Firewood Gathering With A Power Trac

[MossRoad]

Apparently some of you have never heated up Plexiglas, and formed it to fit. You simply heat up the Plexiglas until it is soft. and gently push out a small bubble for the lever handle, or a bulge for the steering wheel. If you want to practice, take a small piece of Plexiglas with a heat lamp and when soft, push out a fist full with gloves on or rags wrapped around your hand, A bowling ball will make a nice round indentation.

Is it easy to bend around a form and then cool in that position?

 

[ponytug]

Dear MR,

I think that bending is easy, and cooling is easy. I find that heating is harder, and good heating helps to set up a great bend.

I find that my problem in bending large pieces is getting heat uniformly where you want it, e.g. a bend, but not where you don't, e.g. on the windshield. Commercial plastic heaters are very good about heating the plastic, without getting a great deal of heat elsewhere nor deforming the portion being heated. Home brew, or at least my home brew isn't so good at it.

If you can, I recommend that you build something similar to a brake box for sheet metal bending so that when you go to do the bend, it happens as you want it to.

For most windshields, I think that you might be happier with flat sheets. They will be easier to replace, and you are less likely to bend strain into the windshield that may cause it to fracture later.

I happily admit to being a total amateur at bending large sheets; I have only done it a couple of times, and I have never found it easy.

Just my $0.02.

All the best,

Peter

Is it easy to bend around a form and then cool in that position?

 

[woodlandfarms]

IMO if you want to view out the glass you probably should not attempt to bend it yourself unless you got the gear. I can bend small portions like Peter said, but you couldn't see very well out of it.

 

[MossRoad]

Good points about looking though curved glass. Probably better to built a frame with square/flat openings for the glass. Thanks for the advice.

 

[J_J]

Some how, I think you all did not understand what I was trying to say, and that was to heat and form only the area for the hyd control or steering wheel with enough space to function, and that would not interfere with looking out the Plexiglas. I have looked out of curved windows for about 20 years flying in Navy Patrol aircraft. In the front of the P2V Neptune, the first 4 ft was a curved piece of Plexiglas.

 

[MossRoad]

Some how, I think you all did not understand what I was trying to say, and that was to heat and form only the area for the hyd control or steering wheel with enough space to function, and that would not interfere with looking out the Plexiglas. I have looked out of curved windows for about 20 years flying in Navy Patrol aircraft. In the front of the P2V Neptune, the first 4 ft was a curved piece of Plexiglas.

J_J, I understood completely what you were explaining. A bubble for the joystick handle to move into. That sounds cool. What I was asking had to do with putting a bend into a sheet, not a bubble, as you describe.

 

[J_J]

Well, you can bend plastic, and see very well, as in the photo of the P2V. I looked out those windows for many hours, so bending does not affect seeing. I took many pictures during the Cuban crisis in 1962, flying at about 50 ft off the water to get a good shot of the missiles, the ship were caring.

 

[cqaigy2]

I looked out those windows for many hours, so bending does not affect seeing. I took many pictures during the Cuban crisis in 1962, flying at about 50 ft off the water to get a good shot of the missiles, the ship were caring.

Yikes!

 

[woodlandfarms]

I too understood your your comment on bending plexi, and agree that of course you can see through it when bent. What I was saying was that bending plexi, especially larger sheets, unskilled and without the large forming tools or skillsets from the 40's will leave you with results that will most likely be lacking.

Pretty cool on your hanging out in the nosecone. I have done both nose and tail work out of a B-25, but only up at 8K... Must have been a pretty mind numbing experience with the threat of nuclear war hanging over what you were doing.

Oh, the pix are not of me, but of our DOP... publicity stills....

 

[BobRip]

Just thought I would give an update. I loaded my modified rack fully and backed up a hill. About 2/3 of the wood fell off. I now load it less full, maybe half. I might modify it a little. I am still doing way to much wood handling. Gotta work on that.