Plexi tips

In a futile attempt to find some kind of mesh that wasn't outrageously expensive, I decided to skip it. It's really not necessary, and it would have required the motherboard mounting tray to be raised above it. I decided just to rivet plexi to the bottom frame, and the board will be mounted directly onto that.

Here's the plexi trick that I learned while building my arcade cab. I've heard many different opinions on the best way to cut/break plexi, and they're all tricky and rarely work for me. So, I came up with my own way. I'm sure I'm not the first, but I haven't seen it elsewhere, so here it is...

Step 1: Measure and lightly score where your break will be, and line up that score line with the edge of your workbench (or a good, straight board edge). Place a board on top, also lined up with the score line. Clamp it down tight. It's best to have the scrap end outside, so that your desired piece is protected. When you break, if it happens to stray from your score lines, it will happen outside the edge of the board.

Step 2: Score deeply along that line. I got this handy little tool for it, but a sharp razor blade works just as well. Make sure it goes quite deep, and that you go all the way to the edges of your piece. If you skimp at the edges, you'll have some filing/Dremel-ing to do, and unless you're really good, it will probably never be quite even.

Step 3: You only see one of my hands here, but you'll want to use both hands. Place your hands in positions at which the pressure will be evenly distributed along the break line. I find it easiest to have the heels of my hands closer to the score lines, with my fingers curling under the edge of the piece. Now, start to apply pressure, then push down sharply. I wore the gloves here to get a good grip, since I was breaking off a pretty small piece.

You should get a lovely, clean break every time. The key is the board on top applying pressure. I always hear people say you just need to apply even pressure on both sides, but for longer breaks, it will still crack outside your score line. If your piece is about 6" wide or less, you can probably get away without the board and use one hand on each side of the line.