Id Plastics

dlane

dlane

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A guy I was getting stuff from "old Craig's list add "brought over a couple milk totes with bunches of plastic stock in them , also three rusty 1/2" Albright drill chucks (dam shame), "there in evaporust now" going to try making a good one , the insides look good but they are all locked up.
Anyhow is there a way to tell the different plastics apart, some are white white and heavier than the off white
Some are black , some are red, some clear, and a 1-1/4" thick 3'x4' clear lexan old bank window, heavy

image.jpeg image.jpeg
His dad was a expert machinist and this stuff was his.
image.jpegHe gave me this stuff , but I've bought several things from him in the past,
Just wondering if there is a way to ID this material , and suggestions for use.
Thanks
 
Wow what a shame for those Albrecht chucks. If in good shape I would think get close to $1000 worth. I will sure be interested if you can revive them.

As for identifying plastics. We used to use the burn test to help us when I was working. You can google how to identify plastics with the burn test. Also some plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene have densities less than one and will float in water.

Good luck with the chucks.

David
 
A test that I use for plastics is the odor they give off when touched with a hot soldering iron. Build up a library of known plastics to compare against. Nylon and Delrin have very characteristic odors. Polyethylenes and polypropylenes are a bit harder to distinguish. They both have a candle wax odor. Other common plastics include acrylic or Plexiglas, polycarbonate or Lexan, and PVC. Polycarbonate, acrylic, and pvc are attacked by acetone. The engineering plastics include Ultem and PEEK. These are fairly expensive plastics and not commonly found. Ultem usually has a characteristic amber color and is transparent. The natural color of PEEK is beige and it is opaque. There are hundreds of other polymers and copolymers but this list covers the more common ones.

For hobby use, it is not always necessary to completely identify the plastic. If its chemical and mechanical properties are acceptable for your particular use that may be enough. Check out the McMaster Carr catalog. At the beginning of the plastics section, they do a fairly good explanation of the plastics they sell. Other sources can be found online.

Bob
 
Good info from others already. Teflon is pretty easy, quite dense, slick, rather soft, and always pure white.

The easy way to distinguish polycarbonate (Lexan, Hyzod, etc.) from acrylic (Plexiglass, Perspex, etc.) is to look at the edge of a clear sheet. Acrylic is bright (think light pipe), polycarbonate is dark. If the plastic is tinted a color (orange, black, etc.) it's most likely acrylic. Another way to distinguish is to try to shave a sliver from an edge, using a sharp pocket knife. Polycarbonate will make a continuous sliver. Acrylic will not. It'll give you small chunks or powder.
 
Yea Bob , I would of rather had the Albrecht chucks unrusted :cool: . The other Albrecht chucks I've gotten from him in the past weren't locked up stuck but the surface rust was worse, they are kinda ugly but they work good. I'll see what I can do with these tomorrow, there in evaporust till then.
 
I check by shaving off a sliver and setting it on fire. The way it burns and smell can Id alot of stuff. But you need a known sample.
 
The chucks are All good , lots of grease inside just look ugly on the outside and need new arbors
Makeing me a milk crate storage rack , can't spread out so there going up. I use 6 gallon crates
For small stock storage , that's were the plastic will live.
 
Glad the chucks could be saved and I am sure the plastic will come in handy.

David
 
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