Have you priced custom sized plexiglass sheets? I was shocked when I got a quote from the local glass supply store to line these 4 shelves with 1/4″ plexiglass cut to size! Instead, I went about figuring out how to do it myself… Here are some tips for DIY cutting plexiglass, it worked out great!
This cute antique shoerack really came from a shoe factory. I knew a gal that bought a stash of these from a shoe factory long after they closed. I bought it from her for less than $20!
That was like 30 plus years ago… We’ve used it for keeping shoes on as well as multiple different storage purposes.
But…
it always had an issue…
The wooden dowels that comprise the shelves have large gaps in between them, causing things to drop through or sit cattywampus.
My new purpose for this shoe rack demanded nice flat shelving. (See further down for what that new purpose is, I’m super excited about it!!)
I love the look of the dowels, so didn’t want to just lay wood shelving or something across them and lose that charming look of the dowel shelving. That’s where plexiglass came it.
However, when I called the local glass company for a price, I about fell off my chair! They wanted almost $400 to cut the pieces to fit in these 4 shelves. YIKES!
Next thought…
Look online…
I found 12″ wide pieces that I could buy in lengths a little longer than I needed for my shelves. I just needed a way to cut them to the exact right length. The plexiglass I wanted is super sturdy 1/4″ thick, so it won’t bow and bend on the shelves.
With some research I found the special jigsaw blade specifically for cutting plexiglass. HERE is the shopping link for a Bosch plexiglass blade.
The plexiglass was shipped with a plastic and paper liner on both sides to protect it from scratches in shipment. We left that on when we cut it.
After measuring and marking the plexiglass, (super easy to just mark right on the paper), the battery operated jigsaw with the special plexiglass cutting blade inserted, cut through it really well.
The hardest part is to get the cutting line started.
Then just following the line it zipped through, and left a fairly clean cut. For my purpose, the plexiglass edges are concealed inside the wooden edge. If the plexiglass edges were more exposed, I could easily file them to remove the sharp edge.
Want to see how easy it was to cut through? Here’s a 30 second video showing my husband cutting the plexiglass:
After the plexiglass was cut, I just had to peel off the paper/plastic liner.
It was stuck on pretty good, but not too hard to pull off. The directions did say that if it is too difficult to remove, you could soak the plexiglass in water for a bit to loosen the liner.
So…
What am I going to be using these shelves for???
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