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Hey guys:

As I am getting to the end of my proton pack scratch build, it has become evident that the clear plastic tip of my proton thrower is going to want a bevel (aka chamfer) on its end. But since acrylic tubing scratches so easily, I can't just go rubbing it on some 80-grit sandpaper.

After a few hours of trial and error with some different attempts, I came up with this simple technique to get an evenly sanded bevel on the end of my tubing. I needed my drill, a funnel, a wood dowel, glue, and my sandpaper of choice.

The first thing I did was get a 1/4 sheet of 80-grit sandpaper, and draw a circle with a compass.

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Then, I cut it out, and made sure I had the center located.

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Next, I sliced out about a 1/16th wedge and test fit it in the funnel (picked up for next to nothing at an auto parts store). I marked the overlap with a pen.

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After that, I cut out the excess of the sandpaper along the lines I had traced.

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To glue my sandpaper cone to the inside of the funnel, I used spray adhesive. I would imagine superglue or epoxy work too, but it's important to make sure it is a thin coat with no bumps under the sandpaper.

I also jammed a wood dowel through the funnel, just wide enough to be a tight fit through the tip.

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The dowel serves as a rod for the drill to grip onto.

Now, all I had to do was hold the drill trigger in the "on" position, and slide the tube I wanted beveled over the dowel. Pressing gently and evenly into the funnel causes the bevel to be cut into the edges of the tube.

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Stopping frequently and blowing out the sandpaper with spray air helps.

As you can see, the bevel is even and angled nicely.

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I didn't go all the way to the edge, because this test piece of PVC is thicker than the clear tubing I'll be using, but you get the idea.

Enjoy!

Bill
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