baker519

Good job. Glad this instructable helped youA Baker

The organizers distribute the weight to the corner pads of the case and that is near the 3/4" sides so there is little weigh unsupported. I do have a little sag just from the weight of the slat but that is about 1/16 to 3/32" and not a big problem.

I got most of the 2" cases from Harbor Freight on sale, $5.99 limit 9. Had a gift card from Menards and waited for a sale on the Stanley 3" cases and also took advantage of their 11% back (store credit) . Currently Home Depot has a Miller 3" case as a Christmas special, will wait to after Christmas and see if they reduce to clear inventory. Have not found any bargains at Lowes but I keep looking. Walmart also carry some for just over $6 each. Am also thinking of making some out of wood (will post when I have a design) for the deeper boxes of 4" and deeper. These will be used for tool storage like stapler and pin nailer and the accessories with these tools.

Check out my other instructables on hdpe and polypropylenehttps://www.instructables.com/id/Recycled-HDPE-Mul...https://www.instructables.com/id/Making-Dimensiona...https://www.instructables.com/id/Recycled-Polyprop...Also milk jugs are non flowing and you will need to press (clamp) in into shape, also if heat it to 375 degrees you will have more open time for forming and pressing. You will have more degrading of the plastic(brown discoloring ) by heating it over 350 degree. Also if you press in layers you will get better molding detail and forcing into shape with a small punch or an awl, then clamp and press. You have to work fast and preheating tools keep the material from setting up before you finished shaping.

Cut a small piece of the material and melt it at 350 degrees. If it forms a pool and is round shaped and domed it is "flowing" this is injected molded material. If the material shrinks but holds it shape like a glob of clay it is "non flowing" this is extruded molded. Bottles and jugs normally are extruded and blow molded with a seam on the bottom. Pails and lids are normally injection molded and have more defined detail than extruded parts. Check out my first hdpe instructable https://www.instructables.com/id/Making-Dimensiona...Below are samples of flowing and non flowing.

Check out my other two instructables on HDPE, I am also working on one about polypropylene, built a bee hive box from it. https://www.instructables.com/id/Making-Dimensional-Recycled-HDPE-Stock-for-Project-1/https://www.instructables.com/id/Recycled-HDPE-Multi-Color-Wren-House/

I have tried it, it works for small infestations, but I found that with large groups of mice some seem to be "develop a resistance" to the smell.

I have tried the scent repellants and also the sonic repellants both work but in both cases there seems to be a small portion of the population that is not effected by smell or sound. In those cases a snap trap seems to solve the immunity problem. Also repellants do not reduce the population it just sends them to the neighbors or other parts of your property and eventually the over population is its own problem.

If you use tin cans for molds either use cans with no ribs or you will have to cut the can off the part. I found black pipe and thin wall conduit made good reusable molds. I then set the pipe in a number 10 can so it does not fall over in the oven. The bottom end is covered with aluminum foil to prevent leaks, leaks make it difficult to remove the stock from the mold. I also use spray silicone (pam kitchen spray or silicone spray from the auto supply store) as a mold release, the inside of a pipe not as polished as it needs to be for good releasing. I just use a clamp to compress the melted material, a caulking gun puts many restraints on the size and length of the pieces. I make my plugs out of scrap mdf or plywood and then use a bolt or piece of threaded rod to reach inside the mold u...

If you use tin cans for molds either use cans with no ribs or you will have to cut the can off the part. I found black pipe and thin wall conduit made good reusable molds. I then set the pipe in a number 10 can so it does not fall over in the oven. The bottom end is covered with aluminum foil to prevent leaks, leaks make it difficult to remove the stock from the mold. I also use spray silicone (pam kitchen spray or silicone spray from the auto supply store) as a mold release, the inside of a pipe not as polished as it needs to be for good releasing. I just use a clamp to compress the melted material, a caulking gun puts many restraints on the size and length of the pieces. I make my plugs out of scrap mdf or plywood and then use a bolt or piece of threaded rod to reach inside the mold until it is full. The pressure is applied by a clamp. You do not need much pressure sometimes I just manually push on the piston. (check the photos to see my technique)If I were making a 2" diameter by 6" long I would just cut the milk jug in strips approximately 1"x 5-5.5" and place in the mold pack but loosely(it will melt more uniformly with the heat being able to get to all sides of the strip) After the first melt and compression, then use strips just long enough to stay in the mold, probably around 3" in length, after they melt fill with shorter pieces, continue until the mold is full. I usually let the mold heat another hour after full and then compress one more time and let it cool. The piece should pull away from the mold usually a sharp tap from a hammer will loosen the piece and it will fall from the mold.Be sure the milk jugs are clean I usually fill with water let them set over night and then rinse.

I do too. I am very pleased with the simplicity and not having to mess around with the power company on the installation. My son has a large storage building that is a quarter mile from grid power, currently the building is only accessed during the day and the skylights allow for lighting or he uses flashlights to find the items he is looking for. If this remote system continues to work with no problems, I will get a couple of golf cart batteries and install lighting in his building. It would only need lighting for 8 to 10 hours a week. Would use a gasoline generator for charging until a "normal" was established and then a solar charging system sized and installed.

Thank you, it was fun to make and I was surprised how well woodworking tools worked with the hdpe.

Thank you for the kind comments. I also appreciate the hint on kneading and reheating the mass. The parts I have made have not needed mechanical strength, they have been used instead of wood in areas where moisture and rotting were problems, or replaced clay parts.This last week a friend wanted a wedge to replace a commercial wedge that had broken in sub zero temperatures. I made a wedge out of some of the flowing material I had. It was then tested in a vise and hit with a hammer. It failed miserably. It did not break along flat planes like the feed stock, it looked more like a drift wood with gentile curves and cone shaped spikes like stalagmite. Like you said it broke in weird fracture patterns. I have been experimenting with 1" black hdpe pipe, when heated it shrinks in length ...

Thank you for the kind comments. I also appreciate the hint on kneading and reheating the mass. The parts I have made have not needed mechanical strength, they have been used instead of wood in areas where moisture and rotting were problems, or replaced clay parts.This last week a friend wanted a wedge to replace a commercial wedge that had broken in sub zero temperatures. I made a wedge out of some of the flowing material I had. It was then tested in a vise and hit with a hammer. It failed miserably. It did not break along flat planes like the feed stock, it looked more like a drift wood with gentile curves and cone shaped spikes like stalagmite. Like you said it broke in weird fracture patterns. I have been experimenting with 1" black hdpe pipe, when heated it shrinks in length over 50% but gets wider. I melt several pieces, then clamp in vise to compress together, then reheat and then compress into "tin" can for making a wheel for an idler on a grinder, then turn the wheels and install bearings. Have not been able to break the wheels.I will get some silicone gloves and build a wooden form to make a wedge. Will heat pieces, knead and compress into a single mass to fit form (may take several cycles) Then finally form into wedge after last heat and let cool in wood form under pressure.Will let you know how well this works. Again thank you for your insight and suggestions.

New instructable How to work with the non-flowing HDPEhttps://www.instructables.com/id/Making-Dimensional...

I did use plastic cutting boards, I outside rail of the catch tray are from Sam's Club, the largest piece I could find. The problem with cutting boards is they are only 3/8 thick. My friend wanted 3/4" thick buckets, because he felt the 3/8 was too flimsy with 2 bands around the bucket. Yes, more bands were discussed and it came down to personal preference, he wanted it to look like the original. Again this whole project was a labor of love, the purchased materials to restore this press cost as much as a new modern press, with the many hours of labor this restoration is priceless.

HDPE is number 2 or a triangle with HDPE below the triangle.This link has all the recycling codeshttps://www.quantumbalancing.com/recycle.htm

Am just making the larger pieces to make the bee hive body. Will be next week before I am finished making the pieces. Making Christmas gifts so have to work experimenting in-between.The reason I am looking at tongue and groove is that I have a Sommerfeld bit set with setup gauge (check out their YouTube videos). This set allows the building of cabinets using t&g for all joints. It gives you location in two directions and makes clamping easier. With the HDPE being so slippery I thought it would be beneficial to have the parts located for clamping and then pinning the joint in the third plane. I had thought of plastic welding, but with the high expansion and shrinkage I had dismissed it for the first try. Will try later, but for now will spend time making an acceptable bee box. Will ...

Am just making the larger pieces to make the bee hive body. Will be next week before I am finished making the pieces. Making Christmas gifts so have to work experimenting in-between.The reason I am looking at tongue and groove is that I have a Sommerfeld bit set with setup gauge (check out their YouTube videos). This set allows the building of cabinets using t&g for all joints. It gives you location in two directions and makes clamping easier. With the HDPE being so slippery I thought it would be beneficial to have the parts located for clamping and then pinning the joint in the third plane. I had thought of plastic welding, but with the high expansion and shrinkage I had dismissed it for the first try. Will try later, but for now will spend time making an acceptable bee box. Will probably use metal corner braces to hold together on the outside. I will also cut biscuit joints where the box and supers meet to keep the two from sliding apart. These will be loose fit with no glue. Will report back about my success or failure.

As mentioned in step 14 I use buckets and lids that I get from a bakery that had frosting or icing in them. These were used in the cider press restoration. I do not use buckets that had poison in them for any of the parts. HDPE is rather impervious to most chemicals so I do not see a major problem using non food grade for items like the idler wheel or the parts for jigs and fixtures like the miter slot runner or the knobs.As for fumes the MSDS for HDPE is one of the least reactive of any of the plastics. (I have heated PVC for bending and will only do that outside). I do not detect any fumes at the temperatures that it takes to melt the HDPE. It is done in the area of the shop next to my welder and there is ventilation there for the welding smoke.I see the risks for this to be about the...

As mentioned in step 14 I use buckets and lids that I get from a bakery that had frosting or icing in them. These were used in the cider press restoration. I do not use buckets that had poison in them for any of the parts. HDPE is rather impervious to most chemicals so I do not see a major problem using non food grade for items like the idler wheel or the parts for jigs and fixtures like the miter slot runner or the knobs.As for fumes the MSDS for HDPE is one of the least reactive of any of the plastics. (I have heated PVC for bending and will only do that outside). I do not detect any fumes at the temperatures that it takes to melt the HDPE. It is done in the area of the shop next to my welder and there is ventilation there for the welding smoke.I see the risks for this to be about the same as woodworking, there I have dust collection equipment, dust masks, respirator mask for finishing and external ventilation for the shop. These are used when machining the HDPE.This instructable was about a process to produce raw material to complete a project and I assumed correctly or not that shop safety is the users responsibility. This process does not produce noticeable fumes. I appreciate your concerns, but I feel that checking the MSDS and using containers that contained poisonous material will give a reasonable safety level for the home shop.Also how "food safe" was the 140 year old wood that was on the cider press originally?

To remove the labels, I cut them out of the container, then soak them in dish detergent and water over night or longer. Then scrape of the paper and glue if it is water soluble. If it is still sticky I have paint thinner (mineral spirits) in a spray bottle and mist the sticky area and then wipe off the residue with a paper towel. The labels that are printed or heat stamped on the container I use a card scraper (a rectangular steel blade that cuts and removes the HDPE and the printing) The scraper is pictured in step 14 it is the photo next to the buckets, the scraper is the silver piece of steel. These are available woodworking supply or you can make your own out of a putty knife blade. Grind or file the working end of the putty knife square to the sides. Then grasp the blade by the sid...

To remove the labels, I cut them out of the container, then soak them in dish detergent and water over night or longer. Then scrape of the paper and glue if it is water soluble. If it is still sticky I have paint thinner (mineral spirits) in a spray bottle and mist the sticky area and then wipe off the residue with a paper towel. The labels that are printed or heat stamped on the container I use a card scraper (a rectangular steel blade that cuts and removes the HDPE and the printing) The scraper is pictured in step 14 it is the photo next to the buckets, the scraper is the silver piece of steel. These are available woodworking supply or you can make your own out of a putty knife blade. Grind or file the working end of the putty knife square to the sides. Then grasp the blade by the sides, set it on the area to be scraped and pull the blade towards you, you should get nice little curly piece of plastic and the printing. You may have to tilt the blade forward or backwards to get it to cut. A little practice and you will get the feel for the correct orientation to get it to scrape the printing off.Some labels are printed on plastic and are really stuck to the HDPE (motor oil and detergent bottles) I have not found effective way to remove these label, so I just throw them away for now. I would like to know how they get the label so well adhered to the HDPE, I have not found any glue that sticks that well to the HDPE. Have tried epoxies, polyurethane, and PVA and have tried flame treating with a propane torch will little success. Hope this helps.

I have seen three types of plastic regrinders, a notched wheel shredder similar to a paper shredder where the plastic falls into the notch and the messing wheels crush it (that is the precise plastics plan), a rotatory shear with two rotating blades and two fixed blades and a sizing screen in the bottom to not let the plastic out until it is a certain size (like most tree chippers), and a hammermill with swinging blades and a screen for sizing (farm feed mill). For home use I would look at modifying a leaf shedder (not the nylon string type) or even take a lawn mower make it a super mulcher close up the bottom feed it thru the discharge chute (yes I know this super dangerous!) Also watch Craigslist for a small agricultural feed mill they made some that were about the size of a garden s...

I have seen three types of plastic regrinders, a notched wheel shredder similar to a paper shredder where the plastic falls into the notch and the messing wheels crush it (that is the precise plastics plan), a rotatory shear with two rotating blades and two fixed blades and a sizing screen in the bottom to not let the plastic out until it is a certain size (like most tree chippers), and a hammermill with swinging blades and a screen for sizing (farm feed mill). For home use I would look at modifying a leaf shedder (not the nylon string type) or even take a lawn mower make it a super mulcher close up the bottom feed it thru the discharge chute (yes I know this super dangerous!) Also watch Craigslist for a small agricultural feed mill they made some that were about the size of a garden shredder. Depending on what you want to produce just cut the pieces small enough to get your heating device. The reason industry uses such small pieces is to get the material into the heating screw on the plastic machines, and to get adequate mixing in the auger before injection or extruding.If you want to make filament for a 3D printer or some other small part then the material would have to be ground finer, but for items like I want which are large enough to machined on my woodworking equipment, I just reduce the plastic to a size that will fit into my pans and oven.