Interesting use of Kydex

T

TheAznInvazn

Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
267
So a few days ago, the clip that holds up the shower head broke.
Went to the home depot store, and they don't sell shower heads by themselves. Even worse, a new shower kit costs over $100!!!

So what did I do?
Make a new clip out of Kydex.

P1060589.jpg


Not sure if I should be proud of this, or embarrassed that I didn't just buy a new shower kit...
 
why waste the money if you don't need to? I think its great , good job. :thumbup:
 
Thanks for the kind words guys
:)

I'm learning that Kydex can be pretty useful!
Still very new to the material, and hopefully my next Kydex project won't be fixing showers!
 
I grew up around people who had lived through the Great Depression; these folks taught us kids that you can fix almost anything with what you have around the house & property.

Growing up in North Carolina, I had a great uncle of mine, who showed us kids how he'd take an old car inner-tube, cut it into long narrow strips, and put it inside a bike tire, between the tire & inner-tube. It provided a lot more protection from all the nasty little thorns & nails & such that would flatten our tires during summertime. It made it a bear to get the bike tube back in, and we'd still get flats, but nowhere near as often.

Several years ago, I had a Teledyne shower head that wouldn't stay in place, and the store wouldn't replace it. :grumpy: I used my uncle's idea and lined the sprayhead bracket with a strip of old innertube rubber from my son's bike. Couldn't take the sprayer in & out, but it held it in place the way it was supposed to.

I miss that kind of ingenuity these days.

~Chris
 
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While I'm relatively young (soon to be 21) I do enjoy fixing things myself, and saving money just happens to be a bonus

I do notice that when I fix things myself, some of my friends look at me like I'm growing a second head out of my back.
Times have changed, and I think the majority of people in my generation don't want to mess with things themselves; not saying everyone, but a good chunk of them
 
That's pretty cool. Ours did the same thing. I don't have kydex so I just went to walmart and bought the $3 part to fix it. But your way is more fun.
 
It's a little small, but all I need is a bigger scrap piece and I'll be set!

Currently it's working fine though, gets the job done!
 
I have one of those pivot arms for our shower head to adjust the height. It had a fiber washer in one of the joints that started leaking because it got compressed too much over the years. I made a washer out of Kydex for it and it's been 5+ years.

It is really amazing how many things that I have learned making knives, gets used for other stuff. Many thanks to those here who freely share their knowledge and experience on the forum.

ric
 
Wow! Fixing a shower head clip is exactly one of the first things I used kydex for. That was a few years ago. That's amazing that we both used kydex for the same obscure fix. Cool.:thumbup:
 
I've always been a tinker. I love seeing how things work, what they do, and when they break how to fix them. I've stitched so many crappy zippers back together, I couldn't tell ya the number. I also can't stand seeing things that can be fixed or salvaged thrown away. In fact, I have a slab of old-jean-micarta curing in my garage right now. Couldn't stand throwing the jeans away, but they had a hole in the back the size of Texas and a half.
Don't be embarrassed, be proud that your fix will last one heck of a lot longer than the original part did.
 
Wow! I live in Texas, so a hole that big must be massive!!!
;)

Thank you for the kind words!
All the encouragement definitely makes me feel much better about this!
 
heh, it was big enough that it had the entire back pocket literally hanging from a thread...
Just keep doin' what you're doin', and I'm looking foreward to what you come up with next!
 
If you think about it, a lot of our knife materials weren't developed for knives. Many steels were used in industry before we borrowed them. G-10 is for circuit boards. I doubt Kydex was invented for sheaths. Improvise, adapt, and overcome! :)
 
Post by foldervsfixed on this very forum back on 2/8/2003.

This information comes from a company called Regal Plastics.

Kydex thermoplastic sheets for vacuum and pressure forming are products of the Kleerdex Company.
Based on proprietary acrylic/PVC formulations, all Kydex thermoplastic sheet grades deliver an unmatched combination of performance and cost advantages. All grades of Kydex sheet offer the following characteristics:
Physical Properties
*MODULUS OF ELASTICITY
Kydex thermoplastic is among the most rigid of thermoforming materials, resulting in parts that deform less when loaded, which is particularly important in deep formed parts with thinwall sections.

*Abrasion Resistance
Kydex sheet performs very well in abrasion resistant tests. Parts made from it invariably last a long time and maintain their high quality surface finish.

*Dementional Stability
Very low water absorption and relatively low coeffeciant of thermal expansion give parts formed from kydex high deminsional stability.

*Chemical Resistance
From sulfuric acid to hydrocarbons, Kydex acrylic/PVC alloy is more resistant to a wider range of concentrated chemicals than any other thermoplastic.

FABRICATION
*Wide Forming Range at Low Forming Temperatures
Kydex sheet can be thermoformed at temperatures between 320*F and 390*F. Tooling can range from wood quick turnarounds and prototyping to epoxy or aluminum for longer runs.

*Superior Extensibility
Forms to deeper draws than competitive materials when heated to the proper thermoforming temperature for it's thickness.

*excellent Hot Tear Strength
Unlike many thermofomable sheets, Kydex has unusual resistance to hot-tearing.

*Uniform Wall Thickness
Special forming techniques and selctive heating are seldom necessary to achive uniform wall thicknesses. Because of it's high hot-tear strength, thermoforming with Kydex sheet generally results in more uniform wall thickness than competive materials. This frequently allows for down gauging the sheet thickness while retaining minnimum wall thicknesses in the formed part.

*Machineability
Kydex sheet is extremely easy to work with. It can be formed on standard equipment. It can be die-cut on standard die-cutting machines. All secondary opperations are possible including: machineing, sawing, shearing, drilling, punching, brake forming, sanding,and polishing. In addition, Kydex sheet can be joined to itself or other materials by cementing or mechanical fastening.

KYDEX 100
Acrylic/PVC fire retardant sheet which is used for vaccum and pressure forming of high performance components. Of the three standard formulations of Kydex, Kydex 100 offers the the highest performance and the highest level of impact resistance.

KYDEX T
A proprietary acrylic/PVC fire retardant sheet for general thermoforming. Kydex T is is a cost competitive alternative to fire retardant ABS/PVC (FR-ABS) formulations while providing higher impact strength, rigidity, tensile strength, abrasion resistance, and extensibility. Unlike FR-ABS, Kydex T normally requires no drying, and offers significantly greater resistance to a broad range of corrosive chemicals and cleaning solutions.

KYDEX L
Laminating grade, fire rated sheet, used for store fixtures, exibits, door sufacingand partitions. Unlike most high pressure laminates, color is integral throughout the sheet. Class 1/A rated at (.040" and thinner), this sheet is ULSTD 94 V-0 listed by Underwriters Laboratories.

Typical Applications for Kydex 100 and T
Equipment housings (cash registers, photocopy machines, grilles, instument panels, x-ray machines, computers, key boards, etc.
Ortopedicproducts (braces of all types)
Consumer products (holsters, medical alert systems, housings for lawn/garden/recreational equipment, etc.)

KYDEX 6565
A proprietary acrylic/PVC fire retardant sheet for vacuum and pressure forming of aircraft interior components. Kydex 6565 meets all fire retardancy requirements set forth in Federal Aviation Regulation25.853 parragraphs(a), (b), and (c) (old [a-1]). It also exibits a broad range of outstanding physical, mechanical, and thermal properties, and is easy to form, making it the ideal material from which to form a broad variety of two- and three-deminsional aircraft components.

Typical Applications
Air ducts
Armrests
Bulkhead laminates
Escape slide packboards
Galley parts
Instrument panels
Lavatory floorpans
Lifevest shrouds
Lightning housings
Moulding strips
Passenger service units
Sidewall panels
Toilet shrrouds
Tray tables
Window reveals

Product Availability
Custom colors, sizes, thicknesses, and rolls are available.
33 Standard Colors are available.

Colors
Amethest 42111
Angora 72174
Beige 72005
Blue:
Buoyant 42112
Cadet 42000
Canyon 42107
Pastel 42031
peacock 42108
Bordeaux 12036
Cabernet 12038
Calcutta Black 52000
Chocolate 72010
Cocoa 72047
Daybreak 72177
Dusty Rose 72176
Gray:
Dark 52002
Pewter 52001
Green:
Mystic 32060
Ivory 62015
Misty Muave 72178
Monterey 62033
Orange 22031
Parchment 72000
Pinstripe 52070
Polar White 62000
Red 12000
Rooster Red 12037
Rouge 72175
Sandy Beach 72179
Snowflake 62029
Thunder 42109
Treasure Chest 32059
Twilight 42110

Textures
P-1 Haircell
P-E Smooth
P-3 Velour Matte
P-C Level Haircell
P-8 Suede
P-F Levant
P-7 Stipple
P-G Contour
P-A Smooth (LTD Grades)

Thickness
.028" (0.7mm)
.040"(1.0mm)
.060"(1.5mm)
.080"(2.0mm)
.093"(2.4mm)
.125"(3.2mm)
.156"(4.0mm)
.187"(4.8mm)
.250"(6.4mm)
.312"(7.9mm)

Sheet Sizes

Standard Widths
36", 48", 60"

Standard Lengths
24" to 120"

Rolls
24" x 120' (36.58m x .61m)
36" x 120' (36.58m x .91m)
48" x 120' (36.58m x 1.22m)
Custom roll sizes also available (in .028" and .040" only)

I never realized how many colors and textures there are!
This is great! I plan on getting in contact with these guys and get some black and orange for some hunting knives and who knows what else!


**hijack off**
 
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