Need tips on how to cut and glue plexiglass.

Pretty sure the VGA ones are bought in - they dont make them by hand AFAIK. Just the same as the boxes used in retail stores to stop you damaging/stealing them.

 

Right. Aren't those the secure cases made by Alpha? http://www.alphaworld.com/

 

Regarding cutting plexiglass, when we cut our arcade marquees to spec, we simply use a ruler and a box cutter or x-acto blade to score somewhat deeply then flex the plexiglass and it will break on that edge rather cleanly.

Remember to score deeply to secure a clean break.

 

or Acrylic cutter which has rather sharp tip of blade at an angle to draw the line easier and more controllable.
not sure whether there's the blade for plexiglass...

 

When I was 15 working for a national video game company, we built hundreds of conversion kits, fitting them to different cabinets and the tool we used was the box cutter as arcade plexiglass marquees are thin and applying direct downward force via a box cutter allows instant scoring. Now if someone was drunk or had shaking hand syndrome, I would suggest they not work with blades of any type.

My experience with an acrylic cutter comes from art college where we used thick acrylic sheets for etching in the print shop. In this case, the hooked blade allowed for less direct downward force which made the tool more controllable as one would have to make many scoring lines.

No need to go out and buy an Acrylic cutter if you are working with thinner dimensions of plexiglass which is likely what you'll be using for your application. However thicker grades would be better suited with an Acrylic cutter as again, more scoring lines will need to be implemented to get the deep groove necessary for a break.

 

I always use a box cutter and a metal ruler (one with a cork backer for grip if possible), just score it several times, apply even pressure across the length of the cut and break it. As for gluing it, plexiglass requires a special adhesive that actually melts it slightly to form a bond. In Canada we have a shop called Industrial Plastics and Paints not sure what the US alternative is.

 

if your wanting to make say a box of acrylic. The I would start watching videos and maybe call them for chat about it. The company is called TAP Plastics

 

WARNING!!!! The tap plastic videos are very informative. But They are short and broken into small subjects. Which means the tap plastic theme song will play over and over, and be in your head for days. You have been warned!

 

I totally agree with that, but they touch on so many topics and I use them as a starting point and then continue to research

 

you could use a simple guide and a cheap harbor freight router and cut the plex
and then with a belt sander sand a 45 degree midor so the box will then be square with each other