Couple questions:
1.How easy is styrene to work with? Is it easier to use than wood?
2.What do you use to glue it together?
3.What thicknesses are the best to use for a proton pack?
- What’s the best place to buy it from (pricewise)?
THANKS! 
You ever built a plastic model, that’s styrene… You can simply score one side with a razor and bend it and it will generally snap on the line, so you don’t need that many tools…
Styrene glue is the best bet, as it holds the best… All hobby shops and most craft stores will carry it
I would say nothing less then .08" for most parts to be safe, I would probably go more towards .125" (1/8) or a little heavier for several of the bigger parts…
A local plastics house or sign shop, you can get a 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of .08 for about $15-20 online plus shipping to give you an idea of price… Shipping will easily double the online price for a single sheet so if you can source it locally for about $30 you are doing good…
Hobby shops will carry small pieces but you will pay out the nose…
Also check ebay there are some sign shops that dump misc scrap pieces cheap every so often…
in my opinion:
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Styrene is very easy to work with (just score and snap) and is fairly strong and durable.
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There are special kinds of glue specifically made for “styrene,” the kind of which chemically bonds the pieces together. It melts the two pieces and then fuses them together, like a “plastic weld”, WHICH by the way there is an epoxy glue called “plastic weld” that’s REALLY good. Experiment with different things.
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I think I speak for most propers when I say that for good strength and ease of work, 1/8" thick works really well. Most people buy an assortment of 1/16", 1/8", and a few other sizes for custom little pieces.
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In my personal opinion, again, find a plastics company near you (just go to http://www.google.com, put in your hometown and state and ‘plastics company’ or something like that, it’ll work)…call them and ask them how much it would be for a 4’ x 8’ sheet. I say 4’ x 8’ because the plastics company usually sell them in that size, but they can cut it in half for easier transport. You could probably have it shipped to your house but if you can pick it up, it’s less money, on the plastics at least, that you have to spend.
Well, that’s my experience of it. Some other guys on here could help you alot too, they’re way more experienced than I. There are also many, many, many helpful links on both this site, http://www.proptopia.com, and, as it universally should be, google.com will supply you with many many answers. Good luck.
-Thiago
Is a 4 x 8 sheet enough to do a whole pack (minus hardware parts,pipe,etc.)?
i wish this polystyrene stuff really existed, i’m in oklahoma and i have went to about 6 different places and they all told me that they haven’t carried it in over a year or they never heard of it. i need some help in finding some of this stuff and some good tips on the best way to make the spacer, thanks
Styrene is extremely easy to work with and gives a great finish.
My packs will be made from styrene and I’ll publish the plans in PDF format so you can tack the sheets down on your styrene sheet and cut over them to complete your pack. There is a removable spray on glue available from most craft shops that works very well.
I’ll post more as I go through my pack, but I’ll be using 1 [0.04"], 2 [0.08"] and 3mm [0.12] styrene.
Cutting and gluing/welding has already been covered, so I’ll stick to providing the templates.
Regards,
Dave B
I’ve never been patient enough to let the glue dry.
That’s the trick with it AJ - 30 mins of light pressure while it welds to itself - then it gets its full strength in about 24 hours.
I’ll draw up plans for a light and simple jig for cutting perfect circles out of styrene as well. - Straight lines are a “snap”.
maybe im just retarded (…which is a very good possibility) but i couldnt get the score and snap method to work nicely. im sure it hade something to do with the thickness i was using, but still.
That would mean I was retarded for a while too - you need to score about half way through the styrene, then bend it back and forward to get a clean break - there is an art to getting a straight “snap” with a square edge, but that just takes practice.
glad im not the only one
and patience. which i have little of… im trying to get better about it
anyone know of a good website to buy styrene?
i got mine through interstateplastics.com and was pleased
Thanks. Can this be used to make a vacuum formed proton pack.
well, their largest sheet is 4 ft X 8 ft, so i dont see why not. but i have never vacformed anything so im not really one to speak. so im just guessing. also, i have no idea what thickness you would want either. but here is a nice little convertion chart that tells you what the decimal is in the nearest fraction. like 0.125 is the same as 1/8 inch