sticking polyethylene?

[weave]

Hi all,

Prob wrong thread but have been given a trestle table to construct my layout on. It folds in two but want to stick it rigid. It's made out of polyethylene plastic and have bought some 'no more nails' which says not suitable for PE, PP or teflon.

Think the PE is polyethylene. It's very sturdy when 'up' but bends slightly in the middle when you unfold the legs. Thought I could brace it somehow with the 'no more nails' and some wooden braces or something but sounds like nothing will stick.

Any advice before I 'male chicken' (changed by forum) it up completely would be very much appreciated.

Thanks weave

[hairygit]

No more nails is highly unlikely to be successful, you would be better considering a good brand of superglue, or possibly even a solvent weld type adhesive (like plumbers use on plastic pipes, but handle it with care, and the fumes are noxious)

[scotsoft]

Might be an idea to try an epoxy adhesive and do a small test area so you don't waste loads of it.

If you are going to try superglue then the gel type might not soak into the wood compared to the liquid.

Another possibility if there is a lip round the edge of the trestle is to use countersink head screws through the lip into the wood.

cheers John.

[Lawrence]

Have a look at this http://www.eplastics.com/Polyethylene-Adhesives-Glue should give you some tips

[H]

PE can be glued and there are special glues (see: http://www.repairproducts.co.uk/page59.htm?gclid=CNyIl5XzxroCFe7HtAod6mYAEA) but at work I seem to recall it was more common to heat weld it together.

H.

[Bikeracer]

Probably be cheaper to drill a pilot hole and use self tapping screws or drill and tap for 4mm or 5mm bolts.

I've used rigid polypropylene in the past and fastened things to it using bolts.

Allan

[Agrippa]

Probably be cheaper to drill a pilot hole and use self tapping screws or drill and tap for 4mm or 5mm bolts.
Allan

That sounds like the quickest and least messy way, if you use wood or metal strips
for bracing they can be removed easily in the future.

[weave]

Hi all,

Thanks for replies. Have sort of bodge glued although it seems OK.

Just wondering the best drill bits to go through for possible bolts for braces but mainly for Kato Unitrack point wires (ie the big plastic connector for those not familiar).

Have googled general plastic and some say metal bit, some wood. others say make sure it's sharp, some say file blunt.

Confused  remember it's polyethylene.

Thanks for any help, weave