Form Bending Sheet Acrylic for a Curved Display Case

Heat forming acrylic into a circular arc shape. This video includes how to make the curved arc form from wood, and heating the acrylic in my kitchen oven, which is NOT a safe way to do it.

Display case build video...

Links referenced in this video. *affiliate

Intro - 0:00
Making form - 0:34
Cutting acrylic - 3:31
Heating acrylic - 4:29
Out of oven and forming - 6:45

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[andy.puempel]

Very nicely done and well explained. I hadn't considered the off-gassing of the acrylic as a safety issue. BTW...great looking display case!

[peternicholsonu]

I built a aluminium trailer very very similar to Airstream Basecamp. Am old and retired and needed the distraction. Built the frame from oak and skinned it with 4’x8’ aluminium sheet. To improve on the Airstream I made the front window much higher than they did plus instead of framed windows I made continuous black tint acrylic sheets 900mm wide (Australia) but 2.4m long (8’). I got the front curved piece out of one sheet which I draped over a saw horse in the sun for couple days. Then use hairdryer and strapping to bring it to shape...worked great. 2 rear 90 degree corners it used a jigs and butane torch and block of pine to get it right. This week I started to bring it up to ready for sale and realised what the design team at Airstream knew all along. In the sun the forward black tinted acrylic expanded breaking my elastic seals. Tomorrow I shall remove the front screen and fit curved channel top and bottom and slotted end attachment points to allow needed sideways movement. Need then added trim above to ensure waterproofing. May as well add LED strip lighting to the upper seal whilst I’m at it. Am sign writing side and rear for upcoming road trip to sell as a 2 berth camper or coffee kiosk.

[hxmdhep]

Thank you, This is just what I needed tot bend a screen for my motorcycle. :) :) :) :) :)
😃

[williammagee]

As with all your videos this was very informative, I enjoyed. A side note, back in the day I went to a several day seminar on effective presentation. An important theme taught was: 1) Tell them what you are going to tell them; 2) Tell Them; and 3) Tell them what you told them.
I've got interested in several of your videos and you seem to follow this theme and I do enjoy it. Keep up the great videos and I am hoping to see your channel grow. :)

[AndyMorrisArt]

Thanks for the warning about potential explosions! As my oven is decades old there's zero chance that I'll risk it. I think instead I'll try draping the sheet of acrylic over my form and using a heat gun to slowly heat it and hopefully it will become flexible enough to form to the form.

[vendingsweets]

Thank you for this awesome video. This is extremely helping with the project i have in mind. I would like to add as a former appliance repair tech. A residential gas oven, the gas valve opens and closes keeping the temperature of the oven with a certain range. Up to +/-15 degrees depending on the brand oven. Hence the sound of the low sounding ignition or "woof' sound. Compared to a commercial oven where its keeps stable and constant temp. So even though you have your temp set to 350 degrees, again depending on your brand oven, it actually could be fluctuating at a temp range of 375 to 345 in order to maintain that 350. With this info, be extremely careful with the vapor build up within the oven

[SaMiChi]

Looks nice. Beside the explosion safety concern, any time you're heating any kind of plastic, you must vent. Plastic fumes are toxic.

[johnkei]

thank you for providing an interesting video presentation on how to make prints which is very easy to understand I pray that you are always healthy and continue to work so that it benefits everyone🙏 greetings from Indonesia👌

[jorgeandjessica]

Very educational and entertaining. Your cabinet look great.

[blackbeton]

Very nice video. This band saw / router jig is very useful. And thanks for providing the heating temperatures

[namolokaman]

Instead of aluminum, which is not perfectly flat, in the oven, I'd recommend using a silicon mat. That's what we do in our heat press, to prevent the canvas / paint texture of both plates from marring the acrylic sheet: we use 2 identical silicon mats, about 24" x 18" ( 1/16 thick or so ) to sandwich the acrylic. Then, use the silicon mat to lift the acrylic out of the oven, and deposit it onto your form. Keep the warm silicon mat underneath, on you form. Don't use the cloth, as the warm silicon mat — with residual heat from the oven — will ensure that the acrylic sheet cools _slowly and evenly_ over your form: you don't want big differentials in temperature between surfaces, as this will warble the acrylic; also, the cloth texture could potentially imprint on the hot acrylic.

[RandyZimmerman-ppwj]

Built a plastic melt oven in the 70s galvanized trash can and 6 infrared bulbs works great with fan venting old school tech

[danp]

Work, details, information = just great! I watched other videos, well... this is the one I needed. Thank you!

[capti]

Nicely done, and very informative. I really like that circle cutting jig and the dual method for getting a very clean outer edge. I also appreciate the information and how you managed to obtain the bend. For me, the concern is not so much the temperature of the oven and flammability of the acrylic but that as chemicals offgas from the heated acrylic, they plate onto the inner surfaces of the oven where you will be cooking food later on. So, they may get onto your food and then of course you’d be eating it. Further, if you have an oven that cleans itself by heating up very hot, those same chemicals that plated out would be converted into something that may be noxious to you and anyone else. Caution is advised! 👀
My wife would have a fit if I were to do this in our oven! 😁
I really enjoy your videos and I hope you keep it up!

[henrysara]

Outstanding display, thank you great tips on bending on acrylics.

[BlackmerStudios]

Nicely done. Your duel step circle cutting jig is very interesting. Perhaps that could be a future video?

[nedaafi-dndg]

What a great idea! Love how you explained it so perfectly! Thank you 😊

[johnwickham]

More than one good idea in this video, well done

[timlindgren]

Exactly what I needed -- thanks for doing this! ( I also found it fun that we have the same ol Delta chop saw.... still going strong, although the laser gave out about a yr after purchase. )

[mondujar]

I enjoyed the video, and it has given me some ideas for future projects! 😊