Plastic Heater/Bender and Mill Chip Shields

[jlmanatee]

I built this plastic heater/bender using a $7 toaster oven I picked up at Goodwill. Powering it at line voltage (120vac) made it too hot. So I purchased an import 2000 watt variac so I could control the voltage. 85vac seemed to be about right. I've always wanted a variac, but a "real" one was always too expensive. This Chinese import seems to be doing the trick, after taking it apart and verifying that it was safe to use. The voltmeter is useless, but I verified voltage with a multimeter. I have a VOM display unit on order that I'll add later. The time-honored rule for hobbyists is that you can never complete a project without buying a new tool of some kind. This is something wives never seem to understand.
My first project was to make a set of chip shields for the SX3 mill. Thanks to Frank Hoose for the idea.

 

[Reddinr]

That is something I have wanted to make for a while now. Thanks for the inspiration. It also reminds me of high school shop class. The instructor had us make some different tools for the shop as part of the class. One was a plastic bender like above. In that case, the major material choice was asbestos hardboard. Yikes!

 

[jlmanatee]

Speaking of asbestos, the contacts for the heating element on each end are a bit of a safety hazard. Obviously due to the heat I can't use shrink tubing or electrical tape. Can anyone suggest a good insulator material? The toaster oven just depended upon isolation of the contacts inside the case to protect idiots like me from getting zapped.

 

[Reddinr]

silicone sleeving or silicone/fiberglass sleeving.