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Cutting trackball hole in plexiglass (revisited)

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sofakng:

Ok, here's what I did for those that are curious...

First I cut a football shape out of my MDF for the trackball itself.  Next I drilled the holes for the trackball mounting plate and routed a small groove on the top so it would sit flush.

As for the plexiglass, first I cut a little wood template to fit onto the mounting plate.  I used a 3" hole cutting bit and a jigsaw (the jigsaw was only used to make the template square).  After that I attached my wood template onto the mounting plate (this gave me a circle for the router to ride).  Finally, I used my laminate/trim bit through the plexiglass and had it ride my wood template to cut a 3" hole.

It cut the 3" hole PERFECTLY.... but there was other problems....

Problem 1) I made two small "dings" (not cracks or scratches, but a little chunk of the plexiglass got removed..).  It's definitely visible, but not worth re-doing the entire plexiglass piece over with.  Maybe I'll re-do it down the road.

Question--  Do they make any plexiglass repair glue or anything?  I'm thinking something that would fill the dinged area...

Problem 2) The 3" hole cutting bit was bigger than the trackball.  The 3" is actually the size of the trackball plus the little black area bordering it (check the pictures above and you can see it there as well).   There's not much I can do about this, but again it's not a huge issue.  It would have been nice for *only* the trackball to be visible, but  :-\

Let me know if anybody wants me to post pictures.  If so I'll post some later tonight.

foomench:


--- Quote from: Pixelhugger on July 26, 2004, 10:24:02 pm ---The trick is the polishing. Use a plastic polishing compound (a gritty brick of solid wax like material - around $5) and a polishing wheel (cloth wheel on a spindle - few bucks as well) in your drill or Dremel.
--- End quote ---

Where do you get this polishing compound? Is this something I'd find at <insert favorite home improvement store here> or is this a more specialized item? What about something like this Dremel stuff (http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/display.asp?sku=421&color=cc9900)?

I have a cloth polishing wheel for my Dremel. I also found this http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/display.asp?sku=520&color=cc9900 which is for hard plastics. Does anyone think this might work, or is there too much risk in chipping?

-foomench

pointdablame:

I'd also love to know about that plasctic polishing compound.  Is it a specific name, or are there different varieties of it?  Will it work on painted plastic too?  I'd like to polish up my newly painted xbox case, but have no idea what to use.

Sorry to derail the thread slightly.

Nannuu:

This is the polishing compound I use with my dremel for plastic:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=9737

This is the dremel bit I picked up as well:
http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PROD/dremel-router-bit/D-AD09

Pixelhugger:


--- Quote --- What about something like this Dremel stuff (http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/display.asp?sku=421&color=cc9900)?
--- End quote ---

That looks like it would work.


--- Quote --- I also found this http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/display.asp?sku=520&color=cc9900 which is for hard plastics. Does anyone think this might work, or is there too much risk in chipping?
--- End quote ---

I would stay away from a "solid" polishing wheel for plastic. It's not so much a risk of chipping but a risk of "warbling" or creating smooth divets in the plastic (which I even managed to do with a CLOTH wheel around a chipped button hole I was trying to polish back to normal. Granted I was a bit heavy handed and persistent, but if it can happen with cloth, I imagine it's far more likely with a solid polisher.

I'll see if I can find the name of the stuff I used. I got it at a local plastics store. I'm sure it's available online as well.

I don't think it would work on painted plastic... it removes too much. Maybe a mild car wax?

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