What's Tef-Mat you ask? Tef-Mat is my next-gen mouse pad I'll be creating in my spare time. It will be made with a lexan base sitting upon rubber feet, with a sheet of Teflon for an extremely smooth mousing surface. It probably won't be my main computer's mouse pad, since I like having authentic hardware and stuff at my main computer, but it will most likely end up being use with my LAN PC. Since this will be done in my free time, it COULD take longer than expected, as I've been feeling more lazy than usual lately. Onto the project! First we'll start with some of the stuff I'll be using for this project. Mountain Dew Shopsmith Band Saw Shopsmith Unit w/sanding disc Stoner's Invisible Glass (glass cleaner) My friend Pat can say for sure that Stoner's Invisible Glass will work wonders on virtually any surface, and get it as clean as possible, without streaking.
Here is the sheet of lexan I'm using for the base of this pad. It is 1/4" thick and fairly scratch resistant, which isn't terribly important, since I'll be covering the top of it with the Teflon sheet. Here is the sheet of lexan I'm using for the base of this pad. It is 1/4" thick and fairly scratch resistant, which isn't terribly important, since I'll be covering the top of it with the Teflon. I've used M$ Paint to highlight the lines which I'll be cutting along. As always, when working with any tools in the workshop, don't forget to wear your trusty eye protection. I can't tell you how many times I've shot sawdust into my left eye and scratched the cornea. WEAR EYE PROTECTION WHEN WORKING WITH POWER TOOLS! Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get our hands on that band saw! Whenever I cut plastics with this band saw, I always use the 1/4" blade, and I lower the blade guard to about 3mm above the lexan, so it can slide under it easily.
After cutting the lexan, I get this: Notice the white stuff around some of the border, this happens when I use a Dremel at high speed as well, but since the band saw isn't moving as fast, the plastic cools down enough after melting, that it doesn't droop back over the cut and bond again, as it does with the Dremel. This white, melted and hardened plastic is actually quite brittle, and easily falls off using my thumb to push it towards the edge. And the base after cleaning up the edges a bit. Now that cutting the base is done, It's time to do a bit of detail work. I don't want this thing looking so "DIY", with sharp edges and all. This is why we're using the Shopsmith. For loosing the sharp edges, we're going to be using the 220 grit 12" sanding disc in place of a saw blade, running it at a low motor speed so as not to melt the plastic to much.
Angling the edges on plastic with this type of setup makes it easy as pie. Just be sure to check the edge often, cause using the Shopsmith with a 220 grit sanding disc well eat away that material pretty damn fast. Here is a visual of what setting I had the Shopsmith set to so that it doesn't melt the plastic to badly, but still removes material smoothly. To get the edge I wanted, I went down into the disc with the lexan at an angle similar to this.
And for now I'll leave you with some shots of the sanded edges. IMHO, I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm still in need of figuring out what to use for the rubber feet on this, and experimenting with the Super 77 adhesive, I'm leaving that open for discussion and opinions. I need to polish the sanded edges a bit, just to clean it up and not leave it so rough feeling, as that could irritate the wrist after extended use. I can't promise anyone on when the next update will be, but I can assure you I won't forget about this. Time Spent - 1 hour & 15 minutes
sweet, if this turns out good i might do something similar as i have all the tools at my school (who needs a ICEmat anyway LOL )
Well, I don't own an Ulti-Mat, but I've seen them for sale on Frozen CPU. I myself use an X-Ray Thunder8 on my main computer which I do everything on. The whole reason I've started this project has two reasons. 1) My LAN PC recieved my MX510 a week ago, after my friend from out of town gave me an MX1000. 2) I recieved a rather large Teflon release sheet from work (I work at McDonalds as a manager). The Teflon is very smooth, which gave me the idea to use it as a mousing surface.
