J. Phil Thien's Projects

Thanks for the response.  I'll check out Ft. Collins Plastics.  We had a plastic discounter in Colorado Springs but they went belly up.

Can you share what the polycarbonate cost you and contact data on where you bought it.  I priced 1/4 inch acrylic last week and a 2 ft x 4 ft sheet was over $70.  Can't imagine what polycarbonate must be. 

Keep us posted.  Will be interesting to know if the wood chips and dust are abrasive enough to cloud the polycarbonate and reduce your visibility.

Thanks for your help.  I'll find the thread and see if I can learn where he got the polycarbonate or acrylic and whether or not I can afford it.

Thanks, Alan.  What do you think about the other part of the question, using 1/2 inch stock?

I don't understand your last sentence, "there is a build during the wek where it has a clear top and baffle plate."

The plans suggest 3/4 inch material, but I don't know if this was a selection made by convenience or if there is a structural thing I'm not recognizing.  I started out wondering if 1/2 inch Baltic birch wouldn't work as well and at 30% less weight.  Then I read about the desirability of the surface being slick.  Now I wonder if a melamine finish (or even high pressure laminate) yields benefits worth the extra effort. 

My question: Does a Formica clad half inch Baltic birch plywood baffle make sense or is it overkilled but out of spec?

Now  a weirder question.  Has anyone built, successfully, (or tried and scrapped the idea) of inlaying acrylic viewing windows into upper and lower baffle members, in-line, so you can look straight through into the can?  I say inlayed because if properly executed, there should be no turbulence resulting from a "really smooth inlay" (if such a thing is possible).  I briefly explored making the baffle members of acrylic until I learned the cost of acrylic.