Baugher Garage Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Hey all. I'm new to the group and have been loving seeing everyone's creativity. I had no idea there were people making their own parts out of plastic sheets of styrene. Amazing! I've been in the graphic design industry for many years, so when I heard "styrene" I immediately thought of my local digital large format print vendor I've used in the past. They print a lot of signs on styrene sheets. I drove over there at lunch today and poked around their dumpster (yes, I'm a dumpster diver) and found several sheets of styrene that were printing mistakes aka throw-aways. If you want styrene and don't want to spend any money on it (like me), track down a local digital printer who prints on the stuff. Their dumpster will likely be a treasure trove. Or they might be willing to give you their scrap. I've you're desperate, let me know. No promises here, but I might be able to hook you up. Happy creating! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alangarber Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Wow your lucky to have a place to get that for free. Now you can build and not worry about making mistakes. Lucky find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I have to be creative with my budget or lack of one...Id dumpster dive if I could get permission to any day. Good tip! You would be surprised at what you can build from junk or spare parts even...most of my builds are from them...LOL... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skypower Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I will check with my local printer, we use then occasionally maybe I can get a little better bang for my buck. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baugher Garage Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 You're supposed to get permission to dumpster dive? Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTony8 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Felonious trash picking-what a concept! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baugher Garage Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 It's how I roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaleb Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 It's actually illegal here to dumpster dive, some homeless man was killed while sleeping in the dumpster. The garbage man didn't know he was in there. Ok you have me curious, what exactly is a print shop? We have a few copy places around here but to my knowledge that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarana-X Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Alot of signs are printed on styrene, like FOR SALE, YARD SALE, BEWARE of DOG. You can usually find those cheap. Gift cards/credit cards are also good for small, thick parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbiggied Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Getting stuff for free is awesome. Having said that, look in your local yellow pages (they still have those???) and find a plastic supply company. You might have to call a few to find one that will sell small orders, but about 15 years ago, I bought four 4x8 foot sheets in different thicknesses, and they even cut them into 2 foot squares for me. For about $30, I got enough sheet to last me the rest of my life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatswhatshesaid Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I'm lucky to live near the Evergreen building. They sell the big sheets a lot cheaper than the LHS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlotDaddy1963 Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 It's true... I work in the sign industry too and our main substrate supplier sells a 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of .015 to .060 styrene, blank-white for around 7 or 8 bucks. I'm still working from my first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrGlueblob Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 ..And a big T-Square is your friend. Get a metal one and a scoring knife and go to town Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impcon Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 It's actually illegal here to dumpster dive, some homeless man was killed while sleeping in the dumpster. The garbage man didn't know he was in there. Wow!! That's sad... Can you even begin to imagine the wild confusion and fear of his last seconds? Poor guy. What a way to go - free falling from a dumpster.. Ok you have me curious, what exactly is a print shop? We have a few copy places around here but to my knowledge that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greymack Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Hi just wanted to say where I get my styrene sheets from to and I buy short ends and have bought a 4x8 sheet from a local sign place here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narampa Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Will Acrylic sheets work the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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