Plexiglass too big. Few tools, less experience. Options?

[gamecreature]

The plexiglas for my marquee is just a little bit too wide for my cabinet. I have no experience with trimming plexiglas and few tools available - what are my options to trim 1/8" off of it so it will fit?

[Ninten-doh]

Did you buy the plexiglass from mamemarquees along with your marquee?  Just curious because my plexi is slightly too big as well.

[rlemmon]

Home depot sells handheld plexiglass cutters i think there around $10.00

[gamecreature]

Did you buy the plexiglass from mamemarquees along with your marquee?  Just curious because my plexi is slightly too big as well.

As a matter of fact, yes.

[Kevin Mullins]

List some tools that you do have available....

Box-knife?
Sander?
Circular saw?
Clamps?

This will help to give you different ideas....

[JonnyBoy]

If he's trying to trim off 1/8 of an inch, scoring and snapping won't work at all...

You could probably grab a sanding block and some heavy sandpaper and start chopping away at it. You could also try a spokeshave...not sure how they work with plexi though. Anybody have any experience with a spokeshave and plexi?

[Tahnok]

For trimming off such a small amount, nothing beats a router. You might try either a dremel with router attachment or a laminate trimmer (both cheaper than a router). Like JonnyBoy said, you can't really snap off such a small piece.

Personally though I think it rather odd that MameMarquees provided you with plexi cut to the wrong width. I thought the entire point of buying from them was that you didn

[AMDman13]

I ordered my monitor plexi about 1/16th to big on purpose that way I would be ensured it wouldn't be to small. I just made a 120 grit sandpaper block and took my time with it! Anyway it takes a while, but it worked sweet! This way you don't have to worry about taking too much off. Make sure that you protect the plexi with some tape or something for when you slip while sanding

[leapinlew]

I agree with the sanding block solution - your case with limited tools. I've used my belt sander and it works quick. 1/8 of an in off the width would take a bit a time, but totally do-able. A router with a flush trim bit works great too. I find rigging up the jig and setting up the router take the longest bit of time. The actual trimming is measured in seconds, while the setup is minutes.

Seriously though... mounting the marquee is so rewarding. It's one of the moments when I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. What a bummer when you run into something like this.

[gamecreature]

I don't have a router  but I do have a sanding wheel for my drill. Might be worth a try?

[gamecreature]

Personally though I think it rather odd that MameMarquees provided you with plexi cut to the wrong width. I thought the entire point of buying from them was that you didn

[leapinlew]

I don't have a router  but I do have a sanding wheel for my drill. Might be worth a try?

I would just use sandpaper and make a block (wrap it around something) and start working it down. I'd be afraid of losing control with the wheel, but I'm sure you have better control than I do.

[tommy]

Just sand it down with a good hand-held sander, no need to start cutting into it for an 1/8 inch.

[Knievel]

Staple a coarse piece of sandpaper to your bench and then rub one end of the plexi back and forth over it until you get it down to the size you need.
Should make fairly quick work of the job and you won't risk scratching the plexi.

You might need to follow it up with a fine sandpaper.

[rdagger]

If you have access to a chopsaw, it works great for trimming small pieces of plexi and Lexan.  It is not very good for cutting because it wastes material and can splinter the plexi, but it will very quickly shave off 1/8" of material with an even line.

[leapinlew]

If you have access to a chopsaw, it works great for trimming small pieces of plexi and Lexan.  It is not very good for cutting because it wastes material and can splinter the plexi, but it will very quickly shave off 1/8" of material with an even line.

Really? What blade would you use - how many teeth?

My chopsaw is using a 24t blade that I primarily use to trim up 2x4's. I'm assuming you'd want smaller + more teeth to do that kind of finishing work?

All the same, plexi costs too much to put under that if you ask me. 1/8 inch ain't worth the potential disaster. I'd go the sand paper+hand sand route.

[rdagger]

Really? What blade would you use - how many teeth?

My chopsaw is using a 24t blade that I primarily use to trim up 2x4's. I'm assuming you'd want smaller + more teeth to do that kind of finishing work?

All the same, plexi costs too much to put under that if you ask me. 1/8 inch ain't worth the potential disaster. I'd go the sand paper+hand sand route.

I use a 10" 80 tooth thin kerf blade.  I've cut quite a bit of stuff besides wood with my saw such as aluminum, Lexan, UHMW, PVC, etc.  It is risky cutting acrylics and polycarbonate because the piece can shatter if they are not clamped and cut properly.  However, trimming is fast, easy and gives excellent results.  My cab has more pieces of Lexan than most.  Most of it was cut slightly larger than necessary with a box cutter and then trimmed with the sliding chop saw.