how much is about 5 4X8 sheets of 1/4" Lexan worth?: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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May 24, 2011 3:36 a.m. novaderrik Dork

the company i work for makes food packaging machines. we are rebuilding an older machine, and all the lexan guarding is being replaced.. they are auctioning the old stuff off to the employee that bids the most.. it's all used, but not all scratched up and only had a few decals on it with only a few holes for hinges and latches. i figure that since one of the welders bought a 10 year old Miller TIG welder for $50, i should be able to bid really low for this stuff.. i'm thinking like $20 or so.. then i can make Lexan windows for all my junk and maybe a Lexan tree fort or something....

they are also auctiong off a metal cutting bandsaw- the kind that's mounted on a table with a hydraulic clamp to hold the material in place as the saw swings down thru it.. might bid $50 for that..
May 24, 2011 6:42 a.m. Toyman01 SuperDork

About $200-$300 a sheet depending on if it is scratch resistant.
May 24, 2011 6:44 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

It is about $180 a sheet at cost but if you can get a TIG for $50... I'd start at $15 for the whole lot.
May 24, 2011 7:00 a.m. Ian F SuperDork

Yeah... plastic is expensive... I was rather surprised when I broke three windows in a garage door and found it was cheaper to buy new glass and re-glaze the openings (whole door will be replaced in a week or two) than to cover the openings with plastic sheets.
May 24, 2011 7:11 a.m. ncjay Reader

A few months ago I purchased a brand new 4' x8' sheet of 1/8" Lexan for $80. Odds are your coworkers probably don't have much use for large pieces of clear plastic, but I wouldn't hesitate to bid up to $100 for all of it, but if TIG welders are going for $50, then you should be able to get the stuff pretty cheap.
May 24, 2011 7:53 a.m. WilberM3 HalfDork

man, do they have any more TIG welders!?

i picked up a couple of 'remnant' pieces of either 3/16" or 1/4" lexan that measured about 3'x6' for 10 bucks from a local plastics supply company, partly because they can't often sell anything but whole sheet, and it was a few years old so the protective sticker was a little sticky.
May 24, 2011 10:57 a.m. gjz30075 Reader

novaderrik wrote: i figure that since one of the welders bought a 10 year old Miller TIG welder for $50,

Whoa! Does it work?
May 25, 2011 5:34 a.m. novaderrik Dork

gjz30075 wrote:

novaderrik wrote: i figure that since one of the welders bought a 10 year old Miller TIG welder for $50,

Whoa! Does it work?

it needed a $100 part.. can't remember what exactly. but the guy uses it all the time.

another guy on day shift bid $20 for the Lexan sheets.. my shift starts at 5:30pm tomorrow (today?), which is right when the bidding officially ends.. i might just try to snipe it out from under him for a dollar more at the last minute..
May 25, 2011 11:10 a.m. nickel_dime Dork

Damn, if you were closer I'd say get it then I'd buy it from you. The race car needs a new windshield and I'm having trouble finding a big enough sheet.
May 25, 2011 3:36 p.m. novaderrik Dork

i put in a $25 bid right before i left work at 6am... i don't really need that much Lexan, so if the other guy ups my bid i will offer to buy half of it for $20- he'd be getting his share for cheap and i'd be getting a good deal.
May 25, 2011 6:54 p.m. novaderrik Dork

the other guy got the sheets.. he and another guy got in a bidding war right at the end and ran it up to $80. but i did get some big pieces of steel walkway grating for $20, a tool cart for $5, a pile of expanded metal for $5, and a lot of a few odds and ends of scrap metal- including a pair of 8 foot sections of 1/2" steel threaded rod and a pair of 3 foot chunks of 1.75" round stock for $5. the metal bandsaw went for $70.

they were going to auction off an older Bridgeport mill, but they decided to modify it for use as a cnc controlled end hole machine. i guess they got $150 for the last one they auctioned off a few years ago.
May 26, 2011 1:08 a.m. geomiata Reader

bummer dude. still looks like you snagged some sweet stuff.