Alright guys, I'm gonna start making some LED rings for some of my customers' boats pretty soon. I've experimented with a few things so far:
For cupholders, I've put a single LED facing up in the drain hole of a cupholder, sealed it, then covered with a lens. The lens was cut out with a hole saw, sanded smooth to look frosted, then sealed in. The center hole was plugged with a white nylon cap. It's decent, but could be better. I have pics, but they're not uploaded yet.
I'm considering building a router table. I've already got a 4X8 rolling workbench in the shop, so I'm gonna integrate a router into it. I'll top it first with a full sheet of 3/4" Melamine, then I was going to pick up a Rockler table plate (
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21299&filter=router%20table), and a Craftsman Professional 2 1/4hp router. The router would be at one end, upside down, mounted with that router plate. Let me know if I'm on the right track.
I chose the CMan router because I'll probably only use this on the table. I have a smaller trim router that I use sometimes also.
What's the best way to cut out these lenses or make LED rings? I use Oznium's LED's so that's covered. Also, how are they frosted? Just by sanding them with finer grit sandpaper? I used a sandblaster on one, but the finish was too coarse and it left the plastic looking brownish.
I think I've seen where some shops have CNC machines to do this with, but that's more than I intend to deal with.
Any help is appreciated. Again, this is for local customers of mine. They won't be marketed or sold online or here.....