How to Use a Vacuum Former

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Maker Block

This is the second post in a short series about vacuum formers. You can start with the first post about how to make your own inexpensive and easy to use vacuum former or skip to the bottom of this post with a list of all of the posts in this series.

Theory
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1. I discussed the theory behind a vacuum former in the prior post. This post is really about how to actually use a vacuum former in conjunction with a heat source.
Parts
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1. “Buck”
  1. The things you’re going to create molds of with your vacuum former are called the “bucks.”
2. Wire coat hanger
  1. The coat hanger will be bent out of shape and won’t be usable for hanging clothes after this. A coat hanger from your local dry cleaner would do just fine.
  2. The good news is that this is the only thing, besides the consumable plastic plates, that you can’t put back into its ordinary service as soon as you’re done vacuum forming.
3. 4 or more binder clips
  1. Pretty much any size binder clips would work, as long as they can get around the thick gauge wire of the coat hanger. I only had four on hand, (which is probably the minimum necessary) but the more the better. As you heat the plastic, it will contract and deform. The more clips you have, the more circular you can keep the plastic as you lay it on top of the object.
4. Oven mitt
  1. I used a cotton oven mitt that has a silicone rubber grip. This is probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.
  2. Everything you’ll be touching with the oven mitt will be cool to the touch within about a minute of taking it out of the toaster oven. I’m pretty sure a thin towel which has been folded over several times would work just fine.
5. Toaster oven
  1. Preferably one that can do small round pizzas. If you’re out shopping for one, try and find one that will fit the 10″ diameter plastic plates. You can find a cheap toaster oven for about $30 on Amazon and about $15-20 on Craigslist. If you’re short of funds, I’m pretty sure garage sales or Goodwill would have a bargain.
  2. Out of an abundance of caution, I was using my toaster oven outside on the off-chance that heating the plastic was giving off some undesirable fumes. I’m also utilizing a used toaster oven donated by my brother. I’m pretty sure the process of heating a few pieces of plastic in the toaster oven don’t make it unsafe for cooking food, but again, I’m erring on the side of caution here.
  3. There’s nothing special about the toaster oven; it’s nothing more than a convenient and cheap heat source. If you were a more daring sort you could probably use your standard kitchen oven. I suppose in a pinch you could also use a cheap heat gun, but I haven’t tried this yet.
6. Pliers (Optional)
  1. I got these out to help shape the coat hanger. In the end, I didn’t use it very much and it probably wasn’t necessary.
Consumables
Round plastic plates, 10 – 1/4″
1. Round plastic plates (~10″ diameter, without dividers?)
2. These are just the bulk plastic plates we had left over from Party City. Next time I’m there, I’ll check and see just what kind of plastic they’re made of. Their website suggests they carry plastic plates with diameters from 9″ to 10.25″ to 10.5″. The plates I had were 10.25″ and they worked out really well. You can probably find a pack of 50 plates for less than $10. You might be able to do even better by hitting up a dollar store.
Make the Plate Holder
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1. Using your hands or a pair of pliers, bend the coat hanger as pictured. The goal is to get it to fit around the underside of the rim of the plate.
Clip the Plate to the Plate Holder
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1. Using four or more small binder clips, clip the coat hanger to the paper plate. Put two clips on either side of where the coat hanger handle meets the plate. Put the other two clips approximately 180 degrees from the first two clips. If you have more than four binder clips, they would be helpful since the plastic will pull away from the frame as it heats up. (I only had four on hand)
Turn on the Toaster Oven
1. Remove all the racks, except for the bottom drip tray, from the inside of the toaster oven.
2. When it’s empty, turn it all the way up.
Ready the Vacuum Former
1. Set up your vacuum former as close to your heat source as is practicable. You want to be able to transfer the molten plastic plate to the vacuum former as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t cool down in transit.
Prepare Buck and Turn on Vacuum Former
Vacuum former at the ready
1. Organize the bucks (the things you want to mold) on top of the vacuum former, then turn on the vacuum.
2. You may notice the vacuum pushes or pulls some of the objects out of the way. Just rearrange them as necessary. I try to place things so that they’re surrounded by the holes in the top of the vacuum former.
3. Basically, you want the vacuum pulling on the hot plastic plate, but not sucking air freely from around it. If the holes in the top of the vacuum former are spaced out way outside the perimeter of the plate, you’ll want to cover those holes up with some tape. Regular masking tape worked just fine for me.
Heat and Vacuum!
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1. Put on your oven mitt, open the toaster oven, and hold the plate in the oven near the top heating element.
2. The plates I used went through several physical changes before they were ready. First they softened a little, then they actually flattened all the way out, then then pulled away from the wire frame, then, finally, the plastic got very droopy. This whole process took less than a minute with the oven at full power.
3. Once the plastic is nice and droopy, pull the frame out and place it on top of the vacuum former.
4. The vacuum should pull the hot plastic around your objects. After a few seconds the plastic should no longer be flexible and warm. Once it’s cool, turn off the vacuum.

That’s it!

Bucket Vacuum Former

How to Make a Vacuum Former

Posted on February 19, 2017 by Maker Block

First, a huge thank you to Airship Noir and their Maker Faire Kansas City 2016 project, “Make Your Own Vacuum Formed Steampunk Goggles.” They were kind enough to post pictures and instructions about how they made an incredibly cheap, but effective, vacuum former.

Inspired by their project, I wanted to pay-it-forward and help others build their own vacuum former. Here’s how I built mine:

Theory
1. A “vacuum former” is a device which allows you to create thin plastic molds of objects by heating a sheet of rigid plastic until it is very malleable, placing it over an object, and applying a suction to pull the flexible plastic around the object.
2. The plastic shell can be used for a variety of purposes such as actual tools, creating reusable molds, or just a simple form fitting shell for another project.
3. This set of instructions will teach you how to create a suction device for use with a heat source of your choice.
Parts
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1. Home Depot “Bucket Head” ($23)
  1. I had no idea this thing existed until I saw Airship Noir’s post. It’s basically a vacuum that clamps onto a bucket, turning it into a cheap low-power shop vac. I believe “Bucket Head” is the Home Depot branding for this, but that you can find alternates under the title of “Power Head.”
2. 5 Gallon Bucket ($5)
  1. I bought a Home Depot brand bucket for this exact task. Although I have other 5 gallon buckets, it was worth the $5 to me to make sure I had something that would easily attach and detach from the vacuum top.
3. 1/2″ wooden dowel, 4′ in length ($2)
  1. My own design uses 3D printed parts, a length of a 1/2″ wooden dowel, and a little hot glue. However, you can substitute whatever you have on hand. The Airship Noir vacuum former used wood shims, some nuts and bolts, and PVC pipe.
Tools
1. Chisel
2. Drill and 1/8″ drill bit
3. Hot glue gun / hot glue
4. Ruler
5. Pen / pencil
6. Hacksaw
7. Sharpie
8. Masking tape
3D Print Parts
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1. You can download all the 3D printable parts from Thingiverse.
2. Print one vacuum cork. This will just be placed into the vacuum where the hose would normally go. This will cause the vacuum to suck air through the bottom of the bucket.
3. Print two dowel caps. These will go on either end of a short length of wooden dowel, to keep the “float” inside the vacuum from falling into the vacuum.
4. Print three bucket attachments and three “toes.” These will be used, with wooden dowels to elevate the bucket off the ground.
5. Print the PDF of a 1″ grid on paper. This is actually a 1/2″ grid, with bold lines forming the 1″ grid. I searched for more information about optimal hole size and placement, but didn’t find anything dispositive. I think as long as you get close, you’ll be fine.
Cut Wooden Dowels
1. Use the hacksaw to cut three pieces of wooden dowel to approximately 8″ each. These will become the feet for the bucket.
2. Cut a fourth piece of wooden dowel to approximately 6″. This will be used to keep the vacuum float from falling into the vacuum, when the bucket is turned upside down.
Prepare the Bucket
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1. Turn the bucket upside down and, carefully, use a chisel to remove as much of the raised areas at the bottom of the bucket. Working slowly and carefully, it took me about 30 minutes to move the rim at the bottom of the bucket and all the little raised areas.
Add Feet to the Bucket
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1. When the “Bucket Head” attachment is on the bucket, the top will be rounded. However, we’re going to need to turn the entire thing upside down to use the bottom of the bucket as the surface of our vacuum former. This means we’ll need to raise the vacuum top of the bucket off the ground so that it can stand flat – and so we can access the power switch.
2. I designed the three bucket attachment parts so that they will slide snugly into the rim under the bucket. The rim has approximately 24 little fins under the rim. Place each of the three feet equally around the bucket – approximately 8 fins apart. Mark the outline of the part on the bucket with a Sharpie, remove the part, add hot glue, and slide the part back into place.
3. Add a little hot glue to the end of each of the three 8″ wooden dowels, then some hot glue to the inside of the “toes,” then slide the gluey end of the dowel into the feet. You should end up with three short “drumsticks.”
4. Don’t glue these into the attachments at the bucket sides. The attachment and bucket feet parts were designed to be as minimally obtrusive to the function of the bucket as possible. If placed properly, they shouldn’t interfere with the handle or bucket usage. The newly formed feet can be placed into the holes in the bucket attachments when you’re ready to start vacuum forming – and placed back inside the bucket for easy storage.
Drill Holes
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1. Print the PDF of 1″ ruled grid paper from the Thingiverse page, courtesy of Kent State. Center the paper on the bucket, then tape it down.
2. Drill 1/8″ holes 1″ apart along the grid.
3. A word about these holes. The more holes you drill, the more holes you might have to cover up when making parts later. However, the more holes you drill now, the bigger the parts you can make later. It’s a little bit of a trade off.
4. Once the holes are drilled, use the chisel to remove the burrs off the bottom of the bucket. You don’t need to remove the burrs from the inside of the bucket, but I did to keep the inside of the bucket as clean and useful as possible.
Raise the Float
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1. Underneath the vacuum top there is a plastic cage surrounded by the filter, held in place by a big rubber band. Remove the rubber band and filter and you’ll see a little plastic cup that is designed to act as a “float” inside the cage. If you turn the vacuum upside down, the float will fall against the vacuum – and would prevent it from working.
2. Holding the vacuum upright, insert the 6″ length of wooden dowel through the plastic cage and above the float, pushing it against the bottom of the cage. Use the plastic dowel caps to hold the ends of the dowel in place so it won’t slip out or rattle.
Completed bucket vacuum former!

Put it All Together
1. Place the Bucket Head on the bucket. You may need to rotate the Bucket Head slightly to make sure you can insert the feet into the plastic parts glued to the sides of the bucket.
2. Insert the feet into the holes in the bucket attachment parts.
3. Invert the bucket and you’re done!

I’ll do another post soon about how to actually use the device. If you’ve read the Airship Noir post, you know the basic steps are to place things on the bottom of the bucket, heat a plastic plate with a toaster oven, and lower the heated plate over the things you want to mold while the vacuum is one.

Bucket Vacuum Former

How to Make Awesome Cardboard Paper Mache Anything

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Maker Block

Awesome Paper Mache Hats

A few weeks ago a friend of mine had a “bad movie night” where he was showing the film1 “Sharknado.” Inspired by the theme for the party, I decided I had to wear a shark hat for the event. After making my hat, my daughter requested a monkey hat. This was not a request I could refuse.

I took pictures of the process to show you how you can make your own. I haven’t ever tried to make paper mache hats before, so this was not only a lot of fun – but a great learning experience. While I own the really great paper mache monster books by Dan Reeder, I only used them for inspiration and tried out a few new things on my own.

Even though I used this process to make hats, the directions here could easily be adapted to making anything out of paper mache.

1. Step 1: Gather Materials and Tools

All the things you need to make your own awesome paper mache anything

Here’s what you need to get started:

Cardboard Boxes. Cardboard forms the “skeleton” of the structure. It’s cheap, ubiquitous, sturdy, and easy to cut and form.
Masking Tape. Once the cardboard has been cut, liberal use of masking tape will keep your creation together until it can be covered with paper mache.
Scissors and Utility Knife. Scissors can be very helpful in cutting cardboard or paper. While scissors can be helpful, and appropriate for kids, I find a utility knife gets the job done faster.
Measuring Tape. If you’re not making a hat (or other apparel or armor) you won’t need this. But it is helpful when making measurements. ((In a pinch, you could just use a piece of yarn or string to mark lengths, and then put the yarn on the cardboard for reference.))
Plastic Wrap. Whether you’re working with gluey paper or paint, the process is messy. I would recommend covering the work surface with plastic wrap. I happened to have a really large plastic bag, which I taped directly to the table.
Glue. I just used a big bottle of Elmer’s white glue from the hardware store, but I’m pretty sure wood glue would have worked as well, if not better. It’s also more versatile and sturdy.
Plastic Tray. The next time you get take-out or have a plastic liner from inside some packaging, save it. It makes a great wide tray for mixing water and glue or when your project is dry, it is also great for mixing paints.
Paper Grocery Bags. The “twist” with this process is that I used torn up grocery bags, rather than the traditional newspaper. It turned out this was a really good idea for a number of reasons. Paper bags are a cheap and plentiful material. When thoroughly wet strips of paper bags are easy to place, mold and shape. However, the most important features of paper bags is that they hold glue and water really well and then dry quickly into a sturdy hard shell. In fact, they form such a sturdy surface that I only had to do a single layer of paper mache around the entire hat. This means that you can quickly put down a single layer of paper bag strips all over your cardboard form, wait a few hours for it to dry, and then get to work finishing the project.
Paper or Newspaper. While grocery bags work really well to cover your cardboard form, they can leave some small gaps where they overlap. When I found gaps in the project, I simply used a few thin strips of the newsprint style paper to cover the holes and smooth out spots on the rough paper bag layer.
Cup of Water and Paintbrushes. An old mug is best and pile of cheap dollar store brushes is probably fine.
Paints. I prefer acrylic paints. They are cheap, can be diluted with water, easy to mix, they stay wet long enough for you to blend, but not so long that you have to wait days for it to dry. They also clean up well with water.

2. Step 2: Create Cardboard Form

Process for creating awesome hat

The process I used to create the cardboard forms for the hats was pretty quick and easy. I measured the circumference of my daughter’s head and then the distance from her ears to the top of her head. Using these measurements, I cut out a strip of cardboard as tall as the distance from her ears to the top of her head and as wide as the circumference of her head – with a little extra to allow for overlap.