Slightly OT: tips for fabricating with plexiglass?

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005, Computer Collector Newsletter wrote: Generally this happens at the instant the drill-bit "breaks through" and grabs a chunk of material at the edge of the hole. This 'jam' communicates the torque to the plastic which, being somewhat brittle, cracks and/or breaks. One thing you can do is pilot-drill it with a much smaller drill, and then run the big drill half-way through, flipping the work over and then drilling from the other side so the holes meet in the middle. This takes some accuracy, and a 'jig' on a drill-press, so that the holes line up. As well, when working with Plexiglass (or Perspex) - it collects scratches and scrapes which must then be polished back out. So the less you work with it, the prettier it is. Why not just ask the plastic place to drill it for you? Most will be happy to do this for a few bucks. I've had a lot of custom high-voltge fixtures made at various plastic supply houses - you give 'em a scketch or drawing and they do the work very nicely, since that's what they do for a living... If you do drill it yourself - the secret is to go very slowly and lightly - getting extremely careful lnear the end of the hole... use a variable speed drill if you can and taek it easy. Get some small scraps of the same material if you can, and practice on them... Cheers John