PROJECTS: ABS DESKTOP CADDY
makezine.com/10/abs
3b. Drill holes at the inside corners.
ABS tends to open a fissure when you
bend it at any inside corner where
you don’t have a smooth radius.
Therefore, you need to make ½"
holes at these corners, as shown on
the plan (shown on page 102). I use
a template (available from any stationery store) to mark the circles (as
seen in Step 3a). If I don’t take this
step, I tend to forget to drill the holes.
A regular ½" bit is too aggressive for
drilling ABS; it will tend to jam itself
into the plastic within one turn of the
drill. Forstner bits work better.
3c. Cut out the piece. After drilling
the holes, cut around the edges of the
shape using a band saw, hand saw, or
jigsaw. The plan shows some of the
outside corners rounded, in addition
to the inside corners, but this is a
matter of taste.
My favorite sawing tool is a De Walt
XRP jigsaw using Bosch blades,
designed for hardwood or plastic.
This will cut complex curves in ABS
as easily as scissors cutting paper.
3d. Remove cut marks and add bend
marks. Remove any lines that you no
longer need because they will become
harder to erase after you apply heat
during the bending process. Clean the
plastic with a soft sponge and dishwashing liquid (never use solvents
such as xylene or acetone), then
make just a couple of dots to remind
you where you will position each bend.
106 Make: Volume 10
TIP: Saw slightly outside of each
line, so that if the blade wanders
you can use a coarse metal file to
straighten the edge afterward.
