Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

[Red_Label]

Hi all.

I bought a 30"X36" sheet of 1/4" Plexiglass with the intention of building a sound shield to put in front of my Marshall 1960 4X12 cab. I usually play the clubs un-miked and want my sound to be dispersed all over the club, and not mainly in the face/ears of whomever happens to be sitting at a table in front of my rig.

I have gone through several ideas as to how to mount this sheet for rigidity and for how to make it stand-up. Below is a pic of my latest idea. I'm thinking of taking two peices of "U" shaped angle iron (or some sort of metal) and pinning or glueing them to the left and right sides of the sheet of plexiglass. There will be leg's extending to some sort of foot below.

Any ideas on where I might get this "angle iron" to do the job? Or what I might call it? Do you think they have somthing like this at Home Depot (where I got the plexiglass)? Any other input or ideas for this stand or a different type of stand would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ericmeyer4]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

If your angle iron idea doesn't work out couldn't you use a wood frame?

run a 2x4 across a table saw to make some groves for the glass and then strew on some feet.

If you can drill through glass and the iron I would drill a few holes for it to hold it. If you want it to be super strong, it might be a good idea to run iron along the top and bottom as well.

Good luck on your project.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

+1 to the wood, though I'd use a dado set instead of multiple passes over the regular blade. A router could cut the slot if you lack access to a table saw.

At a previous job I built industrial robot cells, and used a lot of plexiglass guards. Often, we fabricated frames out of modular aluminum extrusions, like this stuff here. It's nice, but it can get expensive. The link is to just one of many vendors.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

Thanks for the input guys.

I think I'm going to go head and use my 1" oak dowels. I'll screw a peice of U-channel along the length of each one. Then I'll fit one on each side of the plexiglass. I'll then drill several small holes through the U-channel along the length. Then pin that in each spot. Then, all I have to do is to make a couple of small bases that I drill a 1" hole in and place the dowels in those. Voila...

 

[Reload in 5]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

Thanks for the input guys.

I think I'm going to go head and use my 1" oak dowels. I'll screw a peice of U-channel along the length of each one. Then I'll fit one on each side of the plexiglass. I'll then drill several small holes through the U-channel along the length. Then pin that in each spot. Then, all I have to do is to make a couple of small bases that I drill a 1" hole in and place the dowels in those. Voila...

not to be negative but I think that might be really flimsy.

 

[ginormous]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

Perhaps some aluminum extruded pieces, a la window frames, but cut to fit and hinged on the sides. Lowe's, HD, many places would have this. Wood dowels aren't durable enough IMHO.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

Thanks for the concern guys. And I do see where you are coming from. I already have a bunch of 1" thick by 4' long OAK dowels and they are damn stout. They look like they are up to the task of supporting my sheet of 1/4" plexiglass. But I won't be doing anything until this weekend, so I'll keep my eye out for more hearty aluminum frame material because I would rather go that way anyways.

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

Sounds like a interesting twist on the age old...Just drape a piece of carpet on your cab. It sure will look better. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Mike M.]

Re: Frame for Plexiglass Sound Shield...

I'll bet if you went to Lowes or Home Depot and looked in thier hardware departments you could find just about anything to get the job done.
I'm working on something similar myself.