Needed some advice

[Seanhecko]

I have a sheet of high density polyethylene plastic that i want to make into a tailgate cover fof my ram. The info that i have found online for working with it says general wood working tools work fine for modifications to the board.
Has anyone on here ever worked with hdpe before and if so any advice or tips you can share on working with it or joining/welding pieces together?

 

[smritte]

That exact project is on my way too big list of things to do. I never looked into joining/welding the sheets but was going to cut and bevel the corners like wood.
My response isn't to advise as much as see what you get for replies.

 

[TwoRoadsOverland]

I can't speak to bending/forming it, but when cutting it certain blades will just melt it. If a clean polished edge is what you're looking for, you may want to look into purpose-built plastic-cutting-blades. But then again, if this is a one-off project, buying the blade may not be cost-effective, and it's nothing a little sanding couldn't fix.

 

[KonzaLander]

I have used HDPE sheet panels for a few projects over the years and learned a few things. On a workbench work surface project, I learned that a big sheet will warp/buckle when secured flat and it gets hot. On a truck tailgate I would suggest installing the panel in the heat of summer.

I also built a skid plate for my Yamaha WR out it it.


I struggled producing a very clean edge with the stuff. For a power tool, I found a jigsaw on low speed with a plexiglass blade worked okay. As stated above, most power tools will melt the HDPE instead of cutting it so take it slow. If you are cutting a straight line, I found by using a basic utility knife you can score the material several times and bend and crack it for a decent edge. A rough edge produced by any method of cutting can be cleaned up using rough to fine sanding sponges.

 

[Seanhecko]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I finally got some time to work on the HDPE panel. The sheet i used was 1/2 inch thick.
I tired my jig saw first and found it to be troublesome with the blade bending sideways. So i switched to my circular saw with a plywood blade. Surprisingly it cut perfectly and clean. No melting, warping, or any issues at all. It does make a huge mess with plastic shavings all over the place.
For the bolt holes a standard carbide drill bit and a forsner bit to countersink.
Hope this helps anyone else wanting to work with HDPE.
Also i use marine grade since it is UV resistant

 

[NMBruce]

sorry I just saw this, I made a shell for my truck to go over the bed rack, need to keep dust and water out.
I was working with ABS plastic and I found that a good high count saw works great. I have a plunge saw that also worked well.
As for bending it, I scared the inside of the bend, about 1/3-1/2 of the depth of the plastic, three cuts side by side and then used a heat gun. One problem I ran into was warping of the plastic only when bending it.

 

[old_man]

A trick to keep the kerf clean is to take a stick of paraffin and cut through it first to lube up the blade.

I have a counter rotating double blade saw that I use. It plunges great and never grabs or kicks back.

 

[smritte]

I have a counter rotating double blade saw that I use. It plunges great and never grabs or kicks back.

I've never gotten to use one of those. What brand is yours and how wide is the kerf?

 

[9Mike2]

An old hack is to put the blade of your circular saw backwards it will cut it pretty good, I had to do this to fit a set of pads for a boom slides. And a wood saw was the only thing I had or try to grind all the way through the stuff...

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I've cut up an old frisbee and used an old Wagner heat gun to melt it into cracks and holes in kayaks to fix fix them up. That's about it. So this has already been informative