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Cutting trackball hole in plexi-glass?
GSXRMovistar:
That looks really nice, very slick job. Couple of questions for you
1) How thick is the plexi-glass you have used, and does it scratch easy with use?
2) Carriage bolts, i see you have four bolts on you panel in the same locations as i was planning, does the bolt/nut protrude from the underside or have you sunk them into the word?
Thanks.
Pixelhugger:
It's 1/4" Lexan from Home Depot. The bolts do protrude on the underside of the panel. I used a washer beneath the nut to ensure it stayed nice and tight and didn't eat into the particle board. I did have to trim off the bolts once they were installed cause they're 4" long or so. (I used a hack saw w/metal cutting blade). If I were to do it again I would countersink the mounting plate and the carriage bolts into the particle board to hide them beneath the CP artwork. Of course then the artwork would sag a bit into the recession-since the heads of the bolts would stick up 1/8" or so above the plate, so I'd have to fill that - maybe w/ a very thin a piece of cardboard.
Pixelhugger:
Ooops forgot to finish reply...
Nope it doesn't scratch easily...except when running power tools over the surface (router, jigsaw) which leave slight but visible traces along the surface. I'm sure that could be avoided. Also, the plastic polishing compound can remove anything, however deep gouges would require so much polishing that the surface would get a bit wavy. Anyhow, it's pretty scratch resistant. I couldn't be happier. :D