control panel plexi glass

matrix22

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does anyone know where I can get plexi glass cut and use current control panel glass as an outline?
 
I usually just have it cut to size at Lowes or HD, but if you can avoid plexi, use something less brittle. I find plexi fine for marquees and monitor covers, but drilling holes in the stuff is an exercise in frustration.
 
I just did this on my Golden tee project.I took my original to Loews adn had them cut it to size then bought 1" round hole cutting drill attachment for the buttons .The plexi was $11.00 bucks and the hole cutting bit was $8.00.Just be patient and take your time .If you rush it you,ll crack the plexi .Wasnt as hard as I was expecting.Good luck I hope this helps.
 
If you rush it you,ll crack the plexi .Wasnt as hard as I was expecting.Good luck I hope this helps.

+1

I used to build protein skimmers for my fish tanks out of plexi... you have to go really slow when you drill it. Don't even let the weigh of the drill push it through, hold it back a little and go VERY slowly.

IF you do crack it, you can get some stuff called Weld-On... get the thinnest stuff you can find, it comes in different thicknesses. For a crack you can put a drop of the stuff at the start of the crack and it'll fill it in and rebond the plexi. If you do it right/get lucky... it'll come out looking like nothing ever happened.
 
For drilling the holes, I used a sharp scribe from a protractor to mark out where the holes should be from the old plexi, then used a ruler and measured 1/2" (or half of whatever) in 2 directions for each hole, resulting in an X and marked where to drill perfectly.

I used a drill press to drill out the holes, and what I did was to lower down the bit with the drill off, make sure it was lined up, press the bit into the plexi a little to make a little indentation, then fired up the drill and make the hole.

I did a full street fighter panel for a 25" Dynamo!
 
I have used several plexi panels, and I use spade bits in my drill, but drill backwards! It will basically melt through the panel and give a perfect hole with no worries on cracking it, I have also done this with a hole saw for a trackball and it works great. As far as getting the plexi cut to size, I called a local plastics guy, they cut plexi all day and stock it, it was much cheaper than lowes, HD and was excellent quality....also has the paper backing so you can pencil on it to get your drill holes. Just make sure you have it on the CP first so you can ensure perfect alignment with the CP and voila!
 
I've used holesaws, forstner bits and step drill bits. They all work but step drill bits have worked best IME. Step drill bits work on metal CPs as well.
 
What I have often done is screw or clamp the plexi to the CP with the buttons removed, then remove the drill bit from the hole saw and insert it into the CP holes from the back side to drill the plexi. No need to mark the holes that way. And yes, if you use a drill bit, always start in reverse, especially with any bit larger than 1/16 inch.
 
i've drilled hundreds of holes in plexi. buy a 1 1/8 hole saw and drill in reverse. as others have said it will melt thru instead of cutting. it will never crack doing it this way.
 
Try using Lexan instead of the plexiglass. It is a lot more expensive but the stuff is great to work with. You can use power tools to cut and drill it without any worries about cracking it.
 
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