Plastic welding???

admin

I know this is a metal oriented site but any of you guys weld plastic??I have a wilderness systems kayak that has a couple of little cracks(nothing that leaks yet) on the topside and I have an old weller soldering iron that has a plastic welding tip. I`ve just never done it so I figured it would not hurt to ask around and see if anyone has any suggestions before I go destroy my kayak. I thought the boat was polyethylene but the guy at the store told me its something different but still gave me a polyethylene rod that he thought would work....Anyone?
Reply:I have a plastic welder and YES you can weld plastic.I would suggest finding the material of the kayak first. Then purchase the identical rod for that material.You would need about a 500w element.
Reply:Also, read this.http://www.seelyeinc-orl.com/id7.html
Reply:Hey guys,Thought I'd post a few comments as this is an interesting subject many don't consider. Two years ago a youngster who comes to my shop wanted some info regarding welding & the associated parameters of materials. He simply asked if plastic & similar compounds could be welded as metal is welded, by fusion & filler. I did some research & called him back to the shop to let him read the findings & told him that HF has an inexpensive "plastic welder" that will do it & gave him the HF flyer with item description.A month later he came back & showed me what he had done to a damaged bumper(covering) from his wifes' Tahoe. He photographed the procedure once he got the "feel" of using the HF unit & I was really surprised at his depth of interest & ability to develop a technique to do this impeccably.In (6) months, he opened a shop to do nothing but these repairs on the myriad of vehicle plastic parts & purchased some very expensive commercial plastic welders to keep up. He got so good, he had a couple dealers start to send him work & then he was contacted by several insurance carriers to do more work. He got so busy, he had a 30 X 60 addition to his shop added, & started to hire some workers who had some welding experience & a couple from a local college weld class to work for him. He now has (9) employees including a couple office people & lives a very comfortable lifestyle. Last fall, he came to my shop & invited me to a dinner with his people & wanted to thank me for taking some time to help him. He's only 24yrs young now & is venturing into other avenues to enhance his operation within the plastics industry.Anyway, to those of you youngsters who thing the welding arena is just a tiny segment of industry, just simply do some homework & really look into the "real" world of welding.... you may get a surprise. Oh, BTW....the surf 'n turf was absolutely superb.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Originally Posted by yorkiepapHey guys,Thought I'd post a few comments as this is an interesting subject many don't consider. Two years ago a youngster who comes to my shop wanted some info regarding welding & the associated parameters of materials. He simply asked if plastic & similar compounds could be welded as metal is welded, by fusion & filler. I did some research & called him back to the shop to let him read the findings & told him that HF has an inexpensive "plastic welder" that will do it & gave him the HF flyer with item description.A month later he came back & showed me what he had done to a damaged bumper(covering) from his wifes' Tahoe. He photographed the procedure once he got the "feel" of using the HF unit & I was really surprised at his depth of interest & ability to develop a technique to do this impeccably.In (6) months, he opened a shop to do nothing but these repairs on the myriad of vehicle plastic parts & purchased some very expensive commercial plastic welders to keep up. He got so good, he had a couple dealers start to send him work & then he was contacted by several insurance carriers to do more work. He got so busy, he had a 30 X 60 addition to his shop added, & started to hire some workers who had some welding experience & a couple from a local college weld class to work for him. He now has (9) employees including a couple office people & lives a very comfortable lifestyle. Last fall, he came to my shop & invited me to a dinner with his people & wanted to thank me for taking some time to help him. He's only 24yrs young now & is venturing into other avenues to enhance his operation within the plastics industry.Anyway, to those of you youngsters who thing the welding arena is just a tiny segment of industry, just simply do some homework & really look into the "real" world of welding.... you may get a surprise. Oh, BTW....the surf 'n turf was absolutely superb.Denny
Reply:Brian,It depends on the plastic.  Some plastics are weldable, some are not.  And even of the weldable plastics, you have to match the filler composition to the base material.Don't just 'try', find out the kayak's plastic composition BEFORE you try and weld it.Properly done, a welded plastic is as strong as the original material.  After all, what you are doing is just melting the orginal plastic back into one 'thing' again.  All very Zen like.    The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Awesome guys thanks for the replies....sorry I took awhile to get back to it...Yea I had tried to get material from the manufacturer but they "recycle it all now" and were unwilling at the time to help. Seems like a GOOD REASON TO NEVER BUY A WILDERNESS SYSTEMS KAYAK. lol   But if I can`t find the correct base material then guess maybe I should look into alternatives. I think there are epoxys and stuff as well I believe but welding would probably be cheaper...thanks for the input.    DennyThats an interesting story....I had seen that hf plastic welder and thought about picking one up for this project until I found a plastic welding tip for my industrial weller soldering iron.
Reply:Yup, just welded my Coleman which is Ram-X, and HDPE worked just fine.  I have both the soldering iron type, and this one from Harbor Freight which I recommend.  http://www.harborfreight.com/welding...ent-96712.htmlIt's adjustable and will do up to 1/2 inch thick plastics.These people are also good to deal with for rods.  I can get them from England cheaper than from the U.S.http://www.plasticsolutionsuk.com/Finally you may not even need to weld it.  I used this on the inside, and it is a wicked product.  Check out the vid where they cut a kayak in two and glue it back together. It's kit 655K on the page.  Costs $39 in Canada, cheaper in the U.S.http://www.westsystem.com/ss/repair-kits/