Best way to drill holes in plexi

[Mikezilla]

Sup guys. Finally got my dynamo CP together, I just need a new piece of plexi glass to cover the overlay. Whats the best way to drill the holes out of the plexi without breaking it? Just get a 1 1/8 spade and just go to town? This noob will greatly appreciate any advice! Thanks!

[EwJ]

Although others will insist a forstner bit or hole saw is the way to go, a spade bit is fine - just use high speed, LOW feed.

If you have a router, you can use a pattern bit and your cp as template, just clamp plexi to cp and drill 'small' starter holes to fit the pattern bit into and go to town.

[jholman76]

I would second using a router. I used a top-mount bearing flush-trim bit for my CP on my bartop. I clamped the plexi to the CP with the holes drilled and slowly lowered it down. the bit punched through and then I just routered in the hole with the bearing.

on my upright CP we used a forstner bit. every hole we did made me more and more nervous but they all came out ok. 

just make sure the speed is HIGH!

joe

[Mikezilla]

Thanks for the input guys! Im gonna go to home depot tonight and buy what I need, hopefully if the GF is in a good mood, I can do it tonight, if not Ill have to wait.  I really appreciate it. Ill let you guys know how it goes! 

[MikeyMerse]

Let me know how the spade bit works out for you, I think I will be going with this option.

[Mikezilla]

No problem. Ill keep ya posted. Hopefully it works, seems to be the cheapest option.

[DrumAnBass]

Best to put some scrap wood under the plexi - this helps avoid breakage.

I don't think high speed is the way to go - it tends to melt at high speeds.

Edit: Some good advice here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=24091.0

[Mikezilla]

Thanks for the advice drumnbass. Thats very informative. I appreciate it! Im gonna try to get to it this weekend. Pretty busy during the week. Work, GF, bunch of other stuff... Ugh. I just want to work on my arcade dammit!!! 

[Mr. Greenjeans]

+1 forstner bit & scrap wood underneath

[Mikezilla]

Didnt have time to do it this weekend. Went to the Horseraces and saw a horse get shot. Was crazy. The GF bet on her too lol. Anyway, going to home depot tonight, so Ill make a post tomorrow to let you know how I did. Thanks to everyone for the tips. 

[Malenko]

i used a dremel.

[Mikezilla]

I need to invest in one of those. In case anyone was wondering, Lowes is completely inferior to Home Depot. They didnt have any of the bits I needed, or the sheets of plexi/lexan. Garbage. My Home Depot caught fire and they are rebuilding it, tried Lowes. Garbage. Now everything has to wait until I order it, or until Lowes gets a shipment in...   

[rohan]

Stepper bits are amazing!  They come in many different sizes/shapes and you won't get any cracking or crazing when you drill...It's perfect for drilling button holes.
Dave & Buster's uses this method on their games and I used it on my MAME machine with great success.

[Mikezilla]

Thank you for the pics! Arent those types of bits really expensive? I suppose I would justify the purchase by future cabinet construction, but I think I remember seeing those for 50 bucks... Am I wrong? Hopefully I am.. 

[rohan]

They are expensive, but they do work...Buying a single good stepper bit that goes to at least 1 1/8" is expensive, but I've seen deals where you can get a whole set for about the same price as that one big bit.  I borrow mine from work (Dave & Buster's) but the occasional deal can be had at Lowe's.

[Mikezilla]

Cool thanks for the tip. Ill have to check Lowes again, was just there the other day and they didnt have ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Was kind of irritated cause I have no place else to go, the nearest home depot is under construction after a fire, and the closest one aside from that is 30 mins away. Im just lazy 

[bratwurst]

Here's how I did it with some pictures to show:

I clamped my 1/8" plexi over my control panel with the holes already drilled in the wood. I did the cut to size of the outside edges with a router and a flush trim bit.  The bit cut threw the plexi just like a knife through warm butter.  Basically felt like I was melting it to the right size.  Really quick through and an easy cut.



For the button holes, I went really slow, especially working with a forstner bit which I thought was probably not the correct bit for plexi.  Something with a much sharper point I think would have worked better.  Sharper and a very steep profile.



Some cuts were a bit too close together, and I was worried about getting a crack between the two spots.  So I started putting the buttons in to help hold down the plexi and keep the work supported. 



If I pressed a bit too hard while drilling and tried to go a bit too quickly, I did get cracks inside the area that was being drilled out.  Luckily, I think I got through the whole thing without causing it to shatter.  Like the others guys said, I think the trick is high speed with the drill, very slow speed through the material.

Finished holes:


Seperate peices, good view of joystick and trackball cuts here:


When drilling holes for the joysticks and trackball opening I moved the plexi around and used the button holes for better support.  If I had done it where the joysticks openings were, it would have been a disaster.

The trackball starter hole, and center joystick behind it (where the 4 way stick will go):
 

I used the trackball mount as a template for the router to make the hole the correct size.  The metal here is maybe a 1/16th of an inch.  I was extremely careful that I lined up the flush trim bit at the exact right depth to make sure the bearing made contact with the metal.



Finished up:



Here's the peices seperated but now with the final holes cut. 

[Mikezilla]

Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- bratwurst, thanks so much for the time and the pics! Looks awesome.  Im bummed, I keep saying Im going to do it, and I keep running out of time thanks to my GF and having to take my dog to the vet etc...Ugh. I just want to work on my arcade damn it! 

Thanks again for the great post.