The end of the story.

Lots of ideas here, but no real solution.

While it is easy enough to melt the plastic, the fact that it is made of
lots of little bubbles so that it will float and not absorb water makes it a
task not worth pursuing.
When the plastic melts there is extreme shrinkage as the bubbles (cells)
have very thin walls and thus there is not have very much actual material to
work with. Even a soldering iron just produced big gaps as the plastic
shrunk. Using the glue gun might have worked as the glue did melt to the
plastic and adhere, but the shrinkage was too great to try and fill with hot
glue.
Since this project is just to make a beach toy, will gracefully give up.
Thanks to all.
Even you g. henslee, whatever ( I mean wherever) you are.

Charlie

"Charlie Bress" wrote in message
...
I have one of those plastic "noodles" that are used for beach or pool
floats.

I want to glue the ends together to make a hoop. I don't know what kind of
plastic foam it is made of, but it is one of the closed cell slippery
plastic foams. I have not been successful finding an adhesive that works.
I expect that joining the ends will require a fusing or welding operation.

I have at my disposal a small soldering iron, a large soldering iron, a
simple glue gun and a heat gun.

What has been the experience in using the available tools to secure the
ends?
Or do you have a better idea?

The only glue I tried was a contact cement that seemed to stick, but under
the tension of the hoop trying to open just stretched apart.

Charlie