The completed acrylic box

Not exactly a quick and easy project, but we solved the problem of using acrylic when you can't cut factory-perfect edges.  The base has a raised plywood insert to hold the top in place. The upper part of the molding, which hides the plywood edges, is offset slightly to facilitate the removal of the top.

Next time we'd do things a little differently, but this one worked out quite well for a first attempt.

 

A useful new discovery

Needed to make an acrylic box for the non-perishable top of my son's wedding cake.  Cutting the acrylic was not a problem (#5 Flying Dutchman polar blade and slow speed works great), but we decided to use wood at the edges since my scroll saw cuts were not precise enough to attach the acrylic edges directly.

Having had little success in the past with CA glue and epoxy, we decided to try caulk to hold the acrylic in the slots in the wood strips.  Although the caulk squeeze-out seemed to clean up with water, we were still left with unsightly residue in places once it dried.  Fortunately, a call to DAP yielded the suggestion to use mineral spirits, which worked like a charm and didn't harm the acrylic.

The assembly is almost complete, and I think it should work out OK.  I'll post pictures when we're finished, regardless of how it turns out!