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DIY sofa armrest tray made from acrylic glass

Building your own sofa armrest tray is incredibly simple 
Application example
Build your own sofa armrest tray from acrylic glass
Aaahh, there's nothing like enjoying a nice cup of coffee on your sofa. But where to set down your mug when you lean back? If there is no stable surface nearby, it's only a matter of time before a moment of relaxation turns into a minor disaster. Easily solve this problem with a DIY sofa armrest tray that simply wipes clean.

    Description

    We'll show you how to build your own sofa armrest tray from acrylic glass and what you should look out for. Selecting the right materials and aids makes this a super-easy DIY project. 

    The following material is required:

    • A panel of acrylic glass (approx. 8 mm), can be a little thicker as well
    • Acrylics adhesive
    • Isopropanol cleaning fluid
    • Lever clamps
    • Square timber
    • Sheet of paper
    • Polishing agents
    Application example

    Tools/accessories

    The following tools and accessories are recommended in this application example:

    Alternative tools

    Preparation/set-up

    • Using the perfect accessories

      We are using a trapezoidal/flat tooth circular saw blade suitable for processing plastic materials to cut the acrylic glass panel to size. For straight cuts, we are using the 90° angle stop which is clamped to the guide rail. This generates the perfect cut.

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    • Measuring the contact surface

      We are using a try-square to measure the width of our tray contact surface and, in our case, we are adding approx. 2 cm to account for the glueing surface of the side sections. 

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    • Clamping the acrylic glass panel

      The MFT allows us to work very comfortably at a height of 90 cm. Once we have transferred the required measurements, we are securing our guide rail to the acrylic glass panel.

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    • Adjusting the cutting depth 

      We are adjusting the cutting depth to approx. 3–5 mm more than the material thickness to avoid cutting into the MFT tabletop too deeply.

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    • Setting the speed

      Depending on the material, it may be necessary to reduce the speed to ensure the acrylic glass does not start to melt. In our case, we are using setting 4. A test cut is a great way to determine the correct setting.

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    Procedure

    • Tip:

      The deflector fitted on the guide rail prevents the suction hose and cable from getting caught.

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    • Cutting the three pieces to size

      Once you have cut the contact surface, cut the two side section that will secure the tray to the armrest/ottoman. In our example, these are 8 cm big.

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    • Fine sanding/blunting of cutting edges

      Use a Granat 400 abrasive to sand the rough cutting edges and blunt them slightly.

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    • Tip: Cutting a 90° square timber to size for support

      To create a right angle for the side sections when clamping, we recommend clamping a planed piece of square timber in front. In this example, we also created a chamfer to make sure the wood does not come into contact with the adhesive (see the next steps).

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    • Cleaning the acrylic glass

      If the protective film is still present, carefully remove it from the area to be glued. Then clean the parts to be glued with isopropanol or benzene-free petroleum ether (don't forget to wear protective equipment). 

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    • Positioning the sides to be glued

      Place either one or two layers of paper, depending on how thick it is, between the parts to be connected to create a small glue joint. The side sections are offset towards the inside by about half a centimetre to create a nicer glueing surface.

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    • 90° clamping of the individual parts

      We are now going to clamp (with lever clamps in our example) our three parts together at a right angle, using the supporting square timber as an aid, and then remove the paper again.

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    • Glueing the parts

      Create an even glue joint with the acrylics adhesive, moving towards the corners of the clamped acrylic glass sections. The adhesive will also settle in the joint. Then leave the adhesive to dry according to the manufacturer's instructions before taking the next steps.

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    • Levelling out the protrusions

      Once the adhesive has fully cured, use a router or edge router to level out the protrusions.

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    • Routing the curve

      You can now route the curved edge. Refer to the "Routing curves in wooden edges using the MFK" application example for the settings and the routing process. We used a 5 mm radius router in this example.

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    • Sanding routing marks and any scratches

      Depending on the depth of the scratches, carry out some preliminary sanding until you get to grit size 1000. As the acrylic glass did have a few scratches in our example, we needed several steps with grit sizes 400, 500 and 1000. (Refer to the "Sanding Plexiglas edges" application example)

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    • Polishing the surfaces

      Then polish the sanded surfaces (refer to the "Polish Plexiglas and smooth cutting edges" application example). Done!

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    • Lean back and relax

      As a reward, why not treat yourself to cake alongside your coffee – beautifully presented on your new DIY sofa armrest tray. Well done!

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