Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

[Chef Keil]

I have been told that if a jig is made of the old center console windsheild. It would be possible to mold a new piece of plexiglass to replace without going to a repair service. Has anyone atempted this project and if so how did it turn out???

 

[OV1961]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

Plexiglass (acrylic) is very brittle and will need even heating to bend without cracking and crazing. A plastics fabrication shop is the best option. You could try polycarbonate which bends easily but will be under tension unless you can fix it in place. I don't know if heat will work on polycarbonate.

 

[oops!]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

ditto......

bend it wrong.....and snap ! having it bent by pros is cheap. (here in canada)

 

[Booba1399]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

No plexiglass is not that hard to bend with out breaking .. there are alot of DIY sites to bending it .. I have done it .. you just have to use your oven .. Wife might have a problem with that ..LOL..

 

[Mark42]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

Try playing around with 1/8" polycarbonate. It can be bent at sharp angles without cracking or turning white. It can be cut and glued. If bent in a curve, it can be heated with a hair drier to relax the stress in the bend.

 

[Fingernip]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

I have made several computer cases out of single sheets of plexy. Its actually very easy to bend with a heatgun. You just have to be very careful not to use too much heat or get the gun too close. It will bubble and warp unevenly. If you could make a mold of the old windshield and lay the plexy onto it you could heat it and let it fall into the right shape. It does get very soft and will pick up fingerprints and any imperfections of the surface it touches though.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

i have used lexan, to replace the curved section of wind shield. but never tried a tight turn.

 

[Chef Keil]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm going to give it a shoot this weekend and I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

This past winter I made a jig to make a spray/windshield for my flybridge. I heat with a wood burner so I put a 4'x2' sheet of aluminum on top of it. I draped foil around the edges of the aluminum to heat the ends of the sheet up evenly. I used a pyrometer to monitor the temp of the plexi once I placed it on. The temp should be 180*F. plus or minus 6 or 7. Any more than 190 can cause crazing and then bubbling. That is not good. Less in temp will cool too quickly and will not let you get it formed on your jig. When you have a piece that is heated to temp, it will be like a floppy piece of pizza dough. So you need to keep it flat until you slide it onto your form/jig. Covering the jig with felt will help prevent the surface from taking on the impression of what ever the form is made of. Example would be wood. When it is pressed against the woodgrain, it can be transferred onto your plexi.

Plexiglass or polycarbonate is more scratch resistant, while Lexan arcrylic is harder but scratches more easily. Both can be formed by heating.

Side note: if you heat it, form it, and not happy. You maybe able to repeat the process, but the plexi may become too destorted to use........Good Luck....SS

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

The pros offered a price of $150 for an 1/8" replace of my 1/4" CC windsheild. I found this piece of 1/4" so I felt I had nothing to lose but everything to gain by trying it on my own.

Tips:
Don't get in a hurry. It takes a while to get the plexi ready.
When it's ready, It won't even give you the least bit of hesitation.

I used a 1/2" round-over bit on the edge of my jig and it helped alot in guiding the bend.

Rather than bend it by hand, pressure it with a block of wood like in the picture. Bending by hand causes the bend to start too far outside the edge of jig resulting in a window that is too wide when finished. Using a pressure block keeps it tight.

Finally, If your windshield is tapered, make these cuts after bending the plexi. Having an odd shaped piece of material may cause bend to helix or bend of axis.

I'll post this as a new thread also fo better visability for people who aren't already in this one.

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

Why spend $145 plus tax? You can buy the material at eStreetPlastics for $29.00, lumber for $10.00 or less (Most people have it around the house), Heat gun $10.00. That's a third of the price you mention, and a guarenteed fit. Mine fits perfectly and It didn't take long either. The results are in another thread http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=280091 on the second page. That's $100 extra dollars for your gas tank and the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

 

[zaroba]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

technically speaking, its not a "guarenteed fit"

because if you mess up and the bend is even just 1/8th of an inch beyond where it should be, the windshield might not fit. really would depend on the boat itself. if the boat windshield frame includes the curve, then you even have to have a perfectly rounded bend as well. pretty much have to be accurate to the millimeter with all measurements, cuts, bends, and angles.

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

I appreciate that some compound bends should be left to pros. As far as the frame having a curve making it more difficult, the opposite is true. I rounded over my jig to the shape of the CC frame and I knew that I was not done with the bending job until it matched the jig perfectly which in turn provided a guarenteed fit. That is what the pressure block was used for. My original factory window has more imperfections in the bend than the one I made. Profesionally, I know all mathmatics and procedures involved in finding radius, arch, and helix none of these are neccesary in this case. It's really not rocket science so milimeters aren't important. I could redo this 1,000 times and get the same results, guarenteed. DO you think that this window web site we've all looked at before while contemplating purchase tells you how to find radius down to the MM? In fact, it doesn't! It only shows a chart in which examples or radii are swown in increments of 1/4". Now how how exact is that????

Results smash doubts and true reality has little correlation to how we understand it or what we believe.

 

[zaroba]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

also technically speaking, if you take the steps and to all the math perfectly to match stuff up perfectly while your doing it, then of course it would be a gaurenteed fit. doesn't mean somebody can't mess up and make it 1/4" to long in the middle and have it not fit though, hence the fact that just because your making one doesn't mean it will fit.

as for the claim of being able to do it a thousand times with the same resaults. lol
nobody is perfect, everybody makes mistakes.

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

You crack me up! I haven't heard you say one "technichal" thing. Mistakes can be made, but if you know what your doing they are kept to a minimum or eliminated completely. Once you have the jig correct you'd need alot of help messing up if you can read a tape measure. Try this approach.

Making the jig- Make a three sided structure the length, width, and depth of your desired console window. Next, round the corner edges aproximately matching you console.

Cutting the plexiglass- Measuring with a tailors tape find your total length and cut. EVEN IF you mess up here (A little short or a little long) there will be no real problems as you don't rely on the total length for setting up the bend.

Setting up the bend- Lay the plexi over the jig and use a tape maesure to measure the overhang on each end. Move the plexi either direction to make these measurements equal. Now it's centered, clamp it off. When you bend it
90* ,or whatever the angle yours is, and the edges that were hanging over touch the sides of the jig, IT FITS. Maybe you coudn't do it a thousand times but I know I could. At this point it's just routine production. Routine production occurs daily all over the world.

Tha majority of CC windows, which is what the thread originator is discussing, do not sit in an exacting channel as yours does they simply wrap around the console.

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

Save yourself the trouble and be sure that your windshield will fit properly, is the correct grade of material for marine, and hand polished edges guaranteed to not craze around the edges from flame polishing! www.updplastics.com has over 700 different windshields for all makes and models of boats! The average 1/4" tinted shield is less then $145.00. They can even make a windshield for you even if you don't have your old shield! They show you how.

Wow, you've posted 21 times and each time referring to your website for boat windows. Don't you think you should be paying Iboats some sort of fee for advertising?

 

[turfman]

Re: Bending plexiglass for center console *any help*

A good topic to post.

I kinda did mine the same way but way longer. I made a jig out of plywood, used a heat gun, and just let the shield fall into place. I even went as far as making a jig for a mounting lip for the bottom.

I like using lexan for this. I did 2 in plexi but they crazed and the lexan has been on now for two years without a mark.

this task is very easy to do; all it requires is patience and the right materials for the job.

Mark