Mounting plexiglass into side of case. How?

[sygyzy]

I have all my dremel attachments, I have my large sheet of plexiglass. How in the world do you guys mount your plexi/lexan/acrylic windows on? I don't want to bolt or drill it in as I think that looks pretty lazy and tacky. I want to do that weatherstriping method but I cannot figure out how it holds the window in place. Any answers would be appreciated.

 

[006agent]

first...dont use plexiglass. use durotuff...found at lowes...10x stronger and easier to cut.

 

[fitzhue]

I think what you're looking for can be found right here
It's a kind of molding that will lock and hold the window in place
Hope this helps

 

[sygyzy]

Man that stuff is expensive. I'll just buy a kit instead I guess.

 

[ericlp]

1 word... Silicone... Yep.. Even if you did drill corner holes you'd still want to apply a coat around the gapes to keep the air leaks out.


This is how I'd do it. First of all get your self some of the THINEST plexiglass they make. They make some pretty thin crap. The thinner the better since less weight.

With it thin Silicone alone could probably HOLD stick it to the side of the case well eoungh. But, if you wanted to make sure your plexiglass is not going to slip down get a cheap yard stick from like "ace" hardware store. Cut it off and glue it with some INDUSTRIAL strength Bond like that crap you mix together. But make sure you sand the back side of the case "Ruuf" so the glue has something to stick too.

Once you got a thin piece of wood on the inside of the case. Make sure you let the epoxy set up for 24 hours. Put on a thin coat of epoxy around the plexiglass Also make sure you sand around the edgues of the case cover to make it stick better. Then apply the silicone (clear) Bead around the corners.

That should HOLD it.

 

[sparkle]

Depends on the look you are going for, I like the "industrial look" so I drill holes and use screws. Silicon is good though, especially since it is removeable, and does not effect the outward appearance of your case.

 

[sygyzy]

Okay this is a really stupid question but I've wondered about it for a while. Let's say I want to screw the plexi to my case right. So the hole that I drill for the screw, would it be a) the same size as the screw diameter, b) larger? c)smaller. I would imagine not larger. I can see how either same size or smaller would work. Also, do they list screw sizes by length or diameter? I hope someone can clear this up for me.

 

[fitzhue]

I would think a little bit smaller, so the screw can thread into the plexi....my 0.02

 

[sygyzy]

I would think so too, but how much smalller?

 

[pbox]

DO NOT drill a smaller hole. Plexi will crack. It cannot stand steady force. It will fan out from the drilled hole like spiderlegs... Drill a bigger hole and use a nut (and washer underneath).

Peter

 

[sygyzy]

Okay that is a good tip. But what about wood or steel?

 

[LYHTSPD]

ok... here is my 2 cents... threading anything is a pain in the butt! use some hex head machine bolts and some nuts. i used them on my case and i think they look cool. My page...

with wood and steel, you should always drill a pilot hole. this will prevent too much stress on the material. hope this helps