| Main > Main Forum |
| Cutting trackball hole in plexiglass (revisited) |
| << < (4/13) > >> |
| Pixelhugger:
Nicely done Nannuu! That looks fantastic. :) |
| FractalWalk:
....by clamping the plexi beneath the wood and cutting the hole thru the existing one. Assuming the existing hole lines up with the plate. If I recall correctly, the problem is that sofakng has already cut and routed his wood and now he is trying to cut the plexi after the fact to match the CP. This probably means that the exisitng "hole" is a cut out square for the mounting plate. I don't believe a hole saw will help in this particular instance. Or.... cut a smaller hole the same way. Then flip it over and flush trim it out. For everything but the trackball hole, you can use a trim or template bit to follow your previous cuts. However, you can't trim out using the plate as a guide because it is too close to the CP (either the arbor misses the plate or the cutting edge misses the plexi). If you space them apart far enough (e.g. stick some MDF in between) for the arbor to ride the plate while the bit cuts the plexi, then you run into problems lining up the plexi exactly with the CP. I had the exact same problem and had to free hand a hole and sand it out to match the mounting plate. |
| Pixelhugger:
--- Quote ---he is trying to cut the plexi after the fact to match the CP. This probably means that the exisitng "hole" is a cut out square for the mounting plate. --- End quote --- Yikes, hopefully that's not the case. I don't know that all is lost if the hole in the wood has been cut away though. What about trying this: Secure the mounting plate to the particle board in it's final position. Clamp the plexi to the board in it's final position Use the hole saw to cut a hole in a separate thin sheet MDF. Remove the resulting disc from the barrel of the saw carefully without enlarging the hole the drill portion of the saw left in the center of the disc. With both the particle board and plastic still clamped together, turn the panel upside down so the plexi is on the bottom and you can access the mounting plate Remove the saw barrel from the hole saw, so only the drill portion remains. Center the MDF disc in the hole of the mounting plate. You'll probably have 1/8" or so around it. Hold the disc CAREFULLY and firmly in place and place the drill back through the hole it originally left in the disc. Remember... the saw barrel is OFF the drill and arbor at this point ;) Drill through the plastic carefully so you leave a perfect hole taking care not to enlarge it or allow for slop. Unclamp the plastic from the particle board. Replace the saw barrel onto it's arbor. Feed the drill back into the small center hole you just made. Drill the 3" hole using the small hole as a guide. I imagine it will align about as accurately as you aligned the disc within the hole of the plate. Or maybe I'm just talkin crazy talk. To bullnose the plexi you would simply cut another 3" hole in a scrap piece of wood, align it with the plexi and clamp them together. Then use the hole in the wood as a guide for the router bearing. |
| patrickl:
--- Quote from: FractalWalk on July 27, 2004, 02:02:24 am ---Or.... cut a smaller hole the same way. Then flip it over and flush trim it out. For everything but the trackball hole, you can use a trim or template bit to follow your previous cuts. However, you can't trim out using the plate as a guide because it is too close to the CP (either the arbor misses the plate or the cutting edge misses the plexi). --- End quote --- You can buy trim or template bits where the bearing is much closer to the blade than the bits you have. Mine have no spacing between them at all. You can also use the mounting plate to create a proper sized hole in a piece of wood. There must be a way to make sure you line up that hole correctly. If all else fails you could at least take a CP sized piece of wood and make a copy of the main CP (all the button holes and mounting plate position). Use the mounting plate on that copy to create a 3" hole and then use this copy CP as a base for routing out the trackball hole in the plexi. I wonder what sofakng's situation is though. Is there even a mounting plate? Didn't he explain in another thread he drilled a 3" hole in the CP wood? |
| Nannuu:
--- Quote from: Pixelhugger on July 27, 2004, 12:09:35 am ---Nicely done Nannuu! That looks fantastic. :) --- End quote --- I forgot to mention that I did mine this way after seeing Pixel's phenomenal looking trackball. :o You can learn cool things on the board! |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |
| Previous page |