Eggcrate - How should I cut it?

So, went to home depot today and picked up some eggcrate, one big sheet of white, another of the 'shinny' silver. It seems very 'brittle' and I was curious what the best way to cut it is?
 

lonelytree

New Member
any type of grinder, dremel or rotary tool with a cutting blade. I have used a 4 1/2" grinder before. This also leaves a nice smooth edge.
 

nuro

Member
bigass

[hr]
driver :) takes no time just line it up and drag it down. cover your eyes, that stuff will go flying
 

king_neptune

Active Member
i took a pliers and just pinched off the first few inches..then I gave one solid swipe and they all broke in a solid line.
 
Thanks everyone! I ended up using the Dremel with a thin cutting blade and it worked great! It took a little while to cut all the braces down to the size I wanted but it was worth it.
It surprised me that the grate sits flush with the tank top! I was worried you would see it, but unless you are taller than the top you do not see it. I used the reflective metal one, not the standard white plastic. I am curious to see how it looks when the MH's kick on! Glad to have the glass gone too!
 

t316

Active Member
Personally I would not use the "shiny silver", but if you do, watch it because it has a tendancy to flake off and those flakes will end up in your tank. I'm not sure what that metalic looking stuff is that they use to make it "shiny", but it doesn't always stay on.
 
Originally Posted by T316
http:///forum/post/2947626
Personally I would not use the "shiny silver", but if you do, watch it because it has a tendancy to flake off and those flakes will end up in your tank. I'm not sure what that metalic looking stuff is that they use to make it "shiny", but it doesn't always stay on.
Good point, that never crossed my mind. Currently it is on their pretty good, I can not scrape it off with anything shy of a knife, but that does not mean a few hundred hours under MH lights will not change it! I will keep an eye on it, at least I have the white plastic in the basement if I need to do a switch. I hope it does stay nice, it does look really good!
 

richmond98

Member
Westwind...you can use your bandsaw just turn the blade around backwards...i make a lot of custom lenses for lightbars and this is how i cut them. instead of the blade cutting down into the piece the teeth would be pointing upwards, it still cuts but doesnt "Bite" into the plastic or burns/melts it and leaves a nice edge. If there is some chunks on the side of the cut just take a utility knife and scrape the edge (if you doing it right it might sound like finger nails down a chalk board
)
please excuse my caveman drawing abilities


 
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