Beginners' Guide to Melting HDPE - How to Make a Recycled Plastic Pen
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- 💚 A huge thank you to The Brotherhood: / brothersmake
♻️ Check out our recycled plastic store: www.brothersmake.com/shop
In this video we go through all the tips and tricks that we've picked up when looking for, processing, melting and working with HDPE. This is an incredibly versatile material that melts at a low temperature with no toxic fumes. This is more of a 'how-to' than some of our previous videos but if you want to skip the informative stuff and get right to the making: 3:53
** the Patreon pen giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all our new patrons and congrats to Dave.G.Designs for winning! **
#BrothersMake #HDPE #PreciousPlastic #HDPERecycling #RecycledPlastic #RecycledPlasticBottles #PlasticRecycling #HDPEPen #BeginnersGuide
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Check out our other HDPE creations:
HDPE Mallet: bit.ly/2YlDxU1
HDPE Maker Knife: bit.ly/35mWU0l
HDPE Stool: bit.ly/2KThBaE
HDPE Coffee Cup Carrier: bit.ly/2YpZelV
EQUIPMENT WE USED:
Flat Plate Sandwich Press: amzn.to/2PSXeh3
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Release Spray: amzn.to/37a5eAq
Gloves: amzn.to/37a5xv4
Weighing Scales: amzn.to/35UCtHD
Pen Kits: bit.ly/34QCJWz
Micro Mesh: amzn.to/2tQnOPB
Burnishing Cream: amzn.to/2Zkaizr
MUSIC:
'Mitigated Suffering' - Algae
'Greedy' - Patrick Patrikios
'No Favours' - Patrick Patrikios
'We March Together' - Patrick Patrikios
'Good Times' - Patrick Patrikios - Розваги
That finished black and white pen looks like an expensive marble one. Good job!
Thank you! The marble patterns are always so exciting to uncover 😁
@@BrothersMake qantas
I wantwantwant it.
I'm thinking "Gorilla glue" would be a great adhesive for the tube and HDTP... Also I have a great idea for an empire on plastic business, just need some plastic crazy guys like you guys to want to talk about it and make it happen.. who knows, maybe we can change some things on the plastic industry, and help the world's plastic pollution at the same time.. no joke.
@@luiggieyembrosso3138 epoxy typically works the best
I started a business in 2021 with the aim to help reduce plastic litter, and came across your videos a month back. Its the best thing to ever happen to me because I am learning way more than I have learnt in the past two years. You are awesome. I am KG from Johannesburg in South Africa and appreciate people like you a lot ♻️♻️♻️
Great video! One safety point--it looked like you were using a cloth for the burnishing cream step. I don't know if anyone else mentioned this in the comments, but general guidance when using lathes (aside from avoiding loose clothing and unrestrained long hair) is to use paper towels for polishing or finishing steps. If that cloth catches for some reason, you can get a serious injury in the blink of an eye. Paper towels will just tear away.
Pansy
Thank you!
That’s for the tip I’ll remember that
what do you mesn with burnishing cream? They were using paper in the melting part.
Right around 9:23
It is really good to see brothers making things together. Wright brothers used this blessing to reach great heights.
Zero waste, endless creative potential. Rock on guys.
Thanks Sean!
Ноль отходов..ну да, если, конечно же, не считать почти 60% пластиковой стружки в утиле))
Well you consume more by doing a single pen with this process than buying one new
Tasis new pens have to be made as well, usually using mass-production machinery. We collect all our waste to melt into more pens.
This is not zero waste and not recycling! They are only generating thousands of smaller particle of plastic (as the sawdust) which will eventually end up in soil, rivers, oceans, fish etc and that will make for a worst kind of pollution.
Be careful to check for a #2 HDPE on the caps, as many caps from a wide variety of products are made from #5 PP which seems like they might be PE. Generally if the cap has no recycle logo on it it’s either PP or an alloy of materials unsuitable to mix with PE.
I love to see you guys doing this, I stake my career and my family’s life on plastics and I know it is a miracle for humanity. The litter problem is solvable, my company makes packaging products from 100% recycled HDPE, boosting the market value of recycled plastics thereby getting the economic ball rolling on profitable recycling. Soft drink companies are doing the same, and soon the demand will force major upgrades toour plastics collection infrastructure. The things you are doing in your videos bring awareness to the incredible utility of plastic. Thank you.
Thanks for the advice! We personally check every cap and if it doesn’t clearly show ♻️2 then we don’t use it for melting. Thanks for the comment!
Yep only ♻️2 works together
Brothers Make should pin this comment 💕
Could you comment on whether #2 recyclables definitely don’t give off harmful fumes when heated?
Liusila providing it’s not heated over 180 degrees celcius, yes 👍🏼
The endless talent and inventiveness of other people never fails to make me feel bad about myself.
Alright I was expecting the video to be dumb when you first started talking (first video) but then I realized your actually teaching ALL the step to actually do it not just making a cool video so we can "see how it's done ". And I learned a lot in something I had no idea I wanted to learn about. Very neat keep it up. Great job.
Absolutely! Thanks for your comment bud, glad you enjoyed it 👍🏼
couple things to hopefully make these better or easier to make:
1-those failures during the lathe turning process seemed to be from delaminations likely caused during the heating/mixing process. Spraying silcone spray on the paper that the plastic touches and then folding the soft plastic together contaminates the layers preventing a good bond from occurring. Try to find a way to do the melting/mixing process without mold release.
2- If you are seeing actual voids in the center of the plastic piece after it has cooled, then this is likely cause by the shrinkage and how it was cooled. Once the piece is formed in the mold, take it out while still HOT but solid enough to keep its shape and cool it the rest of the way in a warm oven for an hour. Cooling it in cool water will increase the chance of voids.
Thanks for the advice 👍🏼
@@BrothersMake - there are teflon pressing sheets available in quilt shops. You could use them instead of the parchment paper and avoid the spray altogether.
Debbie Mansperger that’s great! Thanks for the tip
@@BrothersMake I wonder if you could use a Silpat? silpat.com/collections/silpat-perfect-cooking-mats
I haven't worked with HDPE, so this may not be applicable, but if it's anything like clay in terms of void formation: try rolling it out/around more too. Squishing and folding it over on itself repeatedly, in a way that doesn't trap more air in it, should eliminate most of the bubbles. Search 'clay wedging.'
Dear pen making factory owners watch this video and recycle the plastics to save the earth. We'll be very happy after we'll know that these beautiful marble pens are made out of wasted plastics.....
Haha thanks!
They sell recycle pen already and even recycle water bottle pens. You can drop off your used pens at the office supply stores like . Staples has partered with TerraCycle to recycle used pens, markers, sharpies, highlighters and mechanical pencils
yes, tell the corporations to make more money. Go you.
Dear Bic. The end.
Aside from nice pens, and other nick nacks, HDPE also makes very effective body armor. A 1.5" plate wrapped in a gew layers of ballistic nylon or fiberglass and youve got a bullet resistant armor piece that can take multiple hits before its rendered useless, unlike ceramic plates which are one and done, and while an HDPE plate would be thicker than a comparable steel plate, the weight savings is immense and theres no need for an antispall coating
Hi guys, I finally made a pen from your process. I made a frrame press to make a block of at least 6 penblanks I could cut out of it. Thank you for the inspiration.
Fantastic! We’d love to see the result!
One of the most awesome videos ever..! You guys covered it all thoroughly, so anybody should be able to do this if they choose. Great presentation model, for ANY subject. Brief but to the point, no unnecessary words or video, concise descriptions and direction are vital, and you guys could use this as a blueprint for ANY subject you’d like... Keep up the great work..!!!
Companies should do this! It is a good idea to upcycle.
For sure!
companies do do this.
Some do! The whole zero waste thing is really becoming popular
I do not know of any plastic injection molders that do not recycle. The term 'regrind' refers to plastic that has already been melted and formed once, and some products can be made from a higher percentage of it vs. virgin material.
This's what Lenovo does with its laptops
This is the best guide I've seen and makes recycling really accessible, awesome work dudes! I'm keen to try it with my 3D Print waste (sadly a fair bit) that I've been collecting for a rainy day.
Thank you very much! I’m PLA could be recycled, it just may not be suitable for this method. Thanks for the comment 👍🏼
Angus PLA works very similary to this I think the same method can be applied
You're 100% right
All the videos i have watched require heavy and expensive machinery . That's a really big deterrent to people who want to do the important thing with all the plastic thrown up around the planet .
@@robertsantiago953 I think that if people realize that the stuff (HDPE) they are throwing away is a resource, it will become a commodity instead.
@@nutcase0001 lol only for big factories. there's negative profit on doing this and hdpe plastic can only be reformed up to 6 or 7 times before it loses its integrity
Fantastic. I'm switching from resin sculpture to re-used plastic! Love it, thanks.
Love this, guy's. I've been looking for things for my husband and I to make together, and I think he would enjoy doing this. And we are recycling, which is a plus. 🥰
I love fountain pens, recycling, and working with my hands.
I have always wanted to do something like this, and your demonstration is encouraging me to get started melting/using all the HDPE plastic I have horded.
I have lots of ideas for things to make, like guitar knobs, and custom knobs, and switch caps for my synthesizers and other musical instruments.
From California/USA, cheers!
Sounds great! Send us pictures of you make anything using this method!
Fountain pens 4 ever!
I have horded.?
I have hoarded ✔
Hoard some dictionaries and BOOKS, and read one book per month,
Guitar picks! They could be beautiful! You go!
@@mamamoon65 Good idea, thanks for sharing.
I love to repurpose, recycle and melt stuff! I’ve got tons of ideas after watching this. You guys rock!
Thanks Andrine!
Idk how I stumbled across this video, but oh my god! I love the way these guys make otherwise useless stuff into such amazing articles!
Thank you so much! 😊
These two guys have earned my approval.
Well, I'm glad shop skills they used to teach in high school are coming back.
One of us is a high school teacher 👍🏼😁 We’ve been teaching students how to make these too!
@@BrothersMake I'm glad to hear not every school has cut this funding, then!
Most schools are having financial difficulties but this project is very low cost since the materials are 100% waste other than the pen kits which cost a couple of pounds.
They taught that stuff in vo tech where I'm from. That sucked because it wasn't required.
Brothers Make big bloke with beard helped me get a merit lvl 2 in engineering with only 1 year to do it. Glad to see he’s doing well on UA-cam now as we all used to take the piss
Wow, so beautiful! I really need a workshop room in our next apartment.
You should do it!
I hear ya. My " art studio" is 6x7 corner in my living room. Between resin work, polymer clay and airbrushing now and then I can hardly have any room to store and work. Even though I have an large office filing cabinet and many other storage
I found a screened in porch or balcony is best because it keeps bugs out and let's the fumes escape. no matter the medium used good airflow helps.
My thoughts exactly..
@7:09 Use the shortest rod and bushings you safely can use to turn the blanks. You will get less flex, better uniformity and smoother finish. Thanks for the great vids Brothers!
Nice! A while back, I used to collect HDPE bottles, and I built a big press for it out of wood. I was able to make boards with it that were, I believe, 6x1x24". I could use those boards similarly as for wood working. (I used to make slingshots with them.)
Awesome job guys! I especially like how you showed using items from in your shop to press the tubes and turn the pen blanks! I don't have a mandrel kit and this shows that's no hurdle to keep me from making some pens for fun. Thanks!
No excuses! There’s always multiple ways to do everything! Glad you enjoyed the video
Anything that stops plastic heading to landfill is a great idea. Keep up the good work
Thanks! It’s also really fun to do - double win!
@Stellar Dynamix you say that, but if we don't find ways to re-use, re-purpose etc then we just end up creating new. And whilst energy required to repurpose may be high that energy could eventually be 100% renewable, and that's the goal, to stop more plastic being created to just get thrown away and forever being present in land fill. Companies are relentlessly creating more and more useless tat out of plastic and that is more of a danger. Ideally we'd live in a world where it was the corporation's that were creating ways to re-use / re-purpose but we aren't they only care about new and profit.
I don't understand half of what you say, but I absolutely love what you do together.
New subscription, obviously 💚
Fantastic product and very personable presenters with lots of good info and zero mindless chatter, unlike others. Awesome recycling best of all, keep it up guys
Thank you!
Hello , I hope my simple hello will make you smile. I would love to be your friend ,Where are you from ?
This is actually REALLY neat. I could literally watch this ALL DAY LONG!!
Thank you! Feel free to watch it as much as you want - we won’t complain! 😂
@@BrothersMake I definitely will 😊. I also subscribed to your channel and liked this video!!
Thanks for the support!
I found your channel by accident, now I know why my partner is getting me to collect milk bottle caps, but you have given me a idea to fix a couple of my mowers catchers, cheers and hello from Queensland
We’re very glad you found us! Good luck with your HDPE experiments 👍🏼 hello from the UK!!
Nice work guys,
I didn't imagine how the finish could be.
Congratulations.
I actually used the method of melting and shaping the plastic to repair the handle on our old kitchen knife and it looks great with the black, gold, white color combination
Sweet! Just what I've been waiting for! Gotta start saving up on those bottlecaps now.
Get collecting! 😁♻️
That’s a super cool was to recycle and make something cool. I’m loving it. Ohh and your guys intro video is on point. Great job guys !
Thank you mate - you should give it a go!
That pen is beautiful. I love it.
I hope I can find lots of your videos
thanks !
i made a 3.5 mm jack's plastic body with the help of ur video .
saved me a 3 dollars ! :D
Nice!
That pen turned out awesome.
Didn't know it could be polished to be that shiny.
Thank you! Yes they finish up really well 👍🏼
Brilliant, thank you boys. I've had HDPE stuff on my list for ages but this has answered a few of the questions I was going to be having to experiment to discover. Now I'm itching to get started!
This is awesome - can’t wait to see what you make dude!! Tag us for sure 👍🏼
Lovely job Brothers!
I am glad your are repurposing plastic and turning it into useful things!
LOVE THIS! Finally found awesome & better use from my bottle caps .. Exciting stuff well done 😍
It's so great that you also showed some mishaps that might happen and how to solve it. Thanks!
Things rarely go right every time! Every day’s a school day 👍🏼
I've been binge watching your vids. Awesome products! I love how you also show how you recover the "waste" bits and pieces left over from projects to go into other projects. Even the bits from drilling holes and such! I so want to get into this!
Lovely clear & informative video loved your smiling faces throughout !! 😃
Ted & Rosie
You guys are amazing!!! Can’t wait to start out from all that you have been sharing!!! Great insights!! Great recycling !!! Kudos👌🙌💯
Excellent video, really clear and straightforward using as basic tools as you can.
🤍🤍
You guys are amazing and doing a marvelous job of saving the planet by recycling and making such beautiful commodities out of waste plastic... keep up the good work.👏🏻
Thanks for your kind words 😊
You guys have put a great amount of info. With this video. I had no idea how simple you make it seem. I have been saving pop caps for a few years. I was planning on making mosaic but after viewing your video. “The sky’s the limit”. Almost ! I have trouble watching most homemade teaching videos bc they’re actually boring. So I take to reading instructions instead. But this video really kept my interest the whole time. It’s a miracle. I tell you bc I hate sitting still for these things. But I watched the whole things n not once was I bored. Thank you so much for making this.
Thanks so much for watching Cheryl! Glad you enjoyed the whole thing!
I feel like you should win some sort of recycling award if there is such a thing!
Haha thanks!
a very inspiring content, in my country (Indonesia) creative ideas like this are so very high value that they can even be priced at millions of rupiah
Hello fellow youtubers , great work with those pens, just a quick tip in case no one told you already, if you cool the HDPE too fast out will become brittle, and loose elasticity. For things like the pen it doesn't make a big difference but in hatchet or hammer handles it may cause a fracture, hope that's helpful 👍
Thanks for the tip 👍🏼
@@BrothersMake we're makers, we've got to help each other and spread the creativity right? Oh Matt great beard by the way.
Absolutely! And thanks! 🧔🏻
I was gonna build a boat model with this stuff but the fracture at 8:00 gave me some doubts as to the durability of this material, rapidly cooling anything is usually a shortcut to disaster. Maybe I could reinforce it with something to be safe. We'll see.
You guys are GREAT!! Recycling is the way to go!! There is only so much space on Mother Earth and there is TOO much waste products being thrown away that could be recycled into usable new products. Love you guys for showing a way to use the plastic, that is normally tossed away, into beautiful pens.
Thanks for the comment! ☺️☺️
Absolutely awesome. I can't wait to try some of these in my garage!
Thank you!!!
Thank you guys for showing me how easy it is to melt down this type of plastic into a workable crafting material! The potential for use is very exciting :)
You’re welcome!
ترجمه. لاه. عربيه
This is now my favorite channel
Awesome!
Very informative and entertaining. Makes me want to get back into pen turning and double my efforts to do something with plastic! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, thanks Dominic!
Great result bros! One challenge of recycling is the energy consumed in the processes. There’s lots of great info in here - nice work
Our workshop and home are powered by energy generated 100% from renewables
@@BrothersMake would love to see a run down of that. I’m from Yorkshire but live in Oz now. Abundant sunshine! My dream would be to have a solar powered 3D print farm
That would be ideal!!
Hello boys, this video was recommended for me today. I like how you both took turns to explain everything as you went along.
Thank you ☺️ glad you enjoyed the video
Brilliant job. Well explained. Thank you! I feel like an expert just by watching you. Super great job on listing the equipment. Cheers!
Thanks so much!
Already started saving my plastic caps to make fountain pens. Can't wait to try this out!!!!
Why's this channel underrated? Huh? This deserve more subs
Thank you! 🤍🤍
Very cool! I love that your repurposing plastic. Now I need to figure out how I can do something with hdpe in a metal project...the mind gears are turning. Thanks for sharing guys
Thanks man! It’s such a dense material it would work well for a lot of thinks. Pulleys/cigs possibly for small scale stuff. We want to try knife scales next!
Hdpe mixed with oil results in a self lubricated plastic, bushings, gears, handles, plastic end caps, etc.
Well done guys a simple but useful video Thank you
The micromesh pads are a must-have for any shop. They're amazing.
Wooooow I loved it!!! Gonna make some really nice necklaces and bracelets with this awesome material, the colors are amazing, thank you guys
Awesome! Glad you found it helpful!
You guys are clever, fun and explain your project clearly! I subscribed to see what else you come up with!
Thanks! New video coming up on saturday! ☺️👍🏼
Thank you for that video - this is one of the coolest things I have seen lately. I can't wait to try it!!!
Awesome! Thanks for the support!
Brilliant work, guys. Great video and I live that you shared the entire discovery process, not just the successes. 👌
Thanks!
When u show the mistakes we all learn from them
Nice! You have some great tips in there and you made it seem very accessible! I might have to start saving those lids more deliberately...
Yes! You should! Thanks Sharon 🤙🏽
Amazing work! You can create a lot of things with this process. Accessories like pendant, bracelets from tubular shape, decor like vase or gift box, foodware like cup, plate, etc.
Yes the possibilities are endless!
Thank you; for the great information; for the awesome "failure is no big deal ..."; for caring and finding a very creative way to live with and reuse our waste products; for being totally charismatic and pleasant to watch. Well done. Just subscribed after two vids and I am super picky about subscriptions.
That’s great! Thank you for your support. We’re so glad you found it helpful
Super awesome fellas! Love your guys' attitude through the process too. Thank you for making this video :)
Things I never thought I'd actually say out loud: "Huh, I wonder where I can buy a used panini press."
Thrift store! There’s always a few👍🏼
This is a great project to do with my kids!
For sure! Just make sure they all have safety protection 👍🏼👍🏼
Oh dang, another art to make ! Looks like fun !
The first time on your channel and you guys are the best!!!
It’s like plastic Damascus. Nice one guy’s
We love the marble effect! Thanks!
wow, such a cool project - thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
Well explained even a smart toddler will understand thanks for the effort
JOLLY GOOD SHOW CHAPS. YOU'VE GIVEN ME A DOZEN GOOD IDEAS ALREADY.
6:22
Heat the blank, then, wearing gloves, squeeze the blank to fit around.
I use this method for kitchen knife handles and, just before it cools down fully, squeeze with my bare hand to have a custom fit.
Similar to polymorph in that sense I guess. Only issue with that is that I find it’s more comfortable to have a more generic shape handle on knives for different types of grips
What the hell!!!you re genius.big salute from algeria.keep going
Thank you! Haha 🎓
Thanks for the video brothers. Excited to give this a go soon. Lots of things to be manufactured out of this material l.
Genius idea, nice work!
Here in Brazil there were a lot of pens like that selling on street, Chinese knockoff in general. But your technique is awesome and seems to be stronger.
Thanks!
Nice tip with the undersize holes! I started making pens just before MC19 this year and have also been faffing about with HDPE2 but after 2 failed pen attempts due to the stuffs ability to resist bonding to anything, I'd kind of junked the idea. Think i may revisit it now though.😁👍 I have made some much bigger blanks though(8 inch round and 3 inch approx deep!) using an old stainless saucepan in the mini-oven with an MDF plunger pressed with clamps...and I agree, it's fantastic for turning. Great video again lads.👍😁
That’s awesome dude! Funnily enough I was writing something with the pen you gave us at MC just yesterday! Would be awesome if you gave it another go - that big blank sounds awesome!
Very worthy material with small amount of useless chit chat. Cool. Thanks for uploadin good stuff. All best!
Thanks!
The smell of burning plastic actually reminds me of my childhood
Because of school
We had a workshop class in 5th grade where we heated up plastic to form it
YES IVE BEEN WAITING FOR A VIDEO LIKE THIS FINALLY
Great, and very beautiful. Masterpiece.
Thank you!
I like ur all videos because I am a nature activist we also collect plastic one day I see Ur video then we start to recycle plastic to pens , pots , wall decor items , pencil boxes etc thanks for these information A big great awesome appreciate from INDIA 😀
I can't do any of this, but I still love watching.
These great idea for recycling these plastics it something useful and beautiful, great job guys 👍
Thanks!
Awesome! I wish I had the tools to do this!
After watching your videos, I've decided to try recycling plastic into a browline eyeglasses frame. I've gathered about 10-15 (not sure) bottle caps(of the same color) and melted it into a thick sheet. At first I've tried melting the plastic at a toaster(not sure if that's the actual name of that thing) but it didn't work so properly. Then I switched to using a hot iron to melt it (it worked, but still not enought to what I needed to work with), then I finally switched to using the oven. I've soaked a paper sheet with kitchen oil (it seemed to work just fine, it didn't stick into the paper at all) and used an aluminium plate to put it in the oven. Then I've straighten the plastic sheet with another aluminium plate, and after cooling just enough to not burn my hands, I used my hands to cool it a bit (since I felt like it would be a bad idea to instantly cool the plastic putting it into cold water) and started working with it after. I didn't finish it, since I started doing like, yesterday, but until now, it looks perfect. I've successfully cut the first half of the frame and it looks so good (I'm feeling so proud of myself haha). I'll be trying to cut the rest and see if it turns out okay. I'll drop more updates later. À bientôt 😉
Those pretty cool pens!! Thanks for sharing your video with us
Thank you!
This is the best how to HDPE video on UA-cam. We'll done lads.
🖤🖤🖤
Parabéns pelo belo trabalho! 👏👏👏
Love those pens. Beautiful job! ❤
I’m so happy you guys are doing this💖💖💖
Great video tutorial guys!!!
Next one might be: "how to make a frisbee for your dog". I'd love to see it. Thanks.
Haha cool idea! Thanks