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Originally Posted by maxSaleen
It might be cheaper to make a Cu top and smelt the two together. This would provide a better seal, and might be cheaper if done in mass production.
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Nah - my block will be very cheap. Just the material cost of a copper top is more expensive than the machined acrylic top, let alone the effort to drill and tap barb holes. It also means I cannot take it apart, which is not really acceptable due to other constraints. Thanks anyway.
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Originally Posted by maxSaleen
If your going to use an O-ring, I would at least cut a groove in the block (unless of course your equipment doesn't allow for this).
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Equipment should be fine as I have none and will get it professionally made. The issue is that an O-ring groove, in its design, means that the two surfaces being seperated now touch each other. It my cases, I don't want this. The groove is also machining I wish to avoid.
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Originally Posted by jaydee
If you don't trust just silicone you could get some rubber gasket material in sheets and cut a peice to fit.
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Ta - this is firming as an option but I will discuss further below.
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Originally Posted by jaydee
Should have the stuff at an autoparts store. Just make sure your screw spacing is close, especially with a plastic top.
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Define close? I have approx 30mm between hold-together bolts. Close enough?
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Originally Posted by jaydee
I would just use clear silicone though. Once you tighten the bolts you can't even tell the stuff is there.
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As per above, I need the o-ring or gasket in order to provide some spacing.
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Originally Posted by TaTS
If you are not planning on opening the block say, once or twice a week, silicone is definetly the way to go.
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I think, though, that "smoothing" the gap between the top and bottom caused by the o-ring with silicon goop has a number of advantages:
1) Cheap. Very little silicon material used per block, and silicon material is cheap. O-rings are more expensive than I thought, but I assume much cheaper than a custom gasket shape. O-rings at AUD$2.30 each? Sigh. Oh hang on, if I find a commonly used size they're like AUD$0.60. Phew!
2) Easy. A quick and easy job with no real skills required. Perhaps a minute per block including making it look good.
3) Professional. It won't look cheap, even though it is.
4) Simple: Joe-Blo has the tools at home to take the block apart, clean it up, put it back together and get it right. He/she could replace the barbs or o-ring or bolts if damaged without needing to buy them off me.
5) Protective: I can mark the silicon with a mark from a stamp and hence know if a block has been reassembled.
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Originally Posted by Cathar
Yeah - I'd go with the rubber gasket material. Heck, I even have some 1mm thick stuff here if you want me to send you some.
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My issue is simply how cheaply I can get 100 made. Cathar - you should be able to guess why I want the gap!
1mm thick rubber won't be thick enough when compressed.
Can I double up? I can't find a URL online to know how compressible it is and whether I can thus get some that is approx 1mm thick when properly compressed.
Even so, I can't see how I can cheaply make them coz I waste so much material. Cutting them out by hand is out too - too time consuming. The benefit is I can use a custom shape of the rubber mate to make my block a little better, but the cost scares me.
Sigh.
In my searching I have come across "X rings" and also "Boss Gaskets". Not sure if they will be better for what I want to do?