Cutting 3" Hole in Plexi

[chrisindfw]

What is the best way to cut a 3" hole in my plexi? I do not have a router.

Shoul I get a 3" hole bit or just take an exacto-knife and go around and around a few hundred times?

Thanks.

On a side note... If you had to choose a pc pinball game to use on your cabinet, which would you use?

[Chris]

Shoul I get a 3" hole bit or just take an exacto-knife and go around and around a few hundred times?

If you do this, you will scratch your plexi repeatedly, as you can't possibly be perfect with each cut.

Someone here once posted about using a homemade jig for this, which I believe involved using a strip of wood (a paint-can stirrer, I believe) with a nail at one end and the other mounted to a hole-saw arbor on the other, 1.5 inches away.  The arbor drilled into the center of the hole while the nail cut the circumference.

On a side note... If you had to choose a pc pinball game to use on your cabinet, which would you use?

Visual Pinball with Visual PinMAME.  Most FE's support it these days.

[Sylentwulf]

Use the hole cutting bit and run the drill in reverse. It'll take longer obviously, but it shouldn't crack the plexiglass (running it forwards will ANNIHILIATE it on the other hand)

[chrisindfw]

Well.. Heres what I did.. Drilled a hole in one end of a strip of wood, poked a screw in the other end the proper distance away. Attached it in the middle to the plexi and round and round.. It took about 5 minutes and the screw point cut into the plexi and made an extremely clean 3" hole cut.

I couldnt have been happier.

Thanks

Shoul I get a 3" hole bit or just take an exacto-knife and go around and around a few hundred times?

If you do this, you will scratch your plexi repeatedly, as you can't possibly be perfect with each cut.

Someone here once posted about using a homemade jig for this, which I believe involved using a strip of wood (a paint-can stirrer, I believe) with a nail at one end and the other mounted to a hole-saw arbor on the other, 1.5 inches away.  The arbor drilled into the center of the hole while the nail cut the circumference.

On a side note... If you had to choose a pc pinball game to use on your cabinet, which would you use?

Visual Pinball with Visual PinMAME.  Most FE's support it these days.

[spystyle]

For the rest of you reading this consider using a hole saw in reverse @ your drill's highest speed

(and for the pilot hole also drill in reverse @ your drill's highest speed)

[Chris]

For the rest of you reading this consider using a hole saw in reverse @ your drill's highest speed

(and for the pilot hole also drill in reverse @ your drill's highest speed)

I agree, but at the beginning of the thread he implied that he didn't have a 3" hole saw.  (I don't have one, either.)

[drunkatuw]

I learned my lesson the hard way by trying to use the trackball mounting plate as a guide for my router...it ate right thru the metal.

So I made a template using a spade bit and a file.  Then I just placed the wood template in the new mounting plate and used a flush bit on my router to easily make the hole.

[rdagger]

I learned my lesson the hard way by trying to use the trackball mounting plate as a guide for my router...it ate right thru the metal

I also cut a 3" hole in some particle board first with a holesaw to use as a template.  Here's a picture of a 3" beveled cut I made in Lexan using a chamfer bit.  The bevel allows the Lexan to flow smoothly with the rim of the Happ TB.

[kahlid74]

easiest way hands down is to use a dremmel.  The cutting bit that comes with it is perfect for plexi glass.  I had a piece of Plegi-glass 6 feet by 4 feet, and I cut it down with the dremmel so easily it wasn't even funny.  The dremmel doesn't crack at all.  When cutting it makes little Plastic beebees from the plexiglass it melts/cuts.

Worked unbelievable.  I am going to drill some more holes in a day or two, I will just make a video of it and post it on the website.

[brained]

Please post them videos, for us noobs