Gallery, Projects and General > How do I??
Machinable wax
andyf:
--- Quote from: AdeV on February 11, 2010, 04:09:53 AM ---I've never really liked putting wood on the mill, somehow it just doesn't seem right. Will it harm the cutters, or can I cut it with impunity?
--- End quote ---
This rather dodges the question, because I don't know what resins etc are used to bind MDF, but I use HSS drils on it without any apparent damage.
Like wood, MDF is usually machined with carbide cutters in routers etc at very high sfm and feed rates compared to metal. If you hang around, the friction can cause scorching. But your spindle will be revolving more slowly which may help.
Some warn that the very fine dust from machining MDF can cause respiratory problems, and that a full face respirator should be used. I don't know how true that is, but it might be worth researching before you fill the shop with a haze of particles. And going by my limited experience with the stuff, everything in the vicinity, including you, will need a lot of dusting down afterwards.
Andy
spuddevans:
--- Quote from: andyf on February 11, 2010, 01:33:52 PM ---Some warn that the very fine dust from machining MDF can cause respiratory problems, and that a full face respirator should be used. I don't know how true that is, but it might be worth researching before you fill the shop with a haze of particles. And going by my limited experience with the stuff, everything in the vicinity, including you, will need a lot of dusting down afterwards.
--- End quote ---
It is majorly bad for your lungs. Years ago I made a pair of floorstanding speakers out of MDF and routed a round-over on all the edges without using even a dust mask, I ended up up-chucking the contents of my lungs and stomach for most of the evening afterwards. But, lesson learned, I ALWAYS wear protective equipment when machining MDF, or when working in my dads workshop I always use his dust extraction system (its really powerful and when aimed well it collects virtually all the dust generated)
If you can mount a shop-vac close to the cutter so that it sucks up the dust as you machine, that should keep the worst of the dust down :thumbup:
Tim
AdeV:
Hmmm, I'm going to make this wax I think. I don't have a respirator, or even a face mask, and the dust will make a terrible mess of everything. Besides which, I'm wondering how well MDF would show up detailing? In my (very!) limited experience of MDF, it tends to crumble away at the edges, wheras apparently this wax stuff doesn't.
So, anyway, never one to take advice ::), I've ordered 25kg of wax, and bought a bunch of freezer bags from Tesco. Hopefully, the wax will turn up before the weekend (if not, I may be forced to go buy some candles), and I'll try to make a small batch. If it works, then I'll just have to bite the bullet & buy some bulk LDPE from somewhere - anywhere - & make enough to prototype this sump in...
AdeV:
So, today being Sunday, and having cleared the mill of that whopping big lump of Ali, and with Windows MovieMaker making a right meal of that video I mentioned elsewhere... I had no choice but to crack on with this machinable wax (Who am I kidding? I've been looking forward to doing this all week!).
First task, shopping:
Candles: £3 each
Freezer bags: £1.14 each
All from Tesco, obviously...
The coloured stick is from an old artist's set I have lying around. No idea why, as I can't draw for toffee. Still, that means all the coloured sticks are intact :lol: I added about 1/2 the blue one that you see to the melt. But I'm getting ahead of myself here....
The equipment is: An old toaster oven I have lying around. It's not been used in donkeys years, but seems to work OK. A brand new 20cm saucepan (less than £7 for a set of 3 from Tesco - bargain), and a jam thermometer (good for 200C/400F). The strange looking "funnel" device next to the saucepan came with the jam thermometer. With a spout type arrangement on it, it'll be ideal for refilling the various oil applicators I have, from the always-too-big oil containers... I think I've spilt more hydraulic oil than I've used...
OK, I'm rambling. On with the show... First, weigh the candle & the plastic:
Apply some simple mathematics:
:lol:
And (with some rounding) we arrive at the conclusion that one box of plastic bags is almost exactly the right amount of plastic for 1 candle. Result!
So, melt the candles:
Until they look like this:
The greenish tinge is that wax crayon. Goodness knows why it went green. You may also notice a slight issue here..... my 20cm saucepan is FAR too small to hold 2 candles AND 2 boxes of plastic bags. Doh! I transferred half the wax to a spare pan, then started adding the bags.
The PDF says "they will dissolve quite slowly". They weren't kidding. This was nearly an hour later:
Fortunately, only another 20 mins required (ish):
Although, in fact, there is some undissolved plastic in there still, which appeared when I poured it:
Those blue lumps are they. Still, we'll see how it goes... maybe I'll just use the 2nd batch (which went a lot quicker, as I just dumped as much LDPE in as I could, as fast as I could, and only stirred it occasionally) - that seemed to use all of its plastic up properly.
So, here they are, 2 slabs of machinable (?) wax... Still too warm to machine, I'll try them out tomorrow.
PS: If you plan on using decent saucepans, don't use metallic tools! Like a screwdriver, or the thermometer, to stir your liquid, as you WILL damage the finish! And your beloved (if applicable) will NOT be best pleased with you!
As far as making this stuff at home1? Go for it. Provided you don't spill it, it's very clean. The only odour is a faint smell of candle wax - there's no molten plastic smells, and no smoke either. Very spouse-friendly :lol:
1 It occurs to me that, if you have a gas hob, you may be wise not to use it... I don't know how flammable the vapours which come off the pot of wax are, but I'd really rather not chance finding out...
John Stevenson:
Ade,
Next time chop the bags up into small pieces and you have more edges for it to dissolve.
If you do a remelt now it will melt very quickly, it's the initial mixing of the plastic and the wax, we bought a deep fat fryer for £10 from Asda solely for this so we wouldn't get shot.
Yours looks a lot better than ours because our candles were black to start with but they were only £1 each from Ikea on clearance.
There is another ingredient you can add to harden this mixture off, can't remember what it is you will have to do a search on the candle making sites. We never got any or used any but the bought stuff we have is harder than what we made.
John S.
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