Bead Trays

Author: Dave
Date: 03.16.11 - 9:15am

Needed some custom bead trays which were more space efficient than the cut up tupperware i was previously using.

I ran across a hot air plastic welder for $60 bucks and through i would give it a shot. For the experiment I also bought a 2ft x 1ft sheet of HDPE plastic

Turns out to be pretty easy to use, you set the heat so it just turns the plastic gooey (no smoke), and then smear the two pieces together with a wooden spatula. (I used a piece of 1/4in dowel rod with a mitered end)

Each tray took about an hour to weld up. You get whisps of hot plastic smell, but no smoke or stink. Trays had no residual smell after the process was complete. Seams turned out perfectly watertight on first try. Welds are about 1/8-1/16in deep. No filler rod was required because the plastic was so think to start with.