i did a search on TGO and the internet but couldnt find anything on plexi-glass fabrication. i want to build a amp rack and have half of my speaker box plexi-glass... i know i atleast need 3/4" but i need some info and how-to on cutting, drilling, maybe sanding the corners and what to use to seal it??? thanks, i need all the input i can get....

 

never handled plexigalss in cutting and crap but you'll prolly need a fine toothe rotor blade and a nice drill bit. im pretty sure you could use most regualr sealants to seal it

 

the best thing to cut it with is a bandsaw with a fine tooth blade if you cant get that ,use a jigsaw with a plastic/metal cutting blade when you buy the blade ask someone to help to make sure it the right one(the reason the bansaw is the best is cuz the blade douse not heat up as much. they sell a plastic weild stuff that you just mix two diff tubs and they bond, i gess if i did not do that i would try a strong glue to bond and a clear silicone in the inside of box on the seams

 

the box will 3/4" mdf , so will the plexi-glass screw into the wood with out cracking if i use the right sized screws????

 

sorry, what i meant to say is that the box would be mdf but the face of the box that holds the spkrs will be plexiglass.

 

predrill all of the holes... i think esp. with plexiglass

 

u mean pre-drill with a smaller bit? is there anything i can put in the holes to help hold the screws in place????

 

yea a smaller bit will get teh screws to bite but not break teh material

 

what can i use to re-inforce the spkrs??? thier gonna be 500w each so i dont want the glass to crack...... what kind of brace can i make up to put on the insde of the box that wont be seen???

 

use a plexiglass divider you'll see it but not as much... if you want a really custom look put neons and paint a mural in the box... heh

 

I use a fine tooth carbide blade on my table saw for cutting 3/4" plexi. To get a clean cut, it is necessary to keep the blade all the way up, which is very dangerous, so understand now that if you cut your arm off, it's not my fault. Anyway, it takes a lot of force to push the plexi through the saw, and that combined with having a saw sticking up 6" is obvously very dangerous. But... this was the only way that I was able to make clean cuts without leaving all kinds of melted slag on the piece.

Anyway, you can use a router on plexi, but again, you need to use carbided tipped blades, and you're going to need to experiment with depth of cut, bit speed and pushing speed to find a combo that gives clean cuts with no plugging or slag. I found that medium speed, and taking no more than 1/8" to 1/4" at a time worked best and left me with somewhat clean cuts.

THen you can sand the edges to smooth them, and if you heat them with a torch it'll bring back the gloss.

If you're just making plexi panels, drill the screw holes larger than the screw size, and use washers on the screws. Don't overtighten. If you're assembling an entire plexi box, then I would suggest getting machine screws, and tapping the receiving end of the plexi so that you have a perfect union. Trying to sink a drywall screw into plexi isn't going to work.

Whatever you do, buy extra and PRACTICE every single step, because you will screw up until you get the hang of it.

Here is a link to my sounddomain page for the stereo that I put into my girlfriend's car. It'll give you some more plexi information and ideas:

http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/700618/2

 

u did exactly what im trying to do! i already have the led schematic down, but that info and and link will be very helpful.... where did u get the carpet, vinlyn and glue??? thanks alot everyone!

 

hey jim, why did u paint the glass black? but at the end its clear again??? am i missing something??? thanks

 

wow that box is freaking awsome:hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail:

 

wow jim nice box how much time did you put into that?

now on the plexi idea every try lexan? you can get it thicker and its not as brittle. just a thought.

jeff

 

ive used lexan for RC car bodys.. i dont know how stiff it is when it gets to be 3/4" but i think plexiglass is thicker

 

At home depot I saw a plexicutter. Its just like a glass cutter, you score the material several times and then snap it off. Dunno how well it works.

 

Will: I bought the vinyl from a local "Dr. Vinyl". I bought the most elastic stuff that I could find in the color I wanted, because I also intend to vinyl over some formed fiberglass that I didn't build yet. The good elasticity was also necessary for doing the plexi window openings.

Will, if you look closely, you'll see in the pics that I taped over the plexi to protect it. After I routed it and drilled the holes, I painted the edges black so that you don't see a raw edge, or see the edges of the vinyl through the plexi.

JeffW: I put way more time than I should have into it. I started it in August and finally after working on it every weekend and some nights, I took a week off in November and worked on it for 7 days straight. Of course, that's while also doing a million other things and having a million distractions. I also had to learn as I went for a lot of stuff, and that always makes things take much longer.

Jeff, I haven't worked a lot with lexan. Most of the lexan that I've worked with is a tad cloudy compared to acrylic (plexi).

Justin, those cutters work great for real thin crap, like 1/8" or thinner. For thicker stuff, you need to cut it with a saw. Band saws cut it well, but they don't exactly leave straight cuts. Table saws work well with the right blade, but because you need to leave the blade up, it's dangerous.

 

I've used it for up to 1/4 inch plexiglas, but it's a pain. "Several" times turns into a few hundred times. I'd lay the plexiglass down and use a metal square (the L-shaped type, but I guess T-shaped would work too) to run the cutter down. If ya can, try to use c-clamps to hold the plexiglass to the workbench - but of course put the clamps on the side that you're going to remove so you don't scratch/crack the plexiglass. 3/4 inch plexiglass would take forever with that tool... it'd be a real clean cut, but, wow.

Plus, wear gloves, because when the blade slips outta the groove, it goes everywhere. Keep the metal square on the "good" side of the plexiglass so if the blade slips out, it won't put a deep scratch on your "good" side.

My local hardware store cuts plexiglass too; but I don't know if they ever handled 3/4" stuff.

 

Wow, sounds like a PITA. I've used a jig saw before, but the results were less then straight

 

Look closely at the picture where he painted it black, You can see masking tape over it. So he just peeled it off and it was clear.