A funny thing happened on the way to the Site3 open house…

More after the break…

We…

stopped…

at…

PlasticWorld on Sheppard West, right beside Downsview Airport. Being a hardcore maker on a budget means you have to know where you can shop retail and semi-local for materials. A lot of the time, Home Depot or Canadian Tire has stuff that can be repurposed for our making, but when you get a little off the general consumer track or want expert advice, you need to find a specialty store.

Karl and I have always been meaning to get here to check out their products. Options for retail purchase of plastics are pretty limited in Waterloo region (correct me if I’m wrong here). Today I was looking for some cast acrylic (versus extruded acrylic) because it is said to be easier to machine. I’m hoping to do some LED edge-lit pieces on my mill and PlasticWorld was sort of on the way to Site3. Above, you see us sorting through the awesome end-cut shelf of pieces priced between $2 and $20 depending on the material.

Howard and Brenda Abrams have run PlasticWorld for 11 years and carry a wide range of plastics and associated material and tools. I especially appreciated their help in identifying the cast acrylic among the end cuts and the advice on solvent welding agents for acrylic. Thank you!

They have material in sheets, barstock, hollow tubes, cylinders, you name it. I picked up $30 in cast acrylic end cuts, a 6′ length of 5mm rod that might make a cool light-pipe, some WeldOn #4 solvent cement, and an applicator.

Here’s Karl at the cash with Brenda Abrams. We saw some cool mold-making samples in the display case and Brenda gave us a catalog of those products. We could cut positives of pieces on our mills, create molds, and then cast them. That would be sweet.

We’ll definitely be back to PlasticWorld!

Happy making,
DW