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Something quite different
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ark_ader:

--- Quote from: Franco B on March 24, 2010, 04:18:13 pm ---If I was you I would use acrylic rather than glass.

The glass will end up being very expensive as you will have to cut the panels/holes etc or have them cut before they are tempered.

You can get clear, smoked and frosted acrylic and it can be easily cut/drilled/routed etc.

Check out [this] jukebox case that mccoy178 made from acrylic.



He used a product called Weld-on to bond the pieces together. It is not availiable here in the UK but I found a product called Extru-fix that does the same thing. It is a fantastic product that gives very clean joints.

This is a video that shows Weld-on being used but Extru-fix is used in exactly the same way.



Just note that it only works on extruded (not cast) acrylic but extruded is cheaper anyway :)



--- End quote ---

+1

Franco is on the money with this one.  The Debenhams cube was on special (70% off) Betty someone... Anyway IF I was going to create something different I would go acrylic just as Franco suggested.  Its been awhile since I did plastics at school, but it is far sturdier and if you make a mistake - not so devastating.

I was thinking about this the other night.  The mirror to suspend the image could be less opaque with regard to the backing of the mirror to give it a ghostly effect.  But like Mike said - something completely different.

Please post in Project Announcements when you start as I would be VERY interested in your project.  :cheers:
mike_bike_kite:
I used an acrylic sheet for a clear top on a Mame cab I built for a friend. Sadly it ended up with a lot of small scratches which put me off using it for that application - though my friends kids are a little bit more rough and tumble than mine. That video was rather interesting though and it's given me a few ideas for another little project ;) Is there a way of buying the acrylic in a size similar to the size used in the video but less thick - I don't think my handiwork skills would ever produce a smooth edge.

The idea of using the smoked glass really appealed to me and assuming


* I can cut the holes
* that it's big enough to hold the hardware
* and that there's some way of mounting the hardware inside
then it would look very special when turned on but like an ordinary piece of furniture when turned off. The glass cube is just an ordinary piece of furniture that you can buy for £90 which probably isn't that much different to buying all the wood, screws, paint etc that's required for an ordinary cab. Obviously if I can't drill it then I've wasted the money - I'll probably practice on a million small bits before going for the real thing. Is there any way of telling whether the glass is tempered or not by looking at it? I believe you can't drill tempered glass.

There's definitely no need for a mirror in the design and there certainly isn't any space for one in the box. I must admit I don't understand why you think it will be necessary? have I missed something?
Franco B:
Was it definitely acrylic you use and not polycarb? I just ask as acrylic is fairly scratch resistant to normal wear and tear for such an object.

Yes you can buy acrylic cut to size in a range of thickness's. Most plastic suppliers will cut to size for free. I mainly use www.trentplastics.co.uk as they are local to me but I also have used www.plasticonline.co.uk

If you do want them to cut it for you tell them that you want it cut as square as possible as they will probably just rip it out and it may not be as square as it need to be to make a cube.

They will probably be able to finish the edges for you suitable for bonding. Thinking about it if I was you I would ask a company to CNC route out the panels for you. The pieces should be pretty much perfectly square and will have a nice routered edge for bonding. They will probably charge you a little extra for this but if it is just square sections it should be fairly straight forward and, hence, reasonably priced.

I don't think you can drill tempered glass and any type of object like a pre made cube will definitely be tempered. As cool as it would be to make it from glass I wouldn't attempt it unless you are a glazier.

I don't want to dissuade you too much but I don't really think glass is a suitable direction to take.

Of course, I would love you to prove me wrong :)
mike_bike_kite:
On more research it appears that this cube is likely to be made from tempered glass as a plate glass cube would likely be a death trap in a lounge with kids about. It also definitely seems like you can't drill tempered glass. So that's the glass cube out  :-\

I just gave my mate a call to check what type of surface we put on it (he handled this bit) - he tells me it was perspex which is a type of acrylic(?). He seems very happy with the end result so maybe the scratches weren't as bad as I imagined - I'll have to go round and have another little play on his cab.

That means a box made from the dark tint acrylic sheet might be the way forward. I tried one of those links at random and they had 500mm square my 5mm which I think should be fine. I suppose the next question is should I make a box from these sheets by glueing them or should I make a wooden frame and then fix the sheets to the wood? The later makes it much easier to fix the hardware but means I'd need to drill every sheet to fix it to the frame.

Franco B:
Yeah Perspex is just a brand name of acrylic just as Lexan is a brand name of polycarbonate.

You definitely want to use acrylic over polycarb. Polycarb will machine/cut slightly easier but it will also scratch much easier. I have cut components from 1mm-25mm acrylic with no major problems.

5mm may be thick enough. I personally think 8mm+ would look nicer but that's up to you.

A quick google came up with [this] page which shows that thicker tinted stock is available if you wanted it. Just be careful that they mention it is cast acrylic which won't work with the Extru-fix if you want to use it. You may have to dig around further for some thicker tinted extruded acrylic.

Obviously the thicker you go the more expensive it will be. I would suggest practising various things on lots of scrap pieces for a start until you get the feel for working with it.

In regards to the frame, I would personally want it as minimal as possible if at all. If you used thicker stock you could build a stable cube with little/no frame work and the thicker material would allow you to mount your hardware easier.

If you do go for a frame I think you want to use aluminium/stainless section or stained wood. Definitely no MDF in this case. I think some anodised blue aluminium section would look nice with clear panels but you may want something more neutral if you have tinted panels.

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