One of my yahoo groups for the Bernina just discussed cutting plexiglass to make an insert. It's the group that covers the 200, 430,440,630,640 and 730. There is a very knowledgeable individual there who explained it in great detail. I'm not sure if I'm able to get the information over here but I'll try.
This next part was copied and pasted from the Bernina yahoo group
"Well, I suspect that most of the folks on this list will not have the
woodworking workshop that I've accumulated, so I'll talk about it two
ways - how it can be done and how I actually did it.
In the "how can I do it without getting a second mortgage on the
house" mode -- purchase a blank piece that's already cut to size so
you don't have to worry about cutting it out of a large piece.
Purchase from a dealer who knows how to do more than simply ring up a
cash register and tell that person what you're doing and that having
the external dimensions be correct are important. (as an aside: the
folks who sell me plywood have two saws - a standard panel saw and a
really good table saw. When I purchased the wood for Carol's cabinet,
they used the table saw and the cuts they made were dead on)
Purchase a coping saw - this is a couple of dollar item - and a pack
of fine tooth blades to cut the inside. Choose the one that has the
largest throat you can find. With blades, the rule of thumb is that at
least three saw teeth should be in contact with the workpiece. So, for
a piece of acrylic that is 1/4 inch thick, you'll need at least 12
teeth per inch; choose one between fifteen and twenty teeth per inch.
A better alternative, if you have access to one, is a scroll saw with
a deep throat. But, I wouldn't purchase one just to cut a new insert.
Purchase a good quality medium tooth file (Nicholson brand is good,
the no-name Chinese imports are not).
Don't remove the plastic or paper covers from the acrylic yet. You'll
mark the pattern you want to cut on it. Place the acrylic on a table
good face down. Take the current insert that you have and place it on
top of the new acrylic, top down and touching the acrylic. Trace the
outline onto the acrylic. This is what you'll cut around.
Cut the acrylic along but just inside the line. Use the file to
smooth and open the cut-out to size. Also, you'll want to file the
rounded corners of the outside edges of acrylic. If you're making an
insert for the machines with the CB hook, mark the location of the
bobbin door and file a 45 degree bevel to within 1/16 of an inch of
the top edge to provide clearance so that you can easily open the
bobbin door.
Now - How I actually did it. Works if you have access to a good
woodworking shop --
You'll need a table saw, scroll saw, and variable speed router and a
strip sander. For the router, you'll need a bit with a 1/2 inch
diameter and a 1/2 inch OD bearing and also a 45 degree chamfering
bit, again with a bearing. The sander should have a fine belt; the
scroll saw should use the same type of blade that the coping saw has.
For a table saw, use a carbide blade with closely spaced teeth. Also,
use a zero clearance table saw insert.
I bought a piece of 1/4 inch thick acrylic about an inch larger than
necessary and cut it to size. I then used a radius template to draw
the rounded outside corners, but did not yet sand them. Next with the
top side of the acrylic face down, I determined where the cutout
should be located and clamped the existing insert to it and drew the
line defining the cutout just a if I were to manually cut it out.
Next, I took a table saw and set the rip fence to allow making a cut
about 1/8 -> 3/16 inch inside of the line and cut up to about 1/4
inch. These cuts don't run the length of the insert, but stop about
1/4 inch from the "end" of their portion of the cutout. I then used
the scroll saw to cut the "ends" and most of the scrap dropped free.
Now, to clean up
Next, I turned the "new" insert face up. The insert sets the bottom of
the actual surface about 1/8 inch above the surface of the acrylic
that I want to clean up, so I was able to simply clamp it, right side
up to the insert being built and positioned it so that the cutout
matched the one I'd drawn on the Acrylic. Then I mounted the 1/2 inch
router bit in the router and adjusted the height so that the bearing
would ride on the edge of the original insert. Then, I set the router
speed to minimum and cut the new insert's cutout to size. The router
leaves a smooth edge that requires no sanding.
Once that was done, I sanded off the corners along the radius lines
I'd drawn and checked that the insert would fit the cabinet. I then
mounted the machine, slipped on the new insert, and checked that
everything fit. I also marked out the location of the bobbin door. I
removed the insert and routed a 45 degree chamfer that left about 1/16
inch of material at the top side of the insert.
Then, I washed the new insert with soap and water to get rid of all of
the plastic dust that clung to the insert due to static charge. That
completed the job. It took about an hour and a half including the time
spent thinking about how to do the job.
Hope this helps.
Jerry Jankura
So many toys.... So little time...."
Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (13)
1b. Re: Acrylic Insert for Cabinet[/i]
