Source for Plexiglass sheets

Plexiglas isn't cheap and you'll probably need a 4'x8' sheet. Most suppliers will cut it to your needs for a nominal charge. Cutting Plexiglas (DIY) is no fun and can be dangerous as those chards are sharp.

Bill,

Give your local Home Depot or Lowes a try...I remember the local home depot near me carries various lengths, sizes, & thicknesses of plexi-glass sheets. Might be worth a shot.

If you are handy with tools (I am assuming you are) you could probably cut the stuff with a fine tooth blase on a skill saw or deep score it with a razor knife and snap it at the cut.

 

Nick B

Boston Metro Hi-Railers

Another thought I had regarding dgauss's comment. What's the alternative? Maybe it gets expensive at the 1/4"+ thickness but the 1/8" should work fine, and be able to bend around curves...and shouldn't be that expensive. I mean how high do you really need the barricade? Shouldn't 2-3" be more than enough to stop a train from smashing on the floor? Or..here's a thought...cut the stuff into 1" strips and make some vertical supports out of the same stuff but make them 1/2" width x 2" height....and then CA the pieces together. They'll be "see through"/less visible and at the same time provide you with the protection you need.

 

*PS: I've been thinking about implementing something like this at our club (for concealed from the fornt inner loops that are exposed at the inner core) and making the
pieces dettachable using heavy duty clear velcro...(using 2 part clear epoxy or CA to secure the velcro to the vertical side of the layout and also the plexiglass)

 

Nick B

Boston Metro Hi Railers

We use 1/8" Lexan strips on our modular display to keep trains in, and fingers out.  Lexan is about the same cost as Plexiglass, but much stronger.  We had a window glass shop cut 6"x30" strips for our modules.   They charged very little to do the cuts -  it was well worth it.  The strips sit in a pocket made from a 1X2 screwed to the front of the module.

 

Bob

 

 

I put Lexan on my "around the room" wall track.

LOWES cut the large sheet to requested width @ No Charge, just cost the price of the big sheet. Lengths I had to cut myself.

Bill, If you have any curves then you want Lexan (aka polycarbonate). 1/16" is plenty strong and it can be bent. It has the same characteristics as soft aluminum. It will bend long before it will break. If you have 50 feet to do get a plastic cutting blade for your table saw or skil saw and do it outside. It will leave a better edge without chipping. It won't make any more dust than wood. Most medium size cities have plastic suppliers. You'll probably get a better price there than at a home store. We use it on our modular layout as well.

 

Pete

FCTT-hirailers

try white picket fences. thats what I use at train shows.

notice the white picket fences on the corners. they have saved me more

than once and it adds to the overall look of the board.

Bill, If you have any curves then you want Lexan (aka polycarbonate). 1/16" is plenty strong and it can be bent. It has the same characteristics as soft aluminum. It will bend long before it will break. If you have 50 feet to do get a plastic cutting blade for your table saw or skil saw and do it outside. It will leave a better edge without chipping. It won't make any more dust than wood. Most medium size cities have plastic suppliers. You'll probably get a better price there than at a home store. We use it on our modular layout as well.

 

Bill, this note from Pete is perfect. Saves $$$ and time.

Larry, been their done that.

For sheets I went to local company (Great Lakes plastic), and they had a scrap bin. Each sheet was about 8-10 inches by 36" and very reasonable.  Most likely there is something similar around you.

Many, many years ago I took a community education class on plastic fabrication techniques...heat forming, cutting, welding, finishing, etc..  What I remember re easiest cutting was a sharp carbide-tipped blade for the 10" table saw having a minimum of 80 teeth, the more the better.  Reason: You want to take small, clean, shaving-type bites, rather than chunky 'mouthfuls' more common with soft wood.  This, plus a slow steady feed will give you a very clean chip-free edge.

 

However, anymore I use the advice above and go to our local plastics fabrication company here in Flint, MI, SOROC Plastics.  They're excellent, accommodating, and reasonably priced.  When we built our store layouts, we had them cut the sliding/fixed clear panels for the periphery.  We also asked them to put a 'flamed' edge on the panels. Flaming is a technique of some skill in which a butane flame is passed along the cut edge of the plastic to quickly melt the surface and corners of the edge to give a smooth, clear, polished appearance.  VERY professional-looking.  It's not something you want to do yourself without serious practice.  At SOROC, it was a SOP that cost a few dollars total for the panels we ordered...WELL worth it.

 

Another thought about the panels.  We didn't use plexi-glass (a.k.a., Lexan) because of its expense.  We chose 1/8" acrylic...much less costly.  Reason?  Sure, in a barrier situation it will need regular cleaning of dust, fingerprints, ...boogers!..., and everything else that the viewing world can throw at it.  As such it will, as sure as God made green apples, get scratched and lose its clarity.  Plexiglass is tough to survive rough handling, blows, bullets, etc., but it, too, will scratch.  Polishing out the scratches is not a time-effective alternative.  Rather, we decided that the lower cost of acrylic would justify eventually re-purchasing replacement panels when the optical clarity was unacceptable.  AND acrylic is SO much easier to work with.  You just have to understand that it can't take excessive bending stress that the plexi's might survive.

 

Just some thoughts for sharing...

 

KD 

Piedmont Plastics

Baltimore/Washington
Elkridge, MD 21075
301-881-7900

Home Depot used to sell large sheets, but no more at our local one. They do have one that can be cut to make two 4' long panels.

Since it is expensive, I would find a source to supply you with the number of sheets you need in the correct size. A cutting mishap can equal $$$.

Also, to help avoid shattering, mount the panels behind wood or other material to hold them in place. If you use screws to mount them. use a rubber washer btween the screw and the plexiglass. People viewing the layout seem to hang onto the plexiglass without thinking.

Re: cutting method - FWIW Bosch makes a special blade for cutting plexiglass using a jig saw.  I found it at HD and it cuts extremely smooth.  It does not cost any more or,less than their regular wood or steel cutting blades.   

 

I had to cut some curves as well as straights.  It worked  like a charm.  Although given the linear feet that you need to cut this might not be a solution for you.  I did use a guide for cutting the straights and that worked fine.

 

Thanks,

Ed

Pete, considering the lengths I'll be working with, I'll take your suggestion and get me the special blade.  I do have a number of curves to do, so thin will be better.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

To all:  Thanks for all the suggestions.  I certainly have  plenty of advice to consider.

 

Bill

Bill-

 

Where are you located? Perhaps I may be of help coaching you through getting material for this project. There are two different types of acrylic plastic that we use, cell cast and extruded. The cel cast is more expensive, but machines easier and cleaner using the 80-tooth 10" blade on a table saw. The kerf on a fresh cut on extruded acrylic will often seal itself back up with the slag that is coming off the back of the blade. The trick is to put a strip of masking tape on both sides of the sheet where the cut line is. The cut edge can be cleaned up by using a sanding block, 2" wide by 10"-12" long, with 80 grit on one side and 120-180 grit on the other side.

 

Ideally, use Acrylite GP (cell cast product). Next, opt for imported cell cast acrylic (most likely from Mexico). Next choice would be Acrylite FF (extruded product). Lastly, I would choose Lexan (polycarbonate product).

 

If you need to drill holes in plastic, it is best to get a plastic bit. They have sharper-angled points and different material removal characteristics. If possible, drill through a block of wood that already has the correct diameter hole in it into your plastic material. The back of the plastic should be supported with wood to help prevent tear out. Slow and steady is best. Experiment on a piece of scrap with and without the wood to understand what happens when the plastic is not supported correctly.

http://www.estreetplastics.com/category_s/51.htm

 

other pages have different thicknesses.

 

 

Thanks Jim.  That is the source I was looking for.

 

Bill

Doug, thanks for the "how to do" info.  I have purchased an 80 tooth blade for my circular saw (it's a 5 3/8" trim saw).  I'm still deciding on what type of drill bits for plastic to choose from.  Some are like diamond hole saws for glass, ceramic, plastics, etc. (I have one of those, but it's a 1/4" size.  Not sure at this time just what size would be appropriate for installation).  Another type, which I'm not familiar with, looks like a sort of spade blade which the source indicated was specifically for plastics.

 

I have not started the project yet nor acquired all the materials.  Holidays caught up with me.  Will be a good project for the winter doldrums.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

You can see our modular setup at SGMA.us. We used 1/4" thick 9" by 48" pieces. We are moving to the 1/8" thickness.

 

We have Sievers fascia board with a rabbit cut to accept the 1/4" lexan. It has holes drilled 4" on center to attach to the edge of your layout. It is available from Sievers for $12.

Since I'm not worried about kids, I'm thinking of stringing elastic cord around parts of my layout, maybe following the track in some areas, much like median barriers on highways. Having a desert landscape theme should eventually allow me to add some natural barriers of rock/sandy hills around the outside of the track and not have the trains run right up to the edge of the benchwork. I might even try to simulate the fences I see along the track between Tucson and El Paso. I could probably even use telephone poles with thin fishing line strung between them.

This does keep hand off and trains on the doard if you have a derailment. I have never had a train hit the floor. What I think it does is it takes away from the appearance of the layout. Makes it look like your trains are in a Fish bowl.

Like I said never had a train hit the floor or have I lost any items from my modules at shows and have been doing shows for over 30 years. I like the wide open appearance.

My first layout had a downhill that went right to a curve so there were a lot of disasters in the beginning. I ended up finding 1' x 2' acrylic sheets at Home Depot. Each sheet had a protective paper on the surface so it helped when cutting with a jigsaw. The only issue that you have to be careful of is when drilling holes. The acrylic can crack with too much pressure. Drill small pilot holes first before drilling to the proper size.

I just checked my local Home Depot and they sell 12" x 24", 18" x 24" and 36" x 48" Lexan sheets. The 12 x 24 sheets are 3/32" thick and the cost is $12.98 each.

Been reading this post. Similar to the Control panel posts. Lots of misinformation. Todd is most accurate. Lexan is brand name for GE polycarbonate sheet. Plexiglas is brand name for R and H acrylic sheet. Never drill pilot holes for acrylic. Step drills work well. Best is negative rake plastic bit. But you can also just dull a plain twist bit with sandpaper. Acrylic should be cut with a .063-.090 carbide triple chip with a 4 degree to negative 7 degree rake. Extruded sheet is best with a positive rake and relatively fast feed rate. It it is resealng or gumming than you are moving to slow or your blade is dull. Acrylic can easily be heat (thermo) formed with a heat strip, propane torch or ordinary oven. Acrylic solvent bonds with methylene chloride Weldbond , etc... Polycarbonate will solvent bond but joint will always be weaker than the substrate. You can polish acrylic, not polycarbonate. You can sand acrylic edges or scrape with razor and eventually polish to clear. Not so with polycarbonate and it does not sand well. Cast acrylic machines the best. Polycarbonate can be scored and snapped with soft edge. Acrylic can be but edge will need to be sanded. Most large cities will have a plastic fabricator who can cut both to any size and shape including holes, cut outs, and edge finishing for less than most can buy the material. Sign companies sub out to them al the time. Sign companies will do it but might charge more markup on materials and labor. Everyone thinks polycarbonate is stronger. What does that mean. Polycarbonate is soft, acrylic is hard. You can drive a nail through polycarbonate, acrylic will crack. Shards are not formed when you cut acrylic. FMH

Hi, If you are anywhere near SE PA I have a lot of brand new lexan cut to size for just what you are planning. They are free to anyone who wants to pick them up. They are brand new and even have the protective paper still on them. I'm guessing about 30 feet.

My local HD carrys Plexiglass but not Lexan. My Lowes has both, and I just learned the hard way that Lexan is much more durable than plexiglass. Lexan is more expensive but can be drilled with regular wood drill bits and won't crack/shatter.

 

If you plan on drilling holes to mount the strips.....I HIGHLY suggest Lexan over Plexiglass. I spent about 30-40 hours building a control panel with a piece of Plexiglass and while drilling the holes for the toggles, it cracked. It was a $12 piece of Plexiglass and the same size sheet of Lexan was $33.

 

Lowes has all the facts on their display. Acrylic (PLexiglass) is 50x stronger than glass.... Polycarbonet (Lexan) is 250x stronger than glass.

 

Rich from Korber also had the same experience with his home made distribution blocks. Plexiglass cracked when drilling holes so he switched to Lexan and never looked back.

I have drilled thousands of holes in acrylic. And even tap for machine screws. It is not difficult. And I have guys do it first day on the job. You just have to know how to do it. Do not be discouraged by others failure. Museums use acrylic for display cases with flawless joinery. They do not use polycarbonate. No comparison for optical clarity. Now if I could only figure out diodes and resisters. FMH

And tap it with a cordless drill.

Thanks Bill for posting this.  I’ve been lurking here for quite a while and just recently started posting in general.  This question was going to be my first on the scenery forum, so I was super excited to see all the replies here.  I have one small area on my layout where I added an interchange to the outside of my loop to connect it with the rest of the world.  The track leads to the edge of the layout and the only way to get the visual effect I was going for without allowing my trains direct access to the floor is plexiglass or polycarbonate.  Thanks Jim for the link to eStreet. Since I don’t need a full sheet this will probably be the route I go.  And thanks to everybody else for your info on sources and working with these materials as well. 

Another trick to drill plexiglass is to use regular drill bits and run the drill in reverse with light pressure, you're melting the plexiglass at the drill tip, take your time and you'll drill through without any chipping or cracking, just use a utility knife to clean up any melted plastic as soon as you're done drilling the plexiglass.

Our Modular group, Stillmeadow Crossing would be interested in picking up your lexan.  Contact me at rrdoc AT comcast DOT net
Thanks
Bob