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Step 2Cut and Mark
A standard fluorescent tube is approximately 48 inches long and 1.5 inches wide (T12 = 12 * 1/8 inches wide). Take your sheet of plexi-glass and cut a piece that is 1.5 inches wide by 44 inches long. 4 inches is left in the tube for the current regulator and wiring in the ends. This is best done on a table saw while wearing all appropriate safety equipment. If you do not have access to a table saw, consider using a plastic laminate scoring knife.
You may need to adjust this step slightly to accomodate the tools you have available to you. To mark the surface of the glass, the strip of plexi-glass was clamped to a dry-wall "T" as shown below. Then using a utility knife and a general-purpose square, the marks were created. The dry-wall "T" used had fractional-inches marked on it, so they were used as a guideline as to where to create the marks. The first step in marking the glass is to go across the shortest side of the plastic, marking at regular intervals widthwise. Then the marks were created lengthwise. These second lengthwise marks could be omitted if extra car is taken in the next step if you want to make your plastic as mark-free as possible. The final product is shown below. This step is more of a general guideline. Your process will almost certainly differ. If you are marking holes for 87 LEDs, you will be creating 29 rows. This works out to approximately 1 3/8 inches between groups if starting 1 1/2 inches from the end.
You may need to adjust this step slightly to accomodate the tools you have available to you. To mark the surface of the glass, the strip of plexi-glass was clamped to a dry-wall "T" as shown below. Then using a utility knife and a general-purpose square, the marks were created. The dry-wall "T" used had fractional-inches marked on it, so they were used as a guideline as to where to create the marks. The first step in marking the glass is to go across the shortest side of the plastic, marking at regular intervals widthwise. Then the marks were created lengthwise. These second lengthwise marks could be omitted if extra car is taken in the next step if you want to make your plastic as mark-free as possible. The final product is shown below. This step is more of a general guideline. Your process will almost certainly differ. If you are marking holes for 87 LEDs, you will be creating 29 rows. This works out to approximately 1 3/8 inches between groups if starting 1 1/2 inches from the end.
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