Harbor freight plastic welder? - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Iceman · 06-13-2011, 08:06 PM

I charge $20 for most cracks.

Hobie sells the KC Welder for $60, it has been working really well for me. The rods work well to fill cracks.

I use a heat gun on scrap to make a patch and finish the edges with this too.

sandsquirt · 06-14-2011, 03:52 PM

That looks just like what I spent the day building. It's fun to build things on your own. I bought a Weller HD solder iron that looks very much like that. It has a tip that is close to 3/8 inch wide. I drilled thru the head of the iron and installed a small brass tube to inject the plastic rod. Right now it has an interference fit that holds the tube in place but I dont like it. I think it might come apart. I'm thinking that I might be able to braze it.
The package said that the iron heats to 900F. I tested it after I had drilled the hole and found it only came up to 685F. I hope it will still do what I need it to do. I need to find a good chart that tells the melting point of different plastics. I know that some times it makes some plastics brittle to over heat them when welding. I will build a box with a dimmer to control the heat level.
Thanks for posting the pic of your set-up.
Eric

06-13-2011, 08:06 PM	#1
Iceman Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1-2 miles off the point Posts: 6,948	I charge $20 for most cracks. Hobie sells the KC Welder for $60, it has been working really well for me. The rods work well to fill cracks. I use a heat gun on scrap to make a patch and finish the edges with this too. __________________

06-14-2011, 03:52 PM	#2
sandsquirt Junior Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 9	That looks just like what I spent the day building. It's fun to build things on your own. I bought a Weller HD solder iron that looks very much like that. It has a tip that is close to 3/8 inch wide. I drilled thru the head of the iron and installed a small brass tube to inject the plastic rod. Right now it has an interference fit that holds the tube in place but I dont like it. I think it might come apart. I'm thinking that I might be able to braze it. The package said that the iron heats to 900F. I tested it after I had drilled the hole and found it only came up to 685F. I hope it will still do what I need it to do. I need to find a good chart that tells the melting point of different plastics. I know that some times it makes some plastics brittle to over heat them when welding. I will build a box with a dimmer to control the heat level. Thanks for posting the pic of your set-up. Eric