DIY Frag Disks

[whatcaneyedo]

I tried making some small frag disks this time. For a mold I used a $9 plastic door mat from Canadian Tire with 1" holes which made over 200 disks at once. They dont have the little pegs in the bottom like the store bought ones do but I dont use egg crate anyways.

I used 4:1 sand to portland cement again and I noticed that the disks are a little more brittle. They are still relatively strong but I am able to snap them in half with my figures although it does take considerable effort. So for future reference 3:1 might be the way to go for these smaller types.

Underneath the mat I had an old sheet of glass because I was worried about the cement sticking down. Peeling everything up was pretty easy and then all I had to do was pop each disk out of the holes with my figures. Now like the other disks I need to cure these in fresh water for about 6 weeks before I can use them.

[cuz]

nice work!! little mass production!!

[zum14]

So how important do you think the media is for the disks? I dont really have any extra coral sand kicking around. I have lots of sand I use in my freshwater tanks but not sure if this will work. It doesnt change PH in the freshwater tanks but they also wouldnt look like coral sand pucks. Any thoughts?

[whatcaneyedo]

I don't think its critical. As long as what you're using is inert so that it wont leach anything harmful into your system it should be fine. However if you don't already have the sand I personally wouldn't bother. The larger disks on average probably take up a minute of my time altogether to make each... I've made hundreds which means I've spent hours creating them. A much faster thing to do which would cost about the same or maybe just a little bit more would be to buy some marble tile and cut it into small squares on a wet tile saw. Instantly you'll have little calcium carbonate frag mounts that only take seconds to make and don't need to cure for weeks. If you plan on getting into fragging a lot you'll want a tile saw anyways... Every other month Princess Auto has a great deal on one. When I run out of sand this is what I intend to do.

This is unrelated but I've been mostly using a 4:1 sand to cement mix and decided to stick with it. The disks are a little bit weaker at first but once they've cured a bit longer they are quite strong. I also try to only add as much water as I need. Using too much water so that the mixture is runny again reduces their strength.

[banditpowdercoat]

Ya I was thinking the tile route might be faster and easier in long run. Especially with not having the cure time

[zum14]

Where are you getting your marble tile? Only reason I ask is most of the marble tile ive seen is like $5 or $6 a tile. Couple tiles is enough to get a 50lb bag of playsand and a bag of concrete. I like the idea but just not sure theres is such a thing as cheap marble tile. Other thing im thinking is im not sure I want to drop any cash on a wet tile saw. I like the bandsaw you got, that seems to be the best way to frag by looking at things and I wouldnt be cutting tiles up with it.

[whatcaneyedo]

I guess it depends on what you have more of: time or money. You'll save money making your own disks but it is quite time consuming. I've been struggling to find permanent full time work for the last two years so my choice is obvious. I still have around 30-50lbs of sand that I intend on making into disks so I haven't price shopped or looked for any sales on marble tile yet.

I bought my wet tile saw for $60... my bandsaw cost $280 and I still use both the same amount.

[zum14]

Hmm, well i think im going to try the sand disks because my time is completely worthless to me. Thanks. Ill have to watch for one of those home depot 'blowout the last box of this ugly marble tile' sale.