Wayne - as usual you come through with excellent information.
Thank you.
Rick
hbgatsf Wayne - would you mind sharing the width of your streets and sidewalks?
Wayne - would you mind sharing the width of your streets and sidewalks?
Thanks for all the responses. I started this thread because I found Kydex in dimensions that I thought I wanted. After reading what has been said I am going with styrene. I have some questions about that and will start a new thread.
Overmod Guys, this is a fun discussion, but styrene has nothing to do with the subject of the thread, which is Kydex.
Guys, this is a fun discussion, but styrene has nothing to do with the subject of the thread, which is Kydex.
Although any chance to look at Wayne's modeling again is a treat.
I use the large styrene sheets to make my backdrops. It's easy to cut to the proper width, and also easy to bond together into seamless (using a bit of plastyc putty to fill seams) lengths as long as you need.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I've always used the .060" sheet material for city roads, and then cut and score more of it to use as sidewalks, simply cemented atop the otherwise overly-wide roads...
It also works well for railroad crossings...
...and it's also easy to add a crown to the road...
Wayne
When I said that I couldn't find any locally I had searched for in stock. I revisited the Lowes site and it is available to order in large sheets. They offer free delivery in a few days. My need is not urgent so that seems to be a good solution.
I had focused on .080 because it would line up perfectly with a walkway. I was going to use styrene for streets so the better way to go would be to get .040 and double up. That will leave plenty leftover for the streets.
hbgatsf MisterBeasley You can order large sheets of styrene online from places like US Plastics. A large sheet of .080 from US Plastics is $55 plus $50 shipping so that isn't an option. Rick
MisterBeasley You can order large sheets of styrene online from places like US Plastics.
You can order large sheets of styrene online from places like US Plastics.
A large sheet of .080 from US Plastics is $55 plus $50 shipping so that isn't an option.
Some considerations though:
That $105 gets you a 4,608 square inches. To buy 4,608 square inches from Evergreen, you'd have to spend $310.40 to round up the 64 6x12 inch sheets from them.
It isn't like the stuff goes bad or anything. You're buying years worth of the stuff at once. A bunch up front, yes, but you're doing it once. I got a sheet of 0.30 about six years ago and still have about 20 percent of it unused.
hbgatsfWayne, what type of stores did you find the 4 x 8 sheets of styrene in?
As far as I could tell, that's pretty-well all they were selling, although I do recall that the sheets were available in a variety of thicknesses. I'm guessing that they also supplied sign makers, but I never saw any material other than the 4'x8' sheets (and sometimes a few left-over pieces).
When I first started to use it, there were at least three different suppliers in Hamilton, Ont. about a 15 minute drive from here. Nowadays, there seems to be only one outlet left. I seem to recall the price was originally $15.00, but the latest one was around $40.00. I've probably got all I'll need, as most of it will be for large structures or streets and sidewalks.
There's a fair amount of it in Dunnville...
In addition to the streets and sidewalks, a lot of the kit-built structures which used the walls from the unseen side to make a bigger facade, also used the plain sheet styrene for those unseen walls...that also included interior bracing for some of the larger structures.
Rick.
How much do you need? 80 thou is kinda thick. How about laminating several thinner sheets? When I was kitbashing my gravel plant I got to pick through my local sign shops cutting scraps. Most was .020 and .030 thick. They were really friendly and as a plus they had a machine that could texture the surface like wood grain or even parallel grooves.
Hope you find what you need.
Pete.
doctorwayne I've not heard of that product, but it was always easy to find polystyrene 4'x8' (.060" thick) sheets locally here in Southern Ontario. I think that there were other thicknesses available, too. The dealer simply rolled the sheet into tube-form and secured it with tape, so it fit easily into any of my small vehicles. I've gone through at least 6 or 7 sheets of the stuff. Wayne
I've not heard of that product, but it was always easy to find polystyrene 4'x8' (.060" thick) sheets locally here in Southern Ontario. I think that there were other thicknesses available, too. The dealer simply rolled the sheet into tube-form and secured it with tape, so it fit easily into any of my small vehicles. I've gone through at least 6 or 7 sheets of the stuff.
Wayne, what type of stores did you find the 4 x 8 sheets of styrene in?
I'll look into sign makers. I did find a local plastic supply house but they have a large minimum for retail sales.
It's a mixture of acrylic and PVC, and as you might suspect it will bond just fine with the right techniques. Which, as happens, the manufacturer provides instruction about...
https://kydex.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/KYDEX_Technical_Brief_150-A_Bonding_KYDEX_Sheet.pdf
I'd suspect that the chemical, mechanical, or plasma methods of increasing surface activity could be used to enhance bond strength, which would lead me to try CA activator if the factory advice turns out inadequate.
It would not be good For modeling. High resistance to chemicals, does not take adhesives, mechanical fastening only, used in aircrafts, has a high scratch resistence(makes it extremely tough to cut). does not take paint either.
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
I have Kydex holsters. They are riveted or hot melt together. I don't think any common type of glue or adhesive will stick to it. It looks to be vacuum formed and takes shapes well and very durable. I got latex paint on one and it just wiped off when dry.
Another option is to find a local sign shop and see if they'll order a sheet or two for you. They use a lot of sheet styrene. Or, go to a hardware store and buy some large plastic Beware of the Dog signs.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Has anyone worked with this material? It is a a line of thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride products that I found while looking for large sheets to use for an elevated parking area. No stores in my area (that I have found) sell larger pieces of polystyrene so I was shopping online. I would need to be able to glue styrene or ABS parts to it.