so a friend of mine gave me a few sheets of plexi for me and i wanted to make a top piece for my madcats TE (kinda like the ones tek-innovations carry).
so i already cut the plexi to the exact size of my TE and now i have to create some holes for the buttons as well as the joystick. How would i go about on doing this? i’d prefer the easiest/cheapest way if possible. like what attachment am i suppose to use on my power drill and what size.
also how do i cut a square piece for the guide/turbo area?
oh and the plexi sheets my friend gave me are really thin.
For the turbo area, you will probably need the smallest forstner bit. I might try a1/4 inch for the 4 corners. The use a plexi glass cutting knife to score the long part and then a dremel cutting wheel for the short sides. i would then clean it up with a file or a razor blade.
i cut the holes with regular metal/wood drill bits on mine for the buttons and just dremeled mine the rest of the way. I find that it is easier if you take the metal template and lay it over the plexi glass and dril the screw holes first. then place screws there to hold it in place so that it wont slip while yo do the rest of the drilling. then use a a smaller drill to dril the hole in the button places.
Once you have the hole drilled use the dremel tool to sand the holes to the exact size. I found that this way is the most precise way of getting the holes to match the case unfortunately only after going through several peices of plexi. I held the glass to the metal and sanded the plexi until it touched.
i just used the dremel cut tool on the home/turbo button area because i found it tends to break if you drill the holes in the corners without being very careful. It takes an ass load of time to so dremel was my choice because it was just faster. i used a 7/8 paddle bit for the button holes and dremeled the rest. the 7/8 also works for the stick hole too but ived just just used dremel before too.(yes i abuse my dremel tool) good luck hope it helps
You don’t necessarily NEED forstner bits I’ve always used 30mm hole saws, which are a lot cheaper. If you clamp some scrap wood to the underside of where you’re drilling it should stop the plexi from cracking.
Home depot and lowes wont carry those bits. You should see if you have a woodcraft in your area, or ace hardware for the hole saw. I dont like hole saws because I’ve had trouble with the pilot but cracking the acrylic, even when clamped down.
1 3/16in = 30mm
15/16 = 24mm
just fyi.
Strange, at woodcraft I’ve gotten a 30mm forstner for $7 while a 30mm hole saw cost me $6 for the hole saw and $5 for the required matching pilot bit.
Also, you will need some G clamps and some wood to safely do the work and also not ruin a table. So in all you will have spent the same if not more then giving art money, and have less precise plexi panel.
truee but i got the plexi sheets for free and my dad has some clamps and spare wood. the only thing i need to buy are the hole saws and i know its going to come out shitty but oh well haha. plus i have extra sheets to experiment with. thanks for the help btw.
I agree with rt on this one, i believe forstner bits are cheaper and much better. get the forstner bit from woodcraft, i believe i had mine shipped for 5 which made the total cost around 12 -14 or something like that while the hole saw was something like 14-15 so not that much of a price difference. Also with hole saws you will have to remove the pieces from the hole saw, not that serious with plexi but with wood its a pita. The key to not cracking plexi is to first clamp it to some wood so it does not move and something is underneath and then to start of slow to get the inital hole started and then speed up a little to let the bit heat up so the acrylic is much easier to cut. This is with both a forstner and hole saw. Using this method i get very little cracking with either tool however i still think its better with a forstner. Also it depends on what plexi you are using, if you are using the cheap stuff then you will have to be very careful in order to not crack it. If you are using lexan then you can do whatever you want because that lovely stuff is indestructable hahaha. i have honestly never cracked lexan even when being rough because the stuff is so great
I’m so glad I came across this thread! I was about to ask the same question.
So I’m using a wooden panel in the stick I’m building, and I need to cut holes in that and the plexi top, so I was wondering if it would be a problem if I clamped the two together and just cut the holes through both of them at the same time? I’m using a hole saw if that makes any difference.
What you should do is place the plexi on top of the wood and first use just the pilot bit and drill through both the plexi and the wood. Make sure you do it slowly so you do not crack the plex. once all pilot holes are drilled put the hole saw back on an slowly start to cut the holes in the plexi. Start slow and speed up a little bit so the bit heats up and the plex is easier to cut. Cut just a little bit into the wood and then go to the next hole and do the same. Once you have done all the holes your plex will be done and you will have indents in the wood. At this point you can remove the plex and then cut the holes into the wood. thats how i used to do it with a holesaw. just make sure you are careful when cutting the plex so it does not crack