Filling redundant 'Pilot Holes' in Acrylic sheet

mjkelshaw Member

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Age: 82
Location: Torquay, Devon, England
Posts: 232


« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2018, 11:12:43 AM » Thank you for the replies chaps.
Just to clarify, I'm not really concerned with the 'visability', as the present holes are beneath the 'pan'. I'm more worried about my abilty to accurately drill the new holes which are almost adjacent to the old ones without causing causing a 'crack' which might extend beyond the 'pan' and thus mar the visible surface finish.
The 'pan' is a snug fit into the plinth opening, however, in order to align the front edge of the chassis with the front edge of the plinth, I have to rotate it slightly, hence the mis-alignment of the existing pilot holes.
I have taken the precaution of ordering a new drill bit which is recommended for drilling 'acrylic', however, after further reading, it would appear that I need to start with a small diameter bit and then work upwards - So I shall need to order a couple more - DOH!
I shall certainly now do some further 'browsing' to ascertain the availability of clear 'rods' and also the types of 'epoxy' available.
As I've never previously filled/drilled any acrylic, and I don't want to ruin an expensive plinth, which I cannot afford to replace, I'm approaching this with caution.
Further as a complete novice, I would also appreciate any futher 'tips' regarding the actual 'drilling operation', for instance, I'm assuming that it would also be sensible to 'mask' the area to be drilled?

Regards

Mike Kelshaw vanakaru Member

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Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Posts: 549


« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2018, 12:35:29 PM » Acrylic rods are the best option. These come in various sizes and cheap. Use proper glue to set these. Epoxy is another(and faster easier) option. I would leave a little extra epoxy mound on the top so you will be drilling through the epoxy at the start. It gives you some kind of pilot for actual acrylic underneath.
Drilling acrylic your drill-bit needs to be grind to the angle of 60-75 degrees versus normal 120. With this special bit you don't need several sizes really. I have used either normal or special bits (smaller sizes up to 5mm) and there is not much difference in result however it is much convenient to use special bits. Just keep the speed low not to create too much heat to melt and crack the acrylic.