Thank you Spec.

Will do when I hear back from the whole saler.

I would consider a sheet if I knew the ball park price.

Do any of you use the "Otter Sleds"? We use them,they come in many sizes and are very tough.

Scalloper I have a freind in SK who runs a line up there. He has had several Otter sleds some of the largest they make. Last time I was was there I walked out back and saw them all busted up, worn though, cracked up from the cold and hitting some thing.

Wow,we put the runner kits on them and they work great. But I am guessing that we may not use them as much or as hard but I have had mine for 3 years and its still in great shape.

Ok Guys...here is what my supplier told me today.

First he told me if any of you can get a cheaper quote to let him know...he will go back and requote that. I am just setting this up to help you and him out.

Second he said that UHMW is not resistant to ultra violet rays and that most likely a lot of your broken sled may be due to sun light damage causing it to be brittle.

Third he quoted prices for the UHMW and HDPE ( Star bright ) it is used on commercial fishing vessels due to the amount of sun light they experience. It is a bit softer but it last just as long.

Ok...what you have been waiting for...prices.

UHMW $

1/4" 4' x 10' 280.00
1/2" 4' x 10' 495.00
3/4" 4' x 10' 725.00

HDPE ( star bright )

1/4" 54" x 96" 160.00
3/4" ditto 345.00 half sheet either by length or width $ 210.00
1" ditto 410.00

Wow Thanks.
Is this price for 1 or a 100. Any volume discount?

Would be good to know more about the HDPE. With a good runner a guy might get along with it for that price.
Now what is the savings. How much is a sheet in Alaska.
One of the most important comments I found researching the difference is this.
The friction co-efficient is less, therefore it is slicker.
Enough for me.

Here is a good thread.
UHMWPE vs. HDPE: diff terms or diff product?
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/uhmwpe-vs-hdpe-diff-terms-diff-product-150907/

Example of the conversation
Peter S
Titanium
Join Date
May 2002
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Posts
3,599

There are different grades of UHMW, it makes quite a difference to performance and price. And colours seem to vary between manufacturers, for example Sal mentioned black as reprocessed, but it can be either reprocessed or virgin.

We used to get our UHMW from Roche, Germany. Here are the specs I have from a few years back:

-White/green was virgin, 4.5 million density.

Some manufacturers use green as the colour of their reprocessed grade.

-Black was either reprocessed (2.5 -4.5 million density) or '5000' Grade, 7 million density.

-Blue was the premium 'filled' quality, 10.5 million density.

Abrasion resistance and price increased with the density. The high grade was UV resistant (and not food grade, by the way).

As for HDPE, I haven't used it, but my catalogues list it alongside HMWPE and don't seem to differentiate between the two in their description. They describe both as high molecular weight PE and give the density as 500,000. It costs quite a bit less than UHMW, has a much lower coefficient of expansion, more like nylon 6 (one of the curses of UHMW is its radical expansion rate), doesn't rate for abrasion resistance (the great quality of UHMW). Impact strength good - but not as good as UHMW.
It is the industry standard for cutting boards.

I am going to start posting in this post resources for making the sled.

This is the best I have seen so far.

Pretty simple especially if you have access to a break.
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/23397

Some good photos on here also.
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/21399-Snowmachine-Utility-Sleds

See photos on the bottom.
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/album.php?albumid=1179

Post from the outdoor forum.
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/46075-UHMW-vs-HDPE-for-cheap-freight-sled-runners
Nitroman
Member

Join Date
Jan 2007
Location
Southwest Alaska
Posts
1,434

Much more UHMW varieties available. Some are super-slick as they've been heavily blended with molybdenum disulphide. Also, there are others with a super-high impact resistance used in the beds of giant off-road trucks. The standard stuff available for runners in-state is the low-end.

Do some google searches and you'll find some really exotic UHMW polyethylene formulations.

I will do some research. I may be heading down south this summer, and if I do, I have certain sizes that I want and will have made for me. I will be going with superslide and will even have some friends to some checking to see if they can find better deals on the 1/4"x4'x10' sheets. I know I am going to have one sheet 5' wide so I can make an atv/snowmachine retrieval sled.

Man I love this site, for just these last 3-4 posts!!!

Gregg did a pretty sweet write up on building...been in touch with him on the subject for the past couple of months now.

Noticed that the price of uhmw doubled?

I hadnt seen all those posts and after reading one of them tonight and listening to conversations about which is the 'most' uv resistent, I had heard blue, that post had black.....????

Well when you find your best price and let me know. I will let my buddy know and he will see what he can do. He would need to know who gave you the quote. I know he also told me custom sizes are available also so that 5' wide piece is possible.

Personally I think someone should try the HDPE. You might find it works as well or better .

BTW...if you like any of you can pm me and I can give you his number or email.

He is a fabricator and able to do just about anything with these materials. Welding, brake, cut, punch, and heat bend.

Another thing is we had our sleds heat bent at 90 degrees. We wanted to try the heat bend so we didn't lose the amount of UMHW in the bends and have higher sides. My sled has two years on it now and it has had no issues. It doesn't flex as much as the sleds that are bent with a brake, but having the higher sides is very nice.

Yes that price was for one.

I had no idea who would want in on the deal. So I just asked for a quote on one.

I'm wondering if a 6'X12' sheet is available?

He said special orders are possible.

I took the time to put together some prices and everyone stopped talking ??

You guys busy up there, think they are too high, not interested in lower states matterial ?

Just on the run and can't think right now. But thanks so much. Been in 4 different school districts in the last month. Got to be home and sleep in my bed for a wapping 8 hours last night and back to the trapline and tech work out west.
It is on my radar but too much going on right now. I would be interested in Anchorage prices for sure. Just how much is the savings? To me that is the big question. A phone call I don't have time to make right now. But appreciate your efforts.
Will devote my attention to things after Furs are shipped to Nafa. ;0)

I don't know if this pertains to your discussion but if you're looking for HDPE other than sheet stock, look to the oil and gas patch contractors, hazardous waste contractors, and/or their piping suppliers. Both should have pieces of different sizes of HDPE piping from which you can cut strips from 1/2" through 2" thick(pipe wall thickness). It's my material of choice for fleshing beams and I get it from those places. They may even have some sheet stock(1/2"-1") left from building and/or repairing sumps.

As a side note- HDPE is readily hot-air weldable at 550F and bendable at less. I have no experience with the other material mentioned in this thread.