I do some woodworking as a hobby by no means am I a pro. I made my wife a curio case out of scrap wood and some tempered glass that I picked up from a retail store that was throwing them away. They were the perfect size, long enough for the sides and door and smaller for the shelfs.She and other folks loved the finished piece which is the problem, I have a daughter,mother-in-law and friends that would love to have one, I have no more glass. I would like to build more. My question;what would the smallest size(thick)for the sides and door and shelfs if I went with lexan or plexiglass? And where can I get it cheap. I am trying to stay away from glass since it breaks so easy. Any ideas,hints,tricks will be helpful thanks

 

If you go with Lexan or plastic you have to go thicker. Both of these products scratch so shelves would eventually look bad. Both would probably cost you more than glass also. You would also have to buff out the edges from being cut. Personal opinion would be to go with the glass. Thinner is okay on the sides but the shelves should be able to hold some weight. Good luck.

 

There's a difference in the look of glass versus plastic and I think you would be disappointed with the finished result if you didn't use glass, plus all the other reasons for glass majak mentioned.

 

I definately agree with the others. And I would add that glass is not really that expensive if you order it from a glass shop. 1/4" tempered glass with a ground edge is best for shelves. For any other glass that won't have to hold weight you can use SS (single strength) or DS (double strength, which is a little thicker and harder to accidentally break).

Just as an idea, call any window contractor and ask him if you can have some used storm window glass. It's easy to take out of the frame and reuse.