Frag Plug Making and Plug Holder “FORGET ABOUT IT”.
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RichtheReefer21
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Perfect! I was literally shopping for "grow out" plugs yesterday for my sand-based LPS/Softies... glad I didn't buy any.
Love it!
Love it!
One thing that you can do instead of drilling the holes is get the industrial rubber floor mats that they use in kitchens and such, you put cement in the small holes and let it set, then remove them. These are the stems. Then you pour the concrete into the larger holes and insert the hardened stems. This allows you to make 100+ plugs at a time with almost no prep time.
Awesome... thanks for the feedback and idea. I hope to implement that and tag that on one of the many DIY's i have to do lol
Yea, I dont know if I want to go that far with a DIY project on frag plugs.
They are cheap, and my time is worth more than can be saved on a frag plug. If I was going into a large scale fragging business then it may be a worthy venture. But YMMV.
Nice thread though and good ideas.
They are cheap, and my time is worth more than can be saved on a frag plug. If I was going into a large scale fragging business then it may be a worthy venture. But YMMV.
Nice thread though and good ideas.
Kenny’s Nano Reef
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Going to have to try
wesman42
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I want to caution against the use of some kinds of hydraulic cement in saltwater applications. Not saying this is bad cement, all I'm saying is that the 1 time I did use hydraulic cement, it broke down compositionally after 4 months in saltwater.
Good morning,
I thought I would share my way of making frag plugs,
I have made several plug mould over the last 10 years, I use nylon to make the moulds, it's easy to cut, and drill. Its properties are great waterproof and strong.
I use different lengths depending how many plugs I want or what material I have available.
What is important is the width and height. 60mm high and 25mm wide.
Two pieces the same are needed, I clamp them together to get a piece 50mmx60mm. I then space out across the join (middle) the size of the plug disc sizes I want normally 30mm diameter leaving 10mm space between each one. One that marked out I flip it and do the same on the reverse side. Once this is done it allows me to get clearing to mark for the screw and nut which is needed to hold it together.
Once the two marks have been made on the 60mm side I drill through both using a 8mm or 10mm bit, I then use a 8mm or 10mm bolt and nut to hold this together.
This is now one full block no clamps needed.
I use a pillar drill set to approx 5mm depth below material and cut a 30mm wide hole using a forstner bit. Then set drill to a 20mm approx depth below material and bore 10mm holes in the centres that are marked by the top of the forstner bit. This is done on each of the top and bottom marked points.
That's your plug mould made...
Now you can use concrete mix, mulliput, or what I use, polymorph plastic beads that are mouldable under set heat.
These set very quickly, with little mess involved. And is cheap. I get around 30plugs for £1.60 which will be around $2 for about 100g of material. Obviously the more you buy the cheaper it gets.
I thought I would share my way of making frag plugs,
I have made several plug mould over the last 10 years, I use nylon to make the moulds, it's easy to cut, and drill. Its properties are great waterproof and strong.
I use different lengths depending how many plugs I want or what material I have available.
What is important is the width and height. 60mm high and 25mm wide.
Two pieces the same are needed, I clamp them together to get a piece 50mmx60mm. I then space out across the join (middle) the size of the plug disc sizes I want normally 30mm diameter leaving 10mm space between each one. One that marked out I flip it and do the same on the reverse side. Once this is done it allows me to get clearing to mark for the screw and nut which is needed to hold it together.
Once the two marks have been made on the 60mm side I drill through both using a 8mm or 10mm bit, I then use a 8mm or 10mm bolt and nut to hold this together.
This is now one full block no clamps needed.
I use a pillar drill set to approx 5mm depth below material and cut a 30mm wide hole using a forstner bit. Then set drill to a 20mm approx depth below material and bore 10mm holes in the centres that are marked by the top of the forstner bit. This is done on each of the top and bottom marked points.
That's your plug mould made...
Now you can use concrete mix, mulliput, or what I use, polymorph plastic beads that are mouldable under set heat.
These set very quickly, with little mess involved. And is cheap. I get around 30plugs for £1.60 which will be around $2 for about 100g of material. Obviously the more you buy the cheaper it gets.
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