Perfect Lexan alignment over trackball

[QuarterJunkie]

FWIW,

I thought I would share my mistake and realization so others may benefit from it and not make the same mistake I did. This may be a no-brainer for a lot of people, but it was not for me and others too, I'm sure. To achieve a perfect alignment of your lexan over the trackball, cut this hole 1st. Then, with it applied over the trackball, clamp it and then route the outside and cut the remaining holes. I mistakenly routed the outside first and found out the hard way that I now need to be precise in my cut for the trackball ! No need for precision if I had done it the other way around...

My $.02 for the day...

 

[ids]

I was thinking of doing a few scattered button holes, insert the buttons and tighten really well, then do all the other holes and the outside last.  Hopefully that will take care of the lexan/plexi.  No idea how to align artwork - maybe that's why space themes etc are so popular 

[fatfingers]

I also routed my edges first and later discovered it would have been a whole lot easier if I had done the trackball first.

As for the artwork, I just applied my control panel overlay and I found the best way to do it was to place it exactly where you want it, then clamp the artwork in place and apply from the non-clamped side to the clamped side.  As soon as there's enough space on the applied side to clamp it, then put clamps on that side and remove the clamps on the non-applied side.  Since everything is clamped, there's no real chance that you will get any drift or misalignment in your artwork.

Good luck!

[mountain]

I was thinking of doing a few scattered button holes, insert the buttons and tighten really well, then do all the other holes and the outside last.  Hopefully that will take care of the lexan/plexi.  No idea how to align artwork - maybe that's why space themes etc are so popular 

Use the wood control panel as a template to cut the plexi using a flush trim bit. To align the artwork after the plexi and wood is cut, lay the plexi over the art and line it up. Then take an exacto blade and cut out three or four button holes on opposite sides of the panel. Place the art and plexi on the panel and line up the holes and insert the buttons.   

[leapinlew]

FWIW,

I thought I would share my mistake and realization so others may benefit from it and not make the same mistake I did. This may be a no-brainer for a lot of people, but it was not for me and others too, I'm sure. To achieve a perfect alignment of your lexan over the trackball, cut this hole 1st. Then, with it applied over the trackball, clamp it and then route the outside and cut the remaining holes. I mistakenly routed the outside first and found out the hard way that I now need to be precise in my cut for the trackball ! No need for precision if I had done it the other way around...

Thanks for sharing! For anyone who doesn't know what he's talking about - here is a pic of my control panel before I trimmed it up. Notice I cut the trackball hole, and test fitted it before I trimmed up the edges. This is so you have some wiggle room cutting the hole.

[BASS!]

one easy way (apart from making a jig) is to get your hole saw out ( I have a couple left from doing some remodel work) and drill a 3" hole in your cp after you drill your button holes. There is a really good post up here somewhere about using the plastic part that comes with the trackball as a guide to put under your mounted trackball plate, but I got easier results doing this. I like to just get my plunge cutter out to rough out the holes in the plexi (REMEMBER TO KEEP THE PROTECTIVE FILM ON YOUR PLEXI WHILE ROUTING) , so that the flush cut bit will fit in the hole. After you have your holes drilled, then mount your plexi on top of the panel and get your flush cut bit out for your router. If your trying to find one just let the hardware store know that you are looking for a laminate flush cutter. Then go to town. after you have your plexi cut and your ready to move on, put that chunk of plexi away and flip your cp over. Grab your trackball and allign it in the hole that you drilled (with your hole saw) and trace the pattern that you are going to cut out with your jig saw, and cut it out. After that you need a pretty long drill bit, a little bit larger then the mounting receptors on the track ball, and drill through the trackball mounting holes. Make sure that in between doing this to put your trackball somewhere that it will not get dust in it. Now your ready to go! If you want to flush the mounting plate in, just put it on top of the cp in the holes you drilled,  trace the shape out and route it out. If you have a better way of doing this by all means, I just am telling you what someone, who is not as great of a woodworker does.

[Tahnok]

Personally, I always drill the wood first and then clamp the plexi to it. I then use a combination of pattern cutting and flush trimming router bits to cut out the button holes, placing a few buttons in the holes early on to help with the clamping. The trackball is usually one of the last things that I dp since it's one of the more complex cuts, but that's because I flush trim my trackball closer than a lot of people do. I prefer to take the bevel all the way to the actual ball, not just the black ring around it. It takes a little longer, but I think the effect is well worth it:

[clickhea]

where can i buy lexan and whats the thinest i can use for my control panel top?

my board is 3/4 so i want the thinest possible for t molding ;|

[leapinlew]

where can i buy lexan and whats the thinest i can use for my control panel top?

my board is 3/4 so i want the thinest possible for t molding ;|

At the grocery store!

[brandon]

where can i buy lexan and whats the thinest i can use for my control panel top?

my board is 3/4 so i want the thinest possible for t molding ;|

I can't ever seem to peel the protective film off of that kind....

[clickhea]

that was a good one

[TelcoLou]

I don't get it ... Lexan is a polycarbonate resin ... saran wrap is made of low density polyethylene 

[DonkeyKong]

I don't get it ... Lexan is a polycarbonate resin ... saran wrap is made of low density polyethylene 

If you take a step back it's funny ;-)

[clickhea]

comedy gold

[mountain]

Thanks leapinlew! That's good stuff right there!