What is the best way to heat styrene?

[Sulla]

Did I say new and exciting? Well... I want to make some L-bend brackets to support a 90 degree angle. Would a good hot hair drier work, or do I need something like a heat gun for paint stripping or even a stove top?

 

[dropshipbob]

I think it depends on the thickness of the styrene. I've had thick pieces that wouldn't budge with a hair dryer, and other's that turned into wet pasta when faced with a heat gun.

If you have a heat gun, use that. If you don't have one, a standard stove top should work...just be sure to wear oven mits while holding the styrene. Move it back and forth over the heating element until it goes limp.

 

[Sulla]

Ah, thanks. I am using 1/8" to 3/16" styrene for this "bracket" I have not done anything yet with it. We'll see how it works out. I have enough scrap to practice different methods. If I can figure a good way to do it, I'll need to make about a hundred of these buggers in varying sizes and thicknesses.

Thanks again for the advice.