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| Lexan Vs. Lucite? |
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| king88mob:
Neither of the big block places seem to have lexan in stock (backordered at Rona, Home Depot doesn't carry it) However, HD has Lucite, in the right thickness and size. The guy at the materials desk says there's basically no difference between the two. I'd like to get my CP done sooner then later, and i don't feel like waiting for the backorder to come through (going on two weeks now) Are they basically the same? Opinions on using Lucite for a CP top? Thanks. |
| REBIRTH:
I used Lexan on my CP's and Lucite for my marquee (only because they were out of lexan when I went to buy that part of it). Anyway, Lucite sure seems the same as Lexan - though I don't know if would hold up as well on a CP after 834 games of Defender. It might, I just don't know. They both seemed very similar to me. |
| rampy:
just a seemingly oddball question... did you call the homedepot to find out they didn't have lexan? IF so it may be worth a visit... because every time I call HD I get a different person with a different answer, and half the time they wouldn't know a polycarbonate from their arse! =P I don't know all the brand names of lexan, but maybe (isn't it?) lucite == lexan? I know crystal lite (which HD carries, btw) is the same as lexan... lexan is a brand name itself... you just need to figure out if the tissues you want to buy are the same as kleenex or not =P I guess the question is: Is lucite plexiglass? If not then it should work fine (plexi can work fine too, it's just more brittle to work with... but is cheaper... go figure) *shrug* good luck! rampy |
| Dr. J:
I've got lucite on my cab (click banner to see). I haven't had a chance to work with lexan for the same reason your talking about. I found lucite not to be that bad to work with the second time around. The first time I cracked it all over the place. It's just a matter of a couple tricks while working with it. 1. If you get the kind with the protective coating that you can't see through, check the length of each edge to see if it was cracked in shipment to the store. I've had to take back 2 whole sheets because of that. 2. Leave the protective coating on it the whole time you are working with it. 3. I drilled a single small hole first by lining it up with a hole in the wood, and then put the screw in place. Then I lined up the plexi the way I wanted over a second hole and drilled and put that screw in place. Then I drilled the rest of my small holes knowing that they would have to line up because the plexi-glass couldn't shift. 4. Use a slightly bigger drill bit because you don't want the machine screws to screw through the plexi. You want them to drop through the plexi, but catch at the head. 4. I drilled my button holes by sandwiching the plexiglass between my predrilled control panel wood and a scrap piece of wood. Remember to secure one small hole on each end with your machine screws so the plexi doesn't shift. Then I drilled through the back side of the button holes using a spade-type bit and running the drill in reverse to melt the plexi. You can see the circle of plexi come loose and start to rotate when you've pushed through. When I ran the drill forward it would catch sometimes when speeding up or slowing down and then shatter the plexi. Don't use a hole saw either. The plexi will melt whether you're going forward or reverse. The piece you cut loose will get stuck inside the hole saw and never come out. 5. When you assemble your control panel remember that the bolts don't have to be super tight, just snug. I've put some in too tight and shattered the plexi before. 6. For the edging I used a 1/8" round over router bit and traced my already cut out wood for the control panel. This made the edges of the plexi lie flush with the wood and eliminated the sharp edges. Again, remember to secure each end with a machine screw so the plexi doesn't shift. 7. Finally cut off a practice piece and test out what works for you, or if you like something different. I learned through trial and error that the above worked for me. I never made much of anything before this cabinet. hope it helps ---Dr.J |
| SNAAAKE:
here is what I found out about this. plexi=good. lucite=better and 20 times stronger then regular plexi. lexan=best and 100 times stronger then plexi. I got this from their chart(HD). I would get some lucite and try to drill straight forward to see if its strong like lexan but they only had BIG sheets(like 72"Xwhatever). Now who will be the first one to go get some of these "lucite" and post result? :) Also anyone tried cutting this with jigsaw? (c'mon,I am smiling so go get some then drill and post result) |
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