On Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:21:53 -0600, Jon Elson wrote:

Tim Wescott wrote:

I was going to say "acrylic", but then I realized that maybe I would be
narrowing it down too much.

How hard is it to machine a part out of hard clear plastic and then
make it clear again? Any gotchas? What plastic should one start with?
What question am I failing to ask?

The part will be cylindrically symmetric (i.e., turned on a lathe),
about 1.5" diameter, 0.5" tall, and accuracy can be as sloppy as 0.01
in all directions. But it would need to be "pretty".

Some plastic that is a bit more rugged in impact than acrylic would be
nice (do they make crystal clear Delrin?) but I can't think of anything
like that which would actually work in this case.

Plexiglas can be polished easily after machining. Jeweler's rouge or
similar stages of roughing and finishing compound, then a final pass
with toothpaste to remove any red tint left behind.

If you want pretty and clear, you can't do better than cast acrylic, it
is as clear as glass, maybe even more so.

Jon

I'm considering casting, although at this point I just want onesies, not
any great quantities.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com