This goes well beyond the average hobbiest, but if you’re someone who regularly needs to bend and form things like PVC pipe, you know you need a large heat source. This HotBend hand-held propane heater will get the job done!
Read the rest of this entry »

This new plastic technology made with inkjet style printing will allow devices to communicate with lower power than today’s wireless signals.
Read the rest of this entry »

With the approach of Halloween, many people will be interested in making some custom costumes, masks, or props and plastics are the perfect solution. Here’s some info on using liquid silicone rubber to make scary masks!
Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a ton of videos that show you how make various molds, bend plastics, glue plastics, polish plastics, and much, much more!
Read the rest of this entry »

Using a resin and woven threads of glass, also known as fiberglassing, is a very useful and relatively easy way to build larger structures. Fiberglassing is used when making boat hulls, water slides, and many other everyday items.
Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a cheap and easy to build vacuum forming table that you can easily put-away when you’re not using it!
Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a home-built heating strip that allowed the creation of bent acrylic panels for a custom panel in a computer.
Read the rest of this entry »

How to make your own custom action figures using Sculpey III polymer clay.
Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a good how-to showing how you can use the low temperature plastics called Shapelock or Friendly Plastic to make custom tools.
Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to the humble beginnings of PlasticFanatics.com! This site will help bring the complex world of plastics to hobbyists so that everyone can enjoy the functionality, durability, and other benefits of working with plastic.

Plastics are amazing things. You can use them to mold containers, doll’s heads, nosecones for rockets, or even make custom tools. Normally, though, the world of plastics has been constrained to companies with big workspaces for big machines and even deeper pockets. With recent innovations in low-temperature plastics as well as the creativity boost provided by the Internet, plastics are now becoming useful for the “little guy” working on his or her hobbies in their garage or basement.

Eventually, I hope that everyone will join the forums (once I set them up completely) where I plan to let people share their projects, tips, techniques, and knowledge about working with hobby plastics. Be sure to keep coming-back and if you use RSS, add our feed to your reader!