Thread: Glowing Rules Sign

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Been wanting to build this for some time and finally got around to it last weekend. The lettering is cut into the Plexi with a C&C router and it has a Blue LED Strip top and bottom from Harbor Freight. It will hang on on of my new Cemetery Gates when I get them done.
Here's how it looks in the Dark, Sorry for the Camera Phone shots..


and with a flash..


Mongo

THAT is AWESOME!!!!!!
great ...now you know this HAS to be added to my already VERY long to-do-list dont ya?!
can Ya give a TUT on this please??!!
i dont have a router thingy thing, so can it be done differently? maybe with glass etching kit?
are the lights ALL the way around or just top n bottom?
ooooh i have a dremmel, will that work? if so what kind of attachment will be needed?

Not sure if it could be done with a glass etching kit, the reason the letters glow is because they are cut down into the material and they pick up the light shining through from the edges. You see signs like this in bars and stuff all the time.
It could def. be done with a dremmel and a steady hand, you'd want to use the piece that keeps you from going too deep as at most you only want to go about 1/2 way through the Plexi you'd do it just like most people do tombstones, print it out, transfer to the plexi some how and then cut.
There's a 9 inch strip top and bottom, I got them at Harbor Freight and their meant to use in and under cars so they are water resistant, and the picture on their website.. http://www.harborfreight.com/9-inch-...amp-98409.html Looks nothing like what they actually are as they are just 9 inches long.
They take 12v just like from the car so I've still got to track down a power brick (I have a whole bin of them in the shop) to power it. The Plexi I used is 1/4 inch thick and after you cut it you want to use fine sandpaper to polish the edges to maximize the light that gets in.
Mongo

Dremel even has a router attachment you could use. Another option would be to paint it on with fluorescent paints and use UV lights on the edges. You can flame polish plexi back to clear with a blowtorch. Practice on scrap first! I still mess it up half the time I try to do it.

Very nicely done! Quite professional-looking.

Very professional looking! I'm impressed!

That looks amazing! I've been needing to make a sign similar to that and yours looks great!
Thanks for the tips!

Looks fantastic. I made a small wooden sign this year but, yours blows it away. Please do a tut. How thick is the plexi? Type of router bit, etc, etc.

Nice sign!

A few tips for cutting Plexi. Use straight cut bits (2 flute max) - not up or down cutting. Also, use a small amount of dish soap and water. This keeps the plexi from melting and balling up on your bit (which will ruin the lettering). Don't overdue the water. You're holding an electric tool. You've been warned.

Also, for a really cool effect, cut the lettering backwards. Then, the front of the plexi is flat and all the cuts are on the back.

Did you mount the lights inside the frame level to the plexi glass or did you mount it in front of the plexi glass?