Yes, that's right; the Two-Page MacQuarium is back. You'll note the November, 1998 date on the captures - I've been lazy. The recent months have been spent trying to silicon-up the aquarium. It's been torn apart twice now, the latest attempt having taken place just tonight. Hopefully there will be new pictures by next week of the MacQuarium holding water, and shortly thereafter of it completed, with fish. In the meantime, enjoy these scenes of terror.
|
That's right - Greg is allowed to use flame-based tools. Note the fire extinguisher parked safely nearby. |
Always one of my favorite toys, the sparky-torch-ignitor! |
|
Not being one to jump into this haphazardly, many test-bends were done. |
Insert one long sheet of Plexiglas, and we're set to begin! |
|
A scene that will be repeated many times (but not necessarily on this page): clamping down the Plexiglas in preparation for bending. |
Another important, high-tech tool - the spare block of wood to make (approximately) right-angles for each corner. |
|
Danger approaches quickly: the torch is assembled... |
3... 2... 1... Ignition! |
|
By moving the flame slowly and evenly across the top... |
and bottom of the acrylic, we hope to evenly warm the material so it bends nicely. |
|
And look! Bend it does! |
A beautiful corner... now on to the next one. |
|
Mmmmm... torch... |
Behold my amazing strength! I can bend Plexiglas at will! |
|
With one front bend completed, it's time to work on the rear corners. |
These bend more on their own, with the weight of almost half the tank pulling them down. |
|
More back corners. |
Once again, bend it does. Good thing acrylic is clear, so I could see what I was doing. |
|
Two bends away from completion... |
Much like the beginning of the endeavor. With a little help, we have another bend. |
|
Thanks to mom, the final bend was accomplished; that's her hands you see holding the tank as I heat it. |
Mom keeps the tank from bending too fast, and stretching the acrylic as it goes. |
|
The completed back side of the tank! |
Mistake #1: Attempting to glue the tank together outside of the monitor casing. As I found, the slop-factor came into play more than I expected, and the tank was too wide to fit into the monitor case. This was why I had to initially tear it apart, and reseal it inside the monitor case. |
|
Here's the bottom piece, before cutting. It needed to be cut in the same shape as the tank itself, and then sealed to it. |
The "complete" tank. Even in this picture, you can see the trapezoidal shape of the back corners, which made it impossible to fit in the case. Luckily, it was bendable, and now fits inside. |
