squaring up acrylic projects

[xchrisjb]

Forgive my ignorance ...

How do you DIY folks make sure that your acrylic panels are square when making a tank, sump, box, etc?

I'm going to give my first acrylic project a go this weekend. I figured I'd start off simple and try making a simple box for a specimen holding container. I'd like it to be as square and proper as possible. Eventually I'll move up to making my own tank (~30g) and sump for my 135g.

Thanks!

[aquababy]

Clamps - pipe clamps or their equivalent but be sure to cover any parts that come in contact with the palstic with a thick cloth swatch to keep from scratching. Aslo be careful not to use too much pressure as it might bend and crack what you are making..

[xchrisjb]

Any pictures? When it comes to DIY or home improvement stuff, pictures help a great deal.

[Acrylics]

for small stuff, I wouldn't worry *too* much about everything being exactly square - it can actually be somewhat difficult (and frustrating). What is more important is that the panels are parallel even if they are a little out of square - it is better that they be equally out of square. This permits the panels to remain flat. Flatness is far more important insofar as overall stress goes once the tank is filled, thus joint integrity.
Eg., imagine gluing the two ends onto the front panel of a tank, if the edges on the ends are not parallel to each other, there is no way to make the bottom flat, thus the tank must be torqued in order to glue onto the top & bottom. make sense? If it is torqued, you'll see that the tank will not sit flat. This creates a bunch of unnecessary stress on the glue joints.
BTW, if you have a router table, it's easy to make the parts similar simply by flush cutting one off the other.

HTH,
James