Re: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Using a commercially available hatch as an emergency esca...

[rjune@fuse.net]

I think you've got it backwards.
I have both lexan and plexiglass downstairs.

I can pound away on a piece of 1/4 inch lexan
with a 2 pound ball peen hammer and only dent it.

and 1/2 thick plexiglass shattered after one hit.

not only that but lexan can easily be machined,
drilled, and even tapped.

Additionally, I volunteer at a local aquarium,
where we have tunnels constructed of lexan
the floor in one of the tunnels is a flat pieces of
3" thick lexan and has a rated capacity of 6000 lbs.

an additional thought ... the same piece of lexan 
was installed when the aquarium was built over 
five years ago and sees the foot traffic from 
1000 to 2000 people 300 plus days a year and it still
looks good 
> 
> From: Ray Keefer <Ray.Keefer@Sun.COM>
> Date: 2002/05/08 Wed AM 11:54:59 EDT
> To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
> Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Using a commercially available hatch as an emergency esca...
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I worked in a plastic fabrication shop in my starving student days. Everyone
> got nervous when they had to cut lexan. Occasionally it would catch in 
> a saw blade and kick back in shards. It is tougher then plexiglass but
> brittle also.
> 
> Regards,
> Ray
> 
> 
> > From: DBACKIDS@aol.com
> > Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 00:05:30 EDT
> > Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Using a commercially available hatch as an 
> emergency esca...
> > To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
> > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> > 
> > Quick note on using Lexan: If you plan on cutting it yourself, be careful, 
> > for it shards like a glass would, not melts right through like plexi would. 
> > (I built a 5" x 9" x 3' long "wet wind tunnel" (a wind tunnel, with water 
> > instead of air), and found out that plexi, when cut fast, practically melts 
> > itself back together, while lexan will shard off unless it is covered or 
> > taped. It was a fun project, too) Ok, I went off-track, but you got the 
> > point.
> 
>