simple milk jug project

25 years ago I needed some chair leg slides. I used a piece of furring strip and put 3/4" holes about 1/4" deep. I put 1" nails through the center of each hole but left them "proud" about 1/8". I cut up 5 jugs into a clean tin can. With a box fan blowing fresh air I used a heat gun for stripping paint to melt the chips and poured the liquid plastic into each hole. After the plastic cooled (turned white) I split the wood lengthwise and the chair glides fell out ready to use. After 7 kids the glides are still in place.

If you need a starting project for recycled milk jugs this is a good one.

DocMabry

I have tried casting milk jugs and found that the plastic must be very dry or the resulting casting with be weak.

Although not as frugal, plastic coat hangers work very well and come in a variety of colors.

Rick

7 kids is a lot of milk jugs! Enough to begin full scale production? Using scrap wood for a mold is very clever.

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Originally Posted by DocMabry

25 years ago I needed some chair leg slides. I used a piece of furring strip and put 3/4" holes about 1/4" deep. I put 1" nails through the center of each hole but left them "proud" about 1/8". I cut up 5 jugs into a clean tin can. With a box fan blowing fresh air I used a heat gun for stripping paint to melt the chips and poured the liquid plastic into each hole. After the plastic cooled (turned white) I split the wood lengthwise and the chair glides fell out ready to use. After 7 kids the glides are still in place.

If you need a starting project for recycled milk jugs this is a good one.

DocMabry

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The heat gun takes care of any water!

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Originally Posted by DocMabry

The heat gun takes care of any water!

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I didn't find that to be the case. It was dry on the surface and stored at very low humidity (Sonoran Desert). Yet after casting, the stuff was brittle. When I used virgin plastic pellets, all went well.

I wonder why you had success and I did not.

Rick