Working with Polycarbonate

April 22, 2024 3:20 PM

I want to attached this lexan top to this desk stand.

How to do this? Drill holes into the polycarbonate for an insert? What kind of insert? What kind of screw/bolt?
The red circles in the desk stand top highlight the holes through which the screw/bolt would go.

posted by falsedmitri to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Best answer: I would:
lay out the lexan,
Use a skinny pen/marker or punch to mark the holes,
Drill about 1/2" into the lexan (bottom side) A bit narrower than the intended bolt,
Tap the threads right into the lexan,
Bolt from below.

Or just insert and ca glue some brass rod (or anything, even a wood dowel) and drop the top on since gravity will do most of the work.

Or if laziest mode is activated, just run a bead of clear silicone on some parts of the frame and drop the lexan on that.
posted by Acari at 6:04 PM on April 22 [1 favorite]

I would simply run a thin bead of silicon along everywhere the frame will touch the lexan sheet and carefully place it on, maybe using a small amount of pressure to push the lexan down onto the silicon (you could use spring clamps or something, but you don't want uneven pressure on the lexan or it will end up warped). Don't touch it until the silicon dries, or it will slide out of place.

You actually don't need that much silicon, but you don't want the sheet to 'tap' against the frame. You could reduce the amount of silicon by running maybe 1" beads every 1 or 2".
posted by dg at 7:28 PM on April 22 [2 favorites]

FWIW, they make specialist drill bits for Lexan, which you’d be well-advised to consider if you end up drilling. Plastics can be a bastard and a half for drills, unless you like broken plastic.

If you go with the silicone (I would, it’s reversible) maybe don’t use clamps at all, and just evenly stack a few books on top around the perimeter?
posted by aramaic at 9:56 PM on April 22 [1 favorite]

I've had trouble drilling polycarbonate without cracking, despite following advice I found for it. Found it much trickier to work with than acrylic or plexiglass, for reference.

Since you have this one piece of material and no do-overs, I would go adhesive.
posted by away for regrooving at 10:06 PM on April 22 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips. Adhesive may be the way to go. The piece is so heavy its largely secure just setting there.
posted by falsedmitri at 5:38 AM on April 23