Being the perpetual upcycler that I am when it came time to dispose of our broken 52 inch tv I absolutely could NOT throw away all the parts. Like that pop-off lens cover thingy in the pretty see-through smokey brown color. What could I do with it? Well, combine one huge desk that desperately needed protection from a messy crafter with one equally huge hard plastic surface and VOILA! I have to warn you that unlike my idol Brittany over at Pretty Handy Girl I don't have the best tools or knowledge of which drill bits to use on plastic OR the excellent camera skills that she has, so if it's REAL tool skills you're looking for please hop over there because she's started an awesome series of video tuts for folks like me who aren't afraid to use a tool, just lack a tad bit of knowledge and need her expertise. So, now on with the sheee-ooooohhhh.....
My go-to tool is the Dremel. Mainly because it's the only one I can reach and it doesn't weigh a ton. Plus I bought a ton (no kidding, well not a ton in weight, more like a gazillion) bits and attachments for it that haven't seen the light of day since being slipped in to the fancy 3-foot tall rolling tool box I bought for it. First I laid the plastic on the desk (please note the completely empty desk because you will NEVER see it this way again!).
Then I traced a line where the edge of the desk was so I'd know where to cut it.
My handy Dremel with the tile-cutting attachment and the bit that said it was for plastic.
After cutting only about 3 inches I brought in the reinforcements, ear plugs and the cotton swab to clean my ears before inserting the plugs. For someone with severe tinnitus you'd think I'd know better than to expose my ears to the extremely high-pitched whining the tool made while cutting the plastic!
Here's what the edge looked like after cutting. The plastic actually melted to the drill bit. Sorry no pic of that.
Ah, note to self, NEVER cut all the way to the end of something without supporting the piece about to drop off or you'll have a mess!
Another view of the rough edge. Actually, come to think of it this picture should come before the one up there with the white edge. That other picture shows what it looked like after I sanded the edge.
The metal sanding bit I used on the edge. Now go back up to the other picture to see what it looked like.
Since the edge was still a little sharp I dug out my handy-dandy rubber shelf liner, cut strips and laid under the plastic. Go figure, had to protect the desk from the desk protector!
The finished product! Ta da! I'll post another pic when I get my stuff put back on the desk, but for tonight I've got two get well cards to make (mom's in the hospital) and you know what that means. Yup, messy desk!
