Acrylic glass/plexiglass is used in many different ways and fields. While making latex clothes you will use it as a cutting board on your worktable.
It shouldn´t be to small so that you have enough space to work on and can lay big pieces of latex out on it, mine is approx. 155cm x 115cm. (Don´t forgett a role of latex has at least a width of 90cm!)
The thickness of the acrylic wont be a big issue, since you wont be able to cut it all the way through. So its basicly up to you and that what you can effort.
Plexiglass used in that way, wont last forever! So keep in mind that you will have to buy after quite some time a new one or that the first one you buy is very thick so that you can just polish the cutting scratches off when it becomes to much.
Where to buy? In regular home improvement stores! (HomeDepot, Bauhaus, OBI, Silvan etc.)
Acrylic is pretty hard to work with, because it is so brittle. So measure your workspace exactly before you go out and buy it, so that you can get it cut exactly to your needs. You dont want to cut it yourself.
TIPS: Before you put your latex sheeting on, smoothen the edges of the plexiglass and maybe put some strong tape around the edges, so that the latex sheeting doesn´t get stuck there or rips.
February 10th, 2009 at %I:%M %p
I’ve found an A1, grid marked, self healing craft mat works well too – unfortunately I don’t have a table large enough for the mat right now, but that will come in time.
July 21st, 2009 at %I:%M %p
Sorry, but is there an English version of this post?
July 21st, 2009 at %I:%M %p
There should be an English version. Got to check what went wrong here.
November 28th, 2009 at %I:%M %p
I personally use particle board / chipboard. It works ok too and it’s way way cheaper than plexiglass (least in this contry.) Ps. Kick ass site you have here.
November 30th, 2009 at %I:%M %p
This is a great tip, cutting mats are good for small items but they are rather expensive. If you are cutting off the roll you’ll need an A0 sized mat. The acrylic sheet is much cheaper and some places will cut it to size for you.
I got a nice sheet that will fit perfectly on my ironing board from Wickes (UK).
May 19th, 2010 at %I:%M %p
Cut acrylic glass with a 120 tooth circular saw blade, over a piece of cheap plywood, clamped down, just built a greenhouse out of the 1/8″ thickness stuff, used 4ft by 8ft pieces. Bullet resistant lexan works best, 1/4″ would last indefinitely (I bet) if you can afford it… all this crap releases toxic gases when you cut it, so cut outside, or have some ventilation.