Hanger bar for stick built cabinet

[Zendavor Signs]

Anyone have tips for accommodating a hanger bar face when fabricating a stick built lighted cabinet? I know I can get the kit from Signcomp, but it just seems a little pricey. These are acrylic faces, so we can't screw into the cabinet. FYI - size is 5ft tall x 9ft long.

 

[Billct2]

If you have the sheet metal skills and equipment you may be able to copy the extruded profile. Or just design the bends so you can pop rivet a hanger bar in.

 

[Rocco G]

A VERY quick drawing and I spaced everything out a bit and didn't include dimensions. I wouldn't make a face that large out of acrylic myself, but I guess it depends on what you have available. You will need to make the can a bit deeper to account for the hanger bar. BTW, if you drill oversized holes in the acrylic you CAN screw it to the cabinet, but again I'd do it out of polycarb. Depending on your sheet metal brake, I'd actually go to .080" thick aluminum but it gets hard to bend in 9' lengths, though it could be pieced. Use a Lord's type adhesive (or channel bond) and don't just rely on the regular acrylic glue to hold the hanger bar to the face.

I've been building electric signs for WAY too long and even though an extrusion kit is expensive you save so much time on fabrication that it's usually well worth it.

 

[Scotchbrite]

We always rivet our hanger bars on.

Another option for a large rigid face would be an embossed pan face. Gives the face some extra rigidity and adds nice dimensional look.