My eldest son & I have decided to make an acrylic (and other materials) case for a computer. Only because we can.
Trying to find out where in the Twin Cities (MN) area we can get some 1/4" sheet at a reasonable price. I'd guess a 2' square sheet would be a good start.
Or, advise as to alternative suitable materials & glue.
OBMWC: Probably polished brass replacement fronts for CD/DVD drives. Plus I've got that CNC mill working now...
Check your yellow pages for a plastics sales place. Plexiglas (acrylic sheet) is easily solvent welded, using a product called WELDON3, which should be available at the supply house, along with the acrylic.
You fit up the components and tape them together, then apply the solvent to the taped joints. The solvent will penetrate the tightest of joints, which you want to fit very well for a high quality job. The solvent comes with a small bottle that is the applicator, which has an extremely fine stainless tube, much like the needle of a syringe, plus is equipped with a cap for stopping it off when not in use.
Good luck. Sounds like an interesting project.
Harold
Look in the phone book for Cadillac Plastics. They are a national distributor for several major brands of plastic materials. I think they sell BOTH Plexiglas (Rohm & Haas) and Lucite. If they don't have a store in your area, just look in the yellow pages under plastics (wholesale) there has to be a dealer in the twin cities.
Jon
There's a Johnson Plastics up there in your neighborhood, Cadillac Plastics is all over, Also Midland Plastics Down in Green Bay and Milwaukee...
I like stopping in at Midland in GreenBay. Their little showroom has enough little pieces of intriguing plastics, I get all kinds of crazy ideas. No time for them, but that does not stop me from getting them !
Chris L
Cadillac Plastics was sold to GE. Try here.
Kevin Gallimore
home depot has some plastic sheets that run in the 1/8 in. thickness, and i think they have 1/4 in. stuff to.. dont know what it is called, but its in the glass department(where you buy glass cut to size)... one of our kids used the plastic to cover some big pictures they had in art class in college... i think they came home with about 15 sheets about
3 ft. by 2 ft. or so........ i was in home depot the other day and found myself in that area and noticed that they had 8 X 10 in. sheets and all the way up...
The solvent is Methylene Chloride and may be cheaper as the generic product. If you need a thicker glue because you don't get as good a fit up as Harold would , you can dissolve some chips from sawing the acrylic in the solvent to get a glue with some body to it.
I cut out a circular acrylic table top for my wife. Before cutting, I carefully cleaned my wood cutting bandsaw, cut the circle amd cleaned up and saved all the chips.
Ted
You can buy them quite cheaply. You might want to consider buying one, and customising it.
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