I plan on attempting my first thien tophat build this weekend, and I am getting a list of materials ready. Everything is pretty standard, but what have you all done to acquire lexan/polycarbonate? I can buy a sheet for $100ish--might as well buy a super dust deputy at that point and save myself a couple hours. Is there a source that sells appropriate dimensions for making the walls of the tophat? My one thought was to buy two strips of 12" by 48" and attempt to fuse/glue the edges together. I would do it at the point where one of the vertical supports were to support the seam during operation. Is this possible? Would it leak? I am planning on using 1/16" material to prevent breaking during the bending process. I read that a few other members had difficulty bending 1/8" material. I am pretty excited to put this tophat together, because I have yet to use my new-to-me 1.5hp shopfox that I purchased off CL. I didn't want to ruin my wynn 35a without proper pre-separation!
Patrick
might try a more squarish piece like this one:
http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=1119.0
you can use laminate (don't use contact cement though. you may need to move it around it position it.) or some other flexible and sturdy material. Still attach it with some combination of grooves, sealant, and screws.
Andy
yes, you can splice polycarbonate. I did not do it at a vertical support. I cut a piece about two inches wide and the same height as the parts to be joined. The two parts to be joined should not butt together, leave a gap of 1/16 to 3/32. get all three parts aligned. Apply your solvent, with full coverage of the splice. The splice is on the outside of the bend. IIRC the stock was 1/8 inch.
To bend, I warmed it up with a heat gun, not hot, just warm, rolled it up to approx size of TH and left it....for days, got busy with other things.
Freckle Face sells acrylic and polycarbonate is many sizes. Never bought from them, but seems reasonable.
Check out a local glass and mirror shop. Mine was willing to cut any size I wanted and they were a lot less expensive than Lowes or Home Depot.