Lexan, should I be worried?

[sirhcman]

I got some lexan and was going to drill holes in it, I hear some people say its just like wood go right at it then I hear others say that you should treat it like plexi cause it can still crack. What are some people who actually have experience with lexan thinking? For the price this stuff shouldnt crack but I am not too sure with the mixed responses I have gotten so far...

[SNAAAKE]

I got some lexan and was going to drill holes in it, I hear some people say its just like wood go right at it then I hear others say that you should treat it like plexi cause it can still crack. What are some people who actually have experience with lexan thinking? For the price this stuff shouldnt crack but I am not too sure with the mixed responses I have gotten so far...

Nope no worry.
I actually trid cracking lexan while drilling.
just to see how it works. Couldnt do.
no worry....treat it JUST like wood.  

[TheGameAh]

Drilled my first piece of lexan yesterday.  I heard all kinds of noises.  I didn't go slow.  I thought it had cracked, but it had not.  Next cabinet is getting lexan as well.

[hyiu]

no worries....

treat it just like wood....

but of course... since the lexan is usually thin...
(we're putting like 1/16 or 1/8 in lexan on top... right ??)

so.. just give it some even support....

but drilling / cutting / routing....
NO need to slow down....
NO need to do in reverse....

just normal is fine....
good luck and have fun....

post some pics when done !!!....

[Scottula]

And use a hole saw, not a spade bit.  Trust me :-)  This stuff is strong and a spade bit has too much contact area and heats up too quickly.  The lexan melts and re-solidifies making it very hard to drill cleanly.   My first two holes with a spade bit were ok, my 3rd caused a nasty scratch when the bit was thrown because it jammed.  A hole saw cut through the stuff like butter and produced a much cleaner cut.

[pmc]

The only problem I've had is that I cut some pieces a wee bit too big and they don't fits snug. Also, my marquee space is slightly trapazoid shaped -- it didn't come out exactly square for some reason. So I've been trimming slivers off the Lexan whereas with wood I'd just use a sander to "tune" the shape to be perfect.

Anyone have any ideas how to "shave" Lexan to get say 1/32" off the edges and get a nice clean edge. Some of my jigsaw edges are noticably wavy and I'd prefer to clean them up somehow but I don't know how.

Otherwise, I've found the stuff to be a pleasure to work with. Unless you scratch it (which I did too).

- Patrick

[REBIRTH]

Anyone have any ideas how to "shave" Lexan to get say 1/32" off the edges and get a nice clean edge. Some of my jigsaw edges are noticably wavy and I'd prefer to clean them up somehow but I don't know how.
- Patrick

Use a router with a straight bit.  Put a peice of wood or something under the lexan to guide the bit, and route away.  Your room will be full of tiny plastic shavings and will take you 9 weeks to clean up, but you'll have the smoothest edge you've ever seen.

[grafixmonkey]

I tried hammering nails into it once, just to see what would happen.  About 30 bent nails later, one went through, leaving tiny 1mm-long cracks on the two sides of the nail head.

(so don't worry about drilling   )

oh yeah, and I second the hole saw thing - use that.  Or you can get a circle cutter.  I had two different sizes of button hole to drill, and a circle cutter would have gotten all of those plus the trackball and joystick holes in one tool, while hole saws cost me like $12 each.

And get some "Dust-Off" compressed air cans (usually sold for dusting off computer components you don't wanna use a vacuum hose on).  The hole saws heat up quick and start melting the stuff, and if you hold a compressed air can upside down and spray the saw with it, it's back to room temp in 2 seconds.

[BombProofPlane]

try bending lexan to crack it its really hard to do  you have to bend it back and forth a bunch of times

[grafixmonkey]

hey, I didn't think to do that in my stress test...  I did use the score-and-crack method on the long sides though, and a single punch down on the scrap side left a nice clean crack.

I tried nails, table saw with no supporting wood, circular saw, and drilling wood screws through too-small holes, and it all produced good results except the nails.  I did get a couple long lexan fragments stuck horizontally in the table saw though, and they spun around repeatedly smacking against the saw guard.


As for your trapezoid shaped marquee space, do you have your lexan sliding into a routed slot?  if so, just make the slot a bit deeper in certain places.  If not, a table saw will trim lexan to precise measurements.  I don't know if I'd try a circular saw, it's too easy to mess up and take too much off.  The router and clamped straightedge method Rebirth suggested may be your best bet.  Have a friend with a vacuum cleaner follow your router bit while you cut, it might cut down on the mess.

[pmc]

As for your trapezoid shaped marquee space, do you have your lexan sliding into a routed slot?  if so, just make the slot a bit deeper in certain places.  If not, a table saw will trim lexan to precise measurements.  I don't know if I'd try a circular saw, it's too easy to mess up and take too much off.  The router and clamped straightedge method Rebirth suggested may be your best bet.  Have a friend with a vacuum cleaner follow your router bit while you cut, it might cut down on the mess.

No routed slot... and no way to get one now since the cabinet is assembled and sealed and painted and all. I have stop blocks and pressure-fit instead. The lexan slides into place and stops when it hits the stop blocks. The fits is tight enough that the lexan does not want to come out with persuasion. No retainer at all.

Right now I have a tight but awkward fit. I need to shave it down a tiny bit more but only in certain spots. I was freehanding with a circular saw and kist chipping slivers off... but it makes for messy and irregular cutting. So I'm going to to try the suggested wood-clamp technique. I like it because I can cut tiny amounts off each edge to tune the fit.

I'm most worried about visible raggedness on the edges (not very proffesional) and light leakage around the marquee where I've cut too deep and the marquee is not snug.

I'll do this next week when I get a chance and post how well it works.

[ekopp2]

I haven't tried this myself, but I'm wondering if you could shave it a little with a hand planer. If you're trying to take down certain spots, that might give you the fine control you're looking for.

[tmasman]

Also, I've seen in some other lexan/plexi tutorials you can wave a flame an inch or so from the edge to get a nice clear finish to the cuts... Just a though.

[Krynos]

Just finished the hole cutting on my cp here, lexan over mdf...

One thing to remember is that lexan does cut like butter, it also melts a bit. MDF makes vast amounts of dust...

For each hole I would have to stop and clean the hole bit about 3 times, and the lexan dust mixed in with the mdf dust would form a nice glue on the bit... heheh.

- Krynos