Stanley No 71 Hand Router
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Good news.
I found a website that offers ‘cut to size’ polycarbonate plastic sheets. I just ordered two pieces for a total of £10.74 and that includes delivery.
I will let you know if the product is any good, but for £10 it was worth a try. Especially as another website I was looking at, wanted to stick on a surcharge of £40.01 extra!
Width: 270mm
Length: 120mm
Thickness: 4mm
Rounded Corners: 2mm"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
Totally right! A nice piece of beech would be ideal to mimick old wooden planes. I had to “settle” for an old plank of rosewood since I couldn’t get hold of a properly wide beech board here. Cheers!
The two 4mm thick polycarbonate bases should be with me soon.
Can I drill holes into them, using the same bits I used on the wooden base, and can I also use normal wood screws to affix the base to the Stanley?
Or will I need special bits/screws because it is polycarbonate?
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
I’d be inclined to drill and tap the polycarbonate to take an M5 or M6 flat head machine screw.
CraigSW Pennsylvania
Would any of these do the job:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-bright-zinc-plated-pan-head-machine-screws-m5-x-30mm-25-pack/7195j
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
It seems I need to purchase a special drill bit that goes through the polycarbonate.
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
Don’t want to be a killjoy, but I think you will be forced and compelled to be quite elaborate on this one.
First, to make sure that your screws won’t protrude, it might be advantageous to use flat headed screws that allow for washers between the screw head and the router base. (Axminster used to have very nice m6 x 15 for hex keys, but I can’t find them).
It might be necessary to use a transfer punch or snugly fitting drill bit to mark the holes on the sub-base. Then that will have to be drilled and finally threaded.
Sven-Olof Jansson
London, UK; Boston, MAYup. Either way, I am going to have to get a little creative here with the polycarbonate. I’m not sure why the wooden sole router base doesn’t allow for enough cutting iron depth. I followed the instruction exactly.
I’ve decided to go with an acrylic drill bit and an M5 flat head screw. Pretty sure the hacksaw will cut the plastic but I’ve no idea what I’m going to use for the 1″ clearance hole the cutter goes through.
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
Is the depth adjuster nut installed correctly, with the wide, knurled part down? If not, inverting it will give you another quarter inch of depth adjustment.
For the clearance hole you can use a common twist drill and a coping saw.
(What is an “acrylic bit”? Is that a bit made of acrylic or do they make special bits for drilling holes in acrylic?)
Dave
Thanks for the tip Dave, I’ll try it out.
The acrylic bit is a special bit for drilling plastics.
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
What is an “acrylic bit”? Is that a bit made of acrylic or do they make special bits for drilling holes in acrylic?)
Acrylic/polycarbonate bits are metal and have a steeper cutter angle so they don’t grab as you exit the hole.
But it is quite possible to cut acrylic with an ordinary metal cutting bit. I find stepped out ‘bullet point’ bits work fine. Just exit the hole really slowly. Use a drill press ( pillar drill) if you have one. The bits usually catch right as you break through the far side. Also, make sure the plastic is well supported and clamped to a scrap of wood or mdf.
Guys in a plastics shop near me just use metal bits and chuck them fairly loosely so they stop spinning if the bit catches in the plastic.
Holes larger than 1/2” or so are usually enlarged from a pilot hole with a (gasp) power router and a circle cutting fixture. It leaves a smoother edge. And the big plastics shop here uses a CNC laser cutter now, or a water jet.
I used to work in a plastics shop. Acrylic is a pain. Also, as Sven-Olof pointed out, this is harder than just running wood screws down into a wooden base because you must get the dimensions right vs. just lining things up and running the screws into the material.
Suggestion: Get some thin double sided tape and call it a day. Skip the screws. At least give it a try, because there is a good chance the tape will hold just fine.
As has been mentioned, there are special Plexi-bits for drilling acrylic. However, I’ve also heard that you can make an acceptable “plexi-bit” by taking a regular bit and drilling into concrete a little to dull it. Never tried it myself. I think the object is to create a bit that won’t blow out the backside of a piece that you’re drilling.
If you can't afford to do big things...........do small things in a big way!
Good points.
I was thinking of glueing it to the base – that’s two fewer drill holes to worry about.
The double-sided tape is an interesting idea but I still need to make that 1″ clearance hole for the cutting iron.
Not confident about first drilling into concrete, so I think I’ll wait to hear back from a few online retailers I’ve emailed. I asked about drill bits so hopefully, they can link me to the specific drill bits I need.
Thanks all.
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
Just heard back from a retailer that these will be fine for going through the polycarbonate
http://www.theplasticman.co.uk/products/tools-drill-bits-etc.html
Straight away I’m wary because I was told the drill bit needed to have a 60-degree angle at the point – those above don’t.
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
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