CAL Posted April 21, 2008 Posted April 21, 2008 I finaly got a Mattel vac-u-form and been trying to make windshields without much luck. Any tips?
CAL Posted April 21, 2008 Author Posted April 21, 2008 While I haven't perfected a technique yet. It is a dramatic improvement over the kit glass.
jbwelda Posted April 21, 2008 Posted April 21, 2008 dont you need to carve a buck or something to mold over? or is the temp low enough you can use the kit glass? but that would not be my use for it, to replace kit glass; it would be to be able to make windshields/glass for things i dont have them for, such as cut down windscreens for road race cars. ive always wanted to play with a vac-form but the idea of carving a wood buck really kind of made me think it wasnt to viable an option...more trouble to carve the buck than to scratch build a windscreen on its own.
CAL Posted April 22, 2008 Author Posted April 22, 2008 Yeah, I have been just using kit glass. I have made some successful parts now. I think it was part learning the machine and getting the machine back up to speed. Probably hasn’t been used in a while and the vac was a week suck lol. Also you really have to press the frame down to get it to pull right. I also wasn’t aware I was missing the platforms; I have one coming now, but am using foam for now. So it’s all kind of coming together. I can see great things coming in the future from this, and I am looking forward to trying a few different things. I used the last of my sheets, too bad it took 10 tries before getting it right, so I am on hold until I get some new sheets. I kind of feel like my workshop is complete now.
m408 Posted April 24, 2008 Posted April 24, 2008 Couldn't the kit "glass" be used to form a clay female mold? That could then be used to form a plaster buck which could be left stock or "chopped". Not having worked with vacuum forming, I'm sure that it couldn't be that straight forward, but might be worth a try.
CAL Posted May 2, 2008 Author Posted May 2, 2008 well I am finally got this figured out. This is a neat little machine. I have successfully made several windows now. Note there is a protective film still on the glass. That is why it's foggy.
Aaronw Posted May 3, 2008 Posted May 3, 2008 I picked one of those up last summer on ebay. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet though so if you have any tips to share I'm all ears.
CAL Posted May 3, 2008 Author Posted May 3, 2008 I picked one of those up last summer on ebay. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet though so if you have any tips to share I'm all ears. There is a guy who sells a upgrade mod kit on ebay. It has a mold plate, which is likely missing, mine was, a new flapper valve, a oven plate, and so good tips to get it up to snuff. There is another guy who sells good plastic sheets too, I can get you all the info. The oven plate seemed to make a big difference heating the plastic up and preheating the machine. The other tricks is when you filp the frame over you really need to hold it down good and hard over the mold so has a good seal. Getting the plastic soft enough and getting enough vacuum are really the two big tricks. I didn't even install the new flapper yet, just cleaned everything up, resealed the piston tube with silicon grease, sealed the tube where it mounts to the the top of the machine with silicon sealant and it pulls plenty of vacuum. One maybe two times on the pump lever and it's done. It is definitly worth playing with, I burned through about 10 sheets before I got it right. Since the upgrade, I haven't tossed one away yet.
Aaronw Posted May 4, 2008 Posted May 4, 2008 That would be great, the one I got looks to be in good shape but these things have to be at least 40 years old, so I'm sure fresh parts would improve the performance. It was also just the machine so its possible I'm missing something.
CAL Posted May 4, 2008 Author Posted May 4, 2008 (edited) Yeah, it is probably missing the mold plate. Here is all the parts you need from Vac-u-Form.com I just got the complete upgrade, which has everything. http://www.gaugepods.com/vacuform/parts.htm I have tried three different clear sheets. The ones from rpc119 on ebay have been the best. http://cgi.ebay.com/CLEAR-SHEETS-for-Vinta...1QQcmdZViewItem HTH Edited May 4, 2008 by CAL
Aaronw Posted May 5, 2008 Posted May 5, 2008 $20 for the complete set isn't bad, Thanks. Now I just need to find some time to play with it.
CAL Posted May 6, 2008 Author Posted May 6, 2008 $20 for the complete set isn't bad, Thanks. Now I just need to find some time to play with it. Not bad at all. It was, IMHO, money well spent.
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