I'm going to make some holes in a plastic bin with a soldering iron; just wondering if the melted plastic will stick on the instrument? How shall I get it off? Do I need to wipe it off with something while it is still hot? Or will it come off when its cooled?
Making holes with soldering iron
- Thread starter gothra
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727geckokid
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It doesnt really stick on too bad. it takes less than a second for you to make the whole. I would advise (Strongly Advise) That you do this outside and if at all possible take a fan and blow the fumes away from you. I am sure that the fumes can be toxic and they just Plain smell bad. But any plastic that does get on the soldering iron burns away and thus releases the fumes.
G
Geck-O
Guest
I use the nozzle of a hot glue gun. It works pretty well but it depends how thick the plastic is. There is either very little fumes or none. Not really sure. The plastic doesn't melt so fast if you use a hot glue gun so it is easier to control but then again it depends on how thick the plastic is. I use a stick to get all the melted plastic of. If there is really a lot of plastic then I wait for it to cool down then I peel it off in one big piece.
T&KBrouse
K, the Crazy Snake Lady
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I always had better luck using a soldering iron. I would always ended up cracking totes when I used a drill. :main_thumbsdown:
727geckokid
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I used a drill for the first couple of tubs and it was just to much work, having to hold the tub sturdy enough, with the soldering iron just let it heat up and poke away. It took me 5 minutes to do 15 6qt tubs with the soldering iron. I took me 5 minutes to do 5 tubs with the Drill.
S
Snowy & Petra de Gecko
Guest
The Tip
If you use the Tip of the iron, I doubt that any amount of the plastic will stick.
When you punch through, there maybe some sticking when you take it out.
You may want to use a wet wash cloth and wipe the iron on it if you have to. But, I have not used a iron for putting holes in plastic.
But, an iron or soldiering iron gets REAL HOT. Mine says that it will be as hot as 950 degrees.
If that is the case, I really don't think that there will be any plastic sticking to the iron.
Good Luck.:main_thumbsup:
If you use the Tip of the iron, I doubt that any amount of the plastic will stick.
When you punch through, there maybe some sticking when you take it out.
You may want to use a wet wash cloth and wipe the iron on it if you have to. But, I have not used a iron for putting holes in plastic.
But, an iron or soldiering iron gets REAL HOT. Mine says that it will be as hot as 950 degrees.
If that is the case, I really don't think that there will be any plastic sticking to the iron.
Good Luck.:main_thumbsup:
Thanks for the advice, everyone. I have used drill before, its too much work! I had to use a cutter to slice off the sharp edges in EACH hole! Besides, the noise made my Bambi pooped greenish poo for 2 days...(I don't know if anyone has heard about this, but there is a saying that when a baby is scared, he/she will poop out green poo, lol).
GeckoGathering
GrizLaru
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Torch
Yeah, I was welding and decided to do a entry
hole in a tub while I had the torch out. Took my mind off what
I was doing and ended up with a hole that Ozzie, my 18 pound
cat could crawl through... .....take care. HJ
If you have a nice sharp bit its easy.
But, whatever floats your boat, as the saying goes
Yeah, I was welding and decided to do a entry
hole in a tub while I had the torch out. Took my mind off what
I was doing and ended up with a hole that Ozzie, my 18 pound
cat could crawl through... .....take care. HJ
LOL! at least you didnt burn the house down! :main_laugh:
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