Working with Acrylic/Plexiglass...?

gurusan · 2 Oct 2007 at 08:53

I'm going to make a sort of holder/case/shroud thing for a 120.2 radiator so that it will mount above my Antec 900 240mm fan.

I would like to use black plexiglass, I've found some online for a good price.

My questions are:

-How do I cut it? The sheet is 3mm thick and I was thinking of just using a stanley knife to make some cuts, then just snap it?

-How do I glue the parts together? Which glue should I use? I was thinking of just roughening up the edges a bit with some sandpaper and then using some sort of silicone adhesive? Which would you recommend?

Thanks.

Col_M · 2 Oct 2007 at 09:49

I've always used band saws for it then filed the edges afterwards. A jigsaw is probably an alternative in the home with a suitable blade.

With regards to prep for using adhesives it's always good to key the faces to be glued

Off the top of my head I can't remember suitable adhesives but a google search will bring something up if you use the terms adhesive, PMMA, polymethylmethacrylate. That should give you classes of adhesives that are suitable then just look for a brand name.
At a guess I'd say epoxy adhesive would do the trick but seach to make sure.

Dano · 2 Oct 2007 at 10:42

gurusan said:
-How do I cut it? The sheet is 3mm thick and I was thinking of just using a stanley knife to make some cuts, then just snap it?

Will work perfectly well, however it will not leave you with very clean edges unless you are lucky so if there are any edges to be visible you'll need some way of polishing it.

~>Dg<~ · 2 Oct 2007 at 10:50

finest blade you can get preferbly a band saw blade and you would need some kind of buffer like said to smooth it out after cutting.

jpmonkey69 · 2 Oct 2007 at 11:16

BE CAREFUL...

Tom0 · 2 Oct 2007 at 11:21

Snapping it doesnt sound like a good idea to me

i'd much prefer to use a power tool for cutting plastic

gurusan · 2 Oct 2007 at 12:49

I'd prefer not to buy a power tool...I'll probably go to Home base or something and see what kind of very fine toothed saws they have.

Thanks for the tips all.

Dano · 2 Oct 2007 at 12:55

Tom0 said:
Snapping it doesnt sound like a good idea to me i'd much prefer to use a power tool for cutting plastic

A single well made score line followed by a good sharp snap is the best way, you just need to make sure pressure is exerted to snap it in one piece which should be easy as it's for a small project. Using power tools can be a lesson in frustration and dangerous depending on the exact material used, some will melt and clog whatever tool you are using and others will just make a major amount of mess not to mention potentially hazardous fumes from when the stuff gets too hot. I was a picture framer for eighteen years and know how to cut the stuff