Make a good, cheap, upgradeable sheet plastic vacuum former
I built a small 6"x6" handheld from plans in a FineScaleModeler years ago, but a friend of mine and I built two of these larger ones a couple of years ago using those plans above. It's very easy to build and has held up really well.
The problem everyone runs into at first is the size and thickness of the plastic. The thinner the stock, the more it will likely tear... and the thicker the stock the longer it takes to warm and increases the chance of a completely melting or at worst, fire. Start out with a 3/8" to 1/4" just to practice with and as you get more adept and comfortable, experiment with what thickness you need for certain projects. I have a local supplier of plastic sheet so I get whatever size of sheet I want, but I have had a lot of luck with off the shelf Plastruc and Evergreen stock.
With patience and a little common sense, vacu-forming isn't difficult and can yield excellent results.
Leave a comment: