letting the liquid out as you move along–oh, the pros make it look so easy! How much you dispense as you move depends on the width of the joint, as you want capillary action to draw it up deeply (just doing a tiny bit will only get the edge, leaving the center unwelded, and you can’t reapply as it can’t get past the area already welded!
