Welding Plastic? Let’s Try

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you for watching! If you have any questions about our setup or process then check out our FAQ in the description! Also - if you have any ideas or suggestions on what we can plastic weld next then comment below. We’d love to hear them!

[@amandasnider2644]

Dear bros; Can you experiment with making perfectly straight stripes? I've been trying for a while and it keeps ending up wonky. It'd be really cool if you figured out how to make precise patterns too like checkers or dots. Also, have you guys considered making jewellery/ornaments/keychains? I'm a jeweler and jewellery maker and after watching your videos I've been trying to make jewellery out of my homemade HDPE sheets. Hand sawing it with a jewelers saw Is just too tedious and time consuming so I did research into more effective methods that could cut down on time. I came up with using leather cutting steel dies (but only on thin sheets). It cuts down on sanding down the edges after sawing or cutting and is much cleaner. However it's not perfect because I don't have a die cutting press and the edges still need a little sanding before wear. I've hand sanded but it still is very time consuming to get the desired result compared to metal especially since I can't use my flex shaft because it can accidentally cause damage too quickly. I'm now considering sanding each piece to as close to a final result as I can and then I might experiment placing the pieces in my rock tumbler (in the extra fine grit barrel) with the final grits and polishes and hope that does the trick. I still have not managed to sand them enough (including wet sanding) to get them as shiny as I'd like. However... I was wondering if you guys would be willing to test this out for me as quite a few of my pieces have fine detail and I've spent hours hand sanding them and I'm afraid I'll ruin them... Also, I've been making a list of all product bottles and objects I've discovered that are HDPE. I'm just not sure where that list went at the moment... I will say that the majority of my plastic has come from shampoo and conditioner bottles and laundry detergent and softener bottles. Oh! And I've accidentally discovered that if you leave some sharpie on the plastic and bake it...the colour will bleed into the plastic! (Especially more translucent white plastic... for example: a drywall mudding bucket) I've been experimenting with creating patterns and ombres. I've discovered these colours work: . Standard black sharpie . Dark royal blue (though it won't fully bleed through) . Dark purple (bleeds as fuchsia) . Fuchsia . Red (becomes a pinkish red) . Yellowy green I haven't found much purple or pink plastic so I've been making my own! Note: after baking in the colours you must remove the sharpie film or the plastic won't weld.

[@eugenetswong]

@@amandasnider2644 1) Congratulations on your jewelry success so far! 2) Patterns would be awesome! 3) Regarding your list, if I gave you a name brand for a milk bottle cap, then would you be able to confirm with proper research that that specific brand cap is HDPE? 4) How do you know that the ink is safe at that temperature? 5) Speaking of ink, maybe coloured ink could be used to create those patterns that you want. Draw even lines, and then heat? Please, oh please, let me know the results, if you try this.

[@eugenetswong]

@@amandasnider2644 regarding fuchsia, I think that our milk bottle caps are that colour. [edit: why don't you test out your sanding and polishing technique using scrap HDPE?]

[@amandasnider2644]

@@eugenetswong well that explains one reason why I don't have many colour options... I don't drink dairy. Lol As for "ink" I don't know what sharpies have but I don't think regular ink would work because it's more water based and likely would only pool on top of the plastic. As for determining what kind of plastic is appropriate, I don't take chances unless it's clearly labeled.

[@shubhamkapur1333]

use box mould to directly make a box Watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6TLhH-sgbSmpbM

[@Edsbar]

I like the last line "Thanks for sticking with us". I love the upcycling you two do, very inspiring.

[@BrothersMake]

We appreciate everyone that has! Also - no pun intended! 😂 thanks for the comment!

[@timothywewege6651]

Finally I found the GREATEST and BEST plastic recycling channel,i am seriously inspired to start plastic recycling,thanks guys

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you so much!!

[@rrhodes75rr]

They don't offer any recycling program in my area. Thanks to you guys I can now make reusable items.🤗 Thank you so much

[@maryhairy1]

The box is my favourite colour, predominantly purple. Great job💜!

[@Shigoos]

i started collecting hp plastic from my school and house and started in small projects with the tolls i had thanks to you guys. 💜💜💜 (my english is bad sorry😭💔)

[@BrothersMake]

Your English is good! Well done for getting started collecting!!

[@pyronuggets]

Your English is fine. You have only misspelled the word tools

[@mariamz4541]

your name seems like you are from an Arab country, is that true? where are you based? which country? my name is Mariam, I would love to know if in case we are from the same country, I would definitely support your small projects !

[@censusgary]

Watching you guys together, I miss my brother tremendously (he died seven moths ago). Love your brothers while you have each other. A good sibling is a great blessing.

[@BrothersMake]

So sorry to hear this Gary. We certainly try not to take for granted the time we have together. Wishing you well 👍🏽

[@allisavercool227]

Mmmmmmmm ace colors, very good

[@r1mein54]

Glad to see a process of 'gluing back together'. So far I have made a garden spade handle and a lever knob on a machine with internal metal M11 threads. Getting in a lot of practice turning my metal mold blanks on a 9 inch hobby metal lathe.

[@BrothersMake]

That’s awesome to hear! Well done

[@nerapsnart]

Instead of melting the actual pieces which would change their size by sometimes quite a bit, score the pieces you're going to 'weld' together - this is ALWAYS done in pottery. Then keep a small can or glass bowl of the same type of plastic heated on a hot plate for instance to the 'just' melting point or a little hotter and use a toothpick or some type of applicator to spread it quickly like 'slip' or glue and then press it.

[@mariamanya5142]

We need someone in North America like you to do these projects. With all the machines and knowledge to work them. 😊

[@CaamMartz]

It would be awesome if you can try to do sunglasses frames, jewelry, desk organizers.

[@BrothersMake]

Sunglasses are on our list!

[@wanderingmoon9772]

Desk orgaizer is a great idea. How about an in out mailbox. Make it a matching color set of purple marble.

[@craigr13666]

Just for fun, I taught myself to plastic weld with sunlight and a magnifying glass. It's pretty fun to mess with if you have the patience. It can go pretty quickly on a clear day. Make sure to wear eye protection, sunglasse or light gas welding lenses in goggles. I made welding rod by heating up a piece of scrap and stretched it into about 1/16" - 1/8" rods.

[@aviatordave1]

When I was a kid several decades ago, I had a toy set called a spin welder. It had little black plastic girders that I could weld together using a little battery powered gun that basically had a motor that spun a tip that you used to create friction. When applied to the girders, you could melt the material between two adjacent girders and they would fuse together and cool down into an incredibly strong joint. It wasn’t the cleanest looking weld but it sure worked. I wonder if you could do something similar with HDPE? Following my childhood roots, I’ve learned how to weld metal as an adult. I wonder if an intense heat source could be applied to two pieces of HDPE that are next to each other to create a puddle of molten plastic while a thin stick HDPE could be melted into the same joint that is being formed from the puddle. This is how TIG welding works with metal. I’d wager that it would work with plastic. The heat source would simply have to be something other than the electric arc used by a metal arc welder. Some kind of really focused heat gun maybe? There is a company here in the U.S. called Harbor Freight that makes a plastic welding system similar to what I described that might work as an off the shelf system. Just search “Plastic Welder” on their web site. Food for thought. Here’s a link: www.harborfreight.com/search?q=plastic%20welder I think what you guys are doing is fantastic!

[@eriknau1]

Made my first small box to enclose an electronics project using your welding techniques! It takes practice but I can see this being a great approach and alternative to the 3D printing I'm always doing.

[@BrothersMake]

That’s awesome! Glad to hear the video helped :)

[@lilithruby5548]

Parabéns!! É lindo o trabalho de vocês! Aqui no Brasil precisamos de pessoas como vocês, material é que não iria faltar! Parabéns !! Reciclagem boa é aquela que não parece reciclagem e vocês deram um show! Ganharam mais uma seguidora!

[@AbrahamMani-sy7lx]

Path breakers , Greatest best recycling channel , loads of ideas , very interesting content , people really want to watch , please invent how to blow mould in home with waste plastic especially very big storage jars and how to make it airtight so everything inside will stay fine , thankyou

[@austinwattler5226]

That’s so cool and the color too 😮!!!

[@nicischmidt7572]

Watching you lads cleaning up the edges and such is SOOOOOO satisfying. I'd've lost a finger, I 'magine, but it's been ages since I was in a shop. Thank you for making this amazing content.

[@BrothersMake]

Haha I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for such an awesome comment 🤙🏼🤙🏼

[@firearmssanctuary2448]

worked in a dodge factory for a short time back in the early 2000's and plastic welding was rather common there. those tanks to hold the windshield washer fluid for example are 2 haves that get pressed up against a plate of steel that is kept super hot then lowered down and pressed together by a machine just required one of us hooomans to put the parts in and hit the go button.

[@BrothersMake]

Oh cool process! This is kind of like that on a smaller scale I guess

[@firearmssanctuary2448]

@@BrothersMake wish i had a workshop and tools to try and make stuff currently all i can do is melt the stuff into sort of blanks to take up less space. got quite a bit i use those disposable foil baking trays and just recycle them after plastic cools and toss the rough blanks into a bucket. perhaps someday when i get a house again apartment city life is no fun lol.

[@backalleyent8755]

So what's up with the dashboards on the 2000 year model dodge rams

[@firearmssanctuary2448]

@@backalleyent8755 don't know ask Dodge lol. i only worked at a factory that made products that went under the hood ;) and that was a long time ago.

[@chandlerplusbass]

holy shit. You accomplished what I thought couldn't be done. Made a few videos experimenting with HDPE and could not manage this. AMAZING WORK GUYS

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks!

[@ayushijaiswal9792]

Wow you guys are amazing. Hope we all, together can save our planet. Love from India🇮🇳

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks for watching!

[@kanakendukarmakar6816]

Different from everyone. Very unique and simple idea. Products looks great. Thanks...

[@jonglewongle3438]

Some of those shopping bags are the same material as the plastic milk bottles. Some but by no means all. Those which are are the exact same thing, that being HDPE. I picked up such a bag off the street the other day and I used it to carry my cigars home in. It says HDPE on it, and if it says HDPE then it could go in with the HDPE milk bottles. It necessarily could. Such a bag needs to be of a particular constituency from among all plastic shopping bags.

[@markb4919]

Great video. Love it when you talk us through. Stay safe!!!

[@BrothersMake]

We’re happy to be back doing stuff to camera again!

[@parkashland]

Think Energy Efficiency: Heat only the surfaces to be joined in 1 of 2 ways: 1. Position both parts together and run a high speed friction disk between them to heat and join. 2. Position both parts together under pressure and run an electric hot knife between them to fuse them before any cooling can occur. And thanks for sharing!

[@BrothersMake]

Interesting ideas! OR - you could just melt the edges on a £3 charity shop sandwich press :)

[@haleywhitehall7942]

I love the box. I never would have considered welding. So cool it worked. I'd love to see a picture frame. I'm really big into art.

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks Haley! We've actually had picture frames on our list for a long time 🙌

[@Engineer4Free]

You guys are cool

[@BrothersMake]

Haha thanks!

[@ag-fn7ze]

No you're really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really x90000000000000000000009999 cool

[@jiteshbuch3396]

Wow beautiful. Thats a great idea to turn waste into some useful things.

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks!

[@rainrichards8068]

Love you guys loads. The Creativity is top-notch

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you Alicia!

[@BlackCat_2]

Sorry to have to say it but I am glad your other project was put on hold. :P I love all your HDPE videos and it is why I initially subscribed. ;) I also love making boxes so this one really ticked all my boxes... *grin* Thanks for sharing the video and that box is super lovely!! Love the color mix. - Heidi

[@BrothersMake]

Haha thanks! Hope you’ll like the other project when it comes out. It’s a pretty fun one! Should be out next month. Thanks for the comment 🤙🏽🤙🏽

[@saranrajn9332]

Hey dude how're you doing today i love ur projects make wrist watch with chain link plastic

[@SitioLumbia]

You can do a box joint or a dovetail joint before heating so it will be more stiffer. A very nice box btw.

[@BrothersMake]

We did think this, but was concerned it would take too long to connect it all together after the plastic turns soft. May be tricky to do in the narrow window of heat. But worth a try!

[@rman8028]

Dovetailed HDPE would look awesome, and you could use the heat gun to fuse the jointery together!

[@rogeriarodrigues717]

Hi, Brothers! I'm brasilian. I love your pieces! Congratulations!

[@xasia_]

so inspiring! now i can make sandwhiches AND waste less plastic. Thank you guys very much ( y)

[@BrothersMake]

👍🏽👍🏽

[@leeravenscroft2732]

You guys blow my mind! I have so many lids I want to try things with.

[@OvelNick]

HDPE has been welded for quite a while now. Specific setups for HDPE and the welding you plan to do. Eg; Long thick runs, short runs, angled runs, etc...extruders, soldier type tips, etc... On and on. Keep it up guys! Love the content! Soooo many applications for HDPE. Plus, it sits in the landfills for centuries so recycling key! The biggest problem, for me anyways, of tackling a new skill is the unknown. You guys are showing just how easy it is! Shared and liked!

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you Nick!

[@jeffcarr392]

Looking forward to this!

[@katherinebryden-wolke8210]

You guys are absolutely brilliant I love it

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks so much, Katherine!

[@malnorman5738]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Fantastic videos guys 😊

[@AgadirSurfcoach]

Good 👍 job Brothers we learned to much with you ♥️

[@perstaffanlundgren]

Buy a plastic weld gun or a extruder weld nossel for your heat gun, you can make your own extruder weld rodds with the same color as your plates. The technique you use with the contact grill can be described as mirror welding, widely used for welding hd-pe and pp pipes lengths together .

[@FinallyMe78]

I have used a plastic welder with hdpe many times. Works great.

[@qjlet9256]

Speaking about plastic weld gun/extruder I was wondering about the high cost of an industrial extruder plastic welder, wich is made of a drill and a hot air gun combined...

[@sandrasolaligue-perez3606]

You two are so creative! You are amazing! 💜💜💜

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you!

[@ribashishanongkhlaw6541]

Wow!! I love your creation...

[@shermanlab9477]

Beautiful creation, congratulations guys. I will continue to follow you, go on like this. SL

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you!

[@BaefullWolf]

Found you guys through a facebook ad from DIY & Crafts. They have you video on their page but from what I can see it's been edited very differently

[@BrothersMake]

Yes they have permission. Thanks for the heads up!

[@BaefullWolf]

@@BrothersMake ok, i've seen some where the creator didn't know. So I always like to let them know how I find them

[@MatthewsInnovations]

Not sure if somebody mentioned this, but I did an experiment before and used a box knife to barely scribe my piece to be 'cut' and tried to break my piece that I needed on the edge of my work bench rather than saw cut. It worked quite well! Later I was machining a block of HDPE with a square end mill and four separate 'tangs' were left. Since I had an extra I decided to push on the tab because of the sharp corner (thinking of my light box knife scribe in the past) and sure enough it snapped rather easily. So, what makes the the pieces stay together a lot better is leaving a smooth radius in the corner. I'm guessing this would help when doing this process in the video too rather than cleaning up the inside corners with a razor making them sharp.

[@mariamanya5142]

Beautiful design and colour 😊💞🎉 thx

Hello my friend. Good idea. I like this box. good job. congratulations. Thank you for sharing. See you. big greetings.

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you!

@@BrothersMake 👏👏👏

[@bigrenegade7121]

One of the methods for "gluing" plastic together is to use solvent and a sonic welder. This I know as I worked in plastics for about 7 years and one of the things we made were plastic casings for an industrial vacuum system for Hoover. Solvent would be applied around the edges of the main case and then the cover clamped in place and then placed under a sonic welder briefly.

[@wendymarie5058]

You guys at brilliant!! Love watching these videos. So creative!!!

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks Wendy!

[@DesignandMake]

Very cool! Love the end result great colour combination!

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks!

[@professionalguy9346]

Hey look it’s my future houseboat 👍🏽

[@ALI-fj1xf]

Really i like your works ! And also i like your voices specially the man with bigger face because i don't know your names ! Love from IRAQ 🇮🇶

[@cherieadamsdodd7044]

OMGosh this is awesome

[@kellycarver2500]

I had a hundred plus gallon plastic water tank with a dinner plate sized HOLE in it that I wanted fixed. I got an extra sheet of the plastic and cut out the round to fill the hole, then used my wood burning tool to melt strips of plastic in and around all the edges I wanted joined. It came out GREAT. So yes, plastic CAN be welded this way, and even if you don't have a special tool, just heat up a screwdriver tip in a fire!

[@sauravghosh1588]

You guys are make a good product with recycle waste

[@2ndmoon]

I feel like ever since you guys sealed the thicknesser or whatever its called with tape for the waste to be directed into the bottle more of it is coming out of other corners. it probably helps to make some holes in the bottle or something so it can perform as a vacuum also the things you guys are making are literally pieces of art! like they're so pretty I'd literally frame and hang them on the wall as modern art

[@BrothersMake]

Yeah that’s probably not a bad idea. The dust port is never 100% effective on these machines. We make sure to pick up all the small pieces that don’t go into the bottle. Thank you so much!

[@wolverene84]

That was awesome!!!

[@BubbleChumpkins]

idk if someone else has mentioned it already but there's this thing in the 3d printing community called friction welding. Which is where you take a dremel and use a piece of excess filament as a bit. Since this piece of filament is spinning at such a high speed it and the piece it is touching (if made of the same material) melt on contact. This method works specifically well with PLA plastic, I printed a helmet for a costume and welded the pieces together by doing this. I wonder if you could do the same with HDPE due to its low melting point, especially if you were to extrude wires of HDPE at a similar width to 3d printer filament. For heavier duty plastic like ABS I like to take a soldering iron and make a jagged pattern across the seam line (think like the look of saw teeth) and that seems to hold together really well.

[@tasmanmcmillan1777]

You’re not wrong with the concept, it will work, but won’t be strong. The correct way to weld HDPE is to heat to its fusion temp with the correct amount of pressure at each interval, then as fast as possible push together and hold for a certain amount of time before letting go and allowing full cool down. Quite different to other techniques for plastic welding. Source - I’m trained and licensed on ISO21307 hdpe butt fusion.

[@ahamedilyas2450]

I loved every video

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you so much!

[@markjeffery7322]

Hi Guys yet another great project, yet to see the blue HDPE I gave you being used for something cool.

[@BrothersMake]

All in good time my friend!

[@marthadueck6461]

love your work and your personalities. Keep up the great job you are doing and presenting to the public. I have my husband interested in the pens because he collects pens. M from Canada. Since we are also in lock down this is a good time to play around with different ideas and we love to recycle.

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks! Definitely fun to play around and experiment

[@Mrdubomb]

You could do dovetails and melt them together with the heat gun. That would make an insane looking kitchen countertop.

[@BrothersMake]

Nice idea. And it really would! We want to use it to tile our kitchen next 👌🏼

[@stellabelikiewicz1523]

I would love to see some sort of welded polyhedron, like a Buckyball! Maybe with cutouts in the faces so you could see all the way through it...

[@beau4170]

I would say that this is heat bonding ( if that's the correct expression). Have you tried the heat welding tools the the "vinyl " floor layers use to weld seams. This may give you more flexibility. Good watching - thank you

[@ohlacoquette]

Magnifique 🤩 bravo 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@livyd.gabriel929]

You may want to try cutting out notches on each side of the plastic you are going to weld. You could also try to inbed peices of wood or plastic dow rods into the corners for a stronger joint. I would love to see you give it a shot. Thanks for the vids.

[@sinichkina_m]

Such an inspiration!

[@rosedaddona4262]

Make some super sturdy plastic Adirondack chairs for really, really heavy short people like me..

[@Judiland]

No one gets a joke better than your sibling.🤗

[@BrothersMake]

Haha! Too true!

[@reeljourney]

I actually found this video trying to see if anyone has done this for boxes on kayak trailers. But an idea more people might be interested in seeing done is a truck tool box.

[@buildnotbombs1301]

The frame for sunglasses would be kinda cool

[@BrothersMake]

Very cool!

[@shirleycarter2451]

Love this and the colours are brilliant. Xxx

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks Shirley!

[@nicke1370]

Don't expect you guys to notice a comment this late on. you're probably all over it now but 45's in the corners might be ever so slightly stronger as there's more contact area? Just made my first block of hdpe today from motivation I got from you guys. Turned out terribly, but really keen on keeping on. Thanks lads

[@rabiaa4443]

I would definitely buy one off these

[@Teacher-Emz]

I really love the idea. New fan here

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@Manuel_Z_Kayaks]

I do a lot of kayak repairs. Different brands have different priorities. I'll heat the surface and touch it with different Plastics till one of them bonds. I'll fill the gap/hole with that plastic. Cool it & test for leaks Then I'll melt aluminum mesh (window screen cut in oval shapes) with the flat end of a wood burning tool into the plastic covering the patched area. Then I'll heat the surface and coat it again with more plastic. The edges don't always look too great but the mesh really bonds the 2 surfaces.

[@Manuel_Z_Kayaks]

By the way. I use a rubber roller on the hot surfs to smooth the finish. If the surface is textured I'll just press a piece of plastic with the same texture onto the hot surface to make it match (kind of)

[@WaschyNumber1]

Nice video 👍 Ther are glues on the market that can glue hdpe and other plastics. For example TENSOL 12 BONDING Adhesive.

[@bcreason]

Have you tried spin welding? You put a piece of plastic rod in a Dremel and the heat of friction melts the workpiece and rod together. It’s a strong joint as the spinning also mixes the melted plastic rod and workpiece.

[@aprildegele1510]

As a woodworker, my suggestion would be to use a half-lap joint for more bonding surface area. That likely wouldn't work well in the panini press, but would work pretty well with a heat gun I should think. Would be pretty difficult to melt a dado joint with the way the plastic deforms when hot, yes?

[@msmelpersonality7]

Welp now I know what I’m making everyone for Christmas and or birthdays

[@BrothersMake]

Awesome!

[@TheKwinkyist]

An adjustable soldering iron work well for plastic welding, put a bevel on you edges and some filler, and weld away

[@BrothersMake]

Sounds like it could work well!

[@kendarr]

i think the best method in this case of a box is to make a dove joint like you would in wood working (hehe), and then with a heatgun melt the joint tight, that way you have mechanical and chemical power.

[@MattnUska]

You guys made a bottle cap coffin out of the bones of melted bottle caps.

[@BrothersMake]

Haha EXACTLY

[@АлексейШестоперов-г8о]

You are very good. I am from Russia

[@oliverb104]

love what you guys are doing, keep up the great work.

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks!

Que caja más bonita!!💜 Buen trabajo!

[@Rob.P]

Hi Brothers, great video. Interesting and fun to watch 🙂👍

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you!

[@wyattnixonlloyd8570]

love how much you do with recycling plastic!

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks!

[@flippalink]

Great Channel btw

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks! 😊

[@bentebrunsvelt319]

Verry good 👍👍👍 Greats from Holland

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks!

[@jb2839]

Love it

[@monikasaringer1152]

You could try using a soldering iron, they also come with different tips you could use, it comes in handy using zip ties to fix or join other plastics together

[@tishsmiddy71]

Thank you 😊

[@BrothersMake]

You’re welcome!

[@CLIQUEIPTV]

A recycled infinity mirror would be a great project, i am thinking of trying a 7 foot high x 4 foot wide one using your techniques.

[@shanestorm8805]

would love to see you guys do a flower pot design! Great video!

[@shanestorm8805]

flower/plant pot

[@BrothersMake]

We’ve got one coming up!

[@shanestorm8805]

Brothers Make awesome! Glad I subscribed! :)

[@leoperkins]

As the HDPE works like timber in theory you could use Japanese carpentry techniques to make joins, this would cut down the need for screws as well. Anyway great video.

[@BrothersMake]

That's a great idea!

[@cho4d]

Idea for joining technique: temporarily glue with CA glue (maybe roughing up the parts to help?) then drill holes for "dowel" joinery: get a metal rod hot to melt the hole from the inside, heat a plastic dowel up, then squish it in good and propper. i think a few well melted dowels could provide greater strength than the larger semi melted joint. plus it seems like it'd be less fiddly to do complex joinery. edit: on further consideration: scrap the plastic dowel and just screw the pieces together with hot wood screws after piloting and countersinking. then while the screw is still hot and the hole melty finish it off with more melted plastic to fill the countersink. that's gotta be better.

[@knightyyz]

I've repaired plastics that don't like glue with a soldering iron and some spare material to use as a filler.

[@obinnii8219]

Drawers would be kewl I wonder if they can support all the stuff involved with it

[@BrothersMake]

Yes most likely!