DIY LED Acrylic Dimensional Letters

I make signs for a living and I’ve been asked a few times to do a video showing how to make illuminated 3d acrylic dimensional letters.
This type of signage comes under a few different names including box letters, channel letters etc.
All the components in this video can be purchased easily at hardware stores, plastic suppliers, EBAY, Amazon etc.
This is an easy project for anyone to complete and can be made without expensive equipment.
Feel free to hit me up in the comments below if you have any questions.
The component list below is for reference purposes only and does not represent an endorsement. I have no connection to any of the suppliers listed. Please do your research and try to purchase from a known, reputable supplier.
3mm opal acrylic - bit.ly/2KXydyA
10mm foam PVC - bit.ly/33jTnxa
LED strip - bit.ly/30lCuSS
Adhesive - bit.ly/37GABn9 or bit.ly/34rCTo1
LED strip connectors - bit.ly/2u3LxvC

[@davidsamuels6734]

Thank You for this video; it was VERY Straight Forward and you explained the steps EXCELLENTLY!

[@taswesty]

Thanks for the positive feedback!!

[@remlya]

Great video. You have a very clear, unrushed speaking style and it was perfectly explained in a concise manner.

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! Tasmanian's are known for talking slow 😀

[@xx_naasson_xx]

Thanks so much for the video! I also work for a sign shop but we usually outsource channel letters so this was a good simplified explanation using LED strips. 😁👍

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate, glad I could help

[@hernangrau]

Best led letter making video i've seen!

[@mikekiernan4671]

AT LAST a very informative video!!!!!!!! Thank you very much!

[@GaryStephenJones]

I’ve watch dozens of these types of videos and this is the best. I’m now gonna subscribe ty

[@taswesty]

Thanks for the positive feedback. I appreciate it.

[@farooqawan9454]

How are you , if you don't mind me asking like this , this your job , Do you do advertising work ?

[@talie6236]

Very cool.
I enjoyed how clean your work is.

[@metalwood7225]

loving it! brilliant work!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!!

[@RGB-Sign-Board]

Wow, that's great

[@derekfairburn3522]

it's interesting to see how they are made, i install them for a living, so its nice to see the other side

[@taswesty]

Thanks Derek. Maybe you could start making them as well?

[@jubrinusman9656]

Interesting, I love this.

[@miguelangelaguirreignacio4867]

excelente trabajo gracis por compartir desde Peru

[@aakatsis]

beautiful result!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Anna!!

[@cleevelandrox]

Great easy to understand video. Thanks For doing it!

[@taswesty]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@fredmwangi_mg3750]

Dope Menn, it's so easy & innovative... I love it & I feel it's high time I try this in my brand

[@lefsartslyrics5795]

this gave so many ideas. thanks

[@matak99]

Wow. Just wow! Excellent presentation and this will make our project do-able. Thank you.
Love the accent by the way.

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate. I'd love to see your version.

[@jasontaylor7419]

Awesome build. I have built one similar and used 5v led strip and added a power bank to make it portable.

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! Great idea!!

[@ricksflicks-]

This was great! Makes me more confident for the project I'm about to try to do. Too bad you didn't make the video about the rounded letters, id love to see it.

[@dr.rohitjain643]

Great and clear video..
Fast and wthout any fuss

[@taswesty]

Thanks! 👍

[@redbaron2448]

Great video, yes do lots more video 👍

[@huudungho1288]

Thank you very much for your video

[@foreverunknown369]

I love this 💯💯

[@rebeldevil1247]

i love it very cool and creative !!

[@taswesty]

Glad you like it!!

[@toneyslifestylehustlez8574]

I been looking for a video like this thanks for sharing 👍

[@taswesty]

Glad I could help

[@ettbortglomtsverige]

This is Gold! Keep the sign videos coming :D and please do one for round shapes!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! Hopefully I'll get a chance to some more soon

[@juliusparker3039]

Components listing is added advantage,good work

[@taswesty]

Thanks Julius.

[@thefalconsix]

awesome.. you made it looks easy

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! it's not a difficult thing to do once you get going.

[@c.bucknor3081]

Dope!

[@ChristJesusInYou]

Beautiful n creative

[@taswesty]

Thank you so much 😊

[@AbdulHamid-jn6ny]

Nice work

[@sihaansihaan1814]

Wow super

[@jamesallen6007]

Great. Thanks.👍🇬🇧

[@rajasasitepu9531]

Good job....

[@todologic]

Good work mate. Keep it up!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! Hopefully I can get back to it soon

[@dutchinklettering405]

Very awesome I’m going to you this to make signs in my tattoo shop. Thanks 🙏

[@taswesty]

Sounds like a great idea. I would love to see the finished product!!

[@aarbd1610]

Nice thank you good video

[@upendrachaudhari4635]

The light diffusion is amazing...i think a better pixel controller would give very smooth transition

[@ELCEV]

Thanks, great project for a laser cutter

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate. Would definitely make a good laser project.

[@DurzoBlunts]

WS2812b and WS2813 are amazing ICs.

[@taswesty]

Definitely lots of fun to play with

[@elvysermarlynsoepriyanto395]

Good job 👍

[@sharzanco]

nice 👍🏽 like from Saudi Arabia

[@farooqawan9454]

Very nice video, i liked it, thanks man

[@taswesty]

Glad you liked it!

[@tommywilliams8953]

Thanks! Been trying really hard to find a white guy to show me how to do this

[@nitinlachakefilmsschool849]

Nice information

[@lexmeijer1]

Very nice vid! Please do the round letters next!

[@prince-of-saiyan]

Thanks for making it😘😘😘😘

[@taswesty]

Thanks for watching it!!

[@ashishjangid2412]

Great Video.. loved it😊

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!!

[@spohn01]

So that’s where all the work tape went.
Good video. 👍

[@taswesty]

Thanks Nick. Creative Digital Tape 🙄😀

[@spohn01]

Good thing your channel isn’t SignStuff or CraftyCrap.

[@taswesty]

@@spohn01 it's both

[@shadowr2d2]

This was an Awesome, & Educational video. I had to watch it twice. It was that good. You sir have a New Subscriber. Have a Thanksgiven Day..

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!!. I really appreciate your comment and subscription. Happy Thanksgiving to you to.

[@sz8558]

Nice one mate!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! I appreciate it.

[@tomvill]

Great Tutorial, Just subscribed after watching your Tool box boom box video, Keep up the good work!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate. Hopefully I'll get some more time soon to put up another video.

[@kylelutchman7849]

@@taswesty ggggg

[@anuncios_jas71]

Todos tenemos diferentes maneras de trabajar el acrílico. Saludos desde CD de Monterrey NL México

[@taswesty]

Gracias amigo. Sí, definitivamente hay muchas maneras de lograr el mismo resultado. Saludos desde Tasmania

[@vicentehernandez7254]

en que parte de monterrey esta tu negocio jose?

[@MsHoneyloop]

Pleasssssse do a video with round letters.. Thank you in advance

[@ojerabright6416]

Good project

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!!

[@margiarto9385]

Wow

[@Niteshk08]

Good work 👍

[@taswesty]

Thanks!!

[@Doityourselfwithjoe]

please do the video with round letters!

[@taswesty]

Definitely planning on it. Hopefully soon.

[@dwalden74]

doityourselfwithjoe You need an acrylic bending iron for that.

[@mukeshsoni488]

Supper and Great

[@zahoorkukanur9277]

Thanks bro

[@barkhadibrahim38]

Thanks

[@taswesty]

Thank You!!

[@kamarkhial6245]

@tas wetsy you did a great job , can you please show us a tutorial how mood led cubes are made please thank youu ❤️❤️

[@Micky3DCG]

thanks man!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!!

[@ChandraMCraft]

Good 👍👍❤

[@toolgod3781]

Mate great video, would love you to do one on round letters.

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate.!! I'm hoping to get some time soon.

[@soncha5331]

Thank you for this video! How would you go about putting a print onto all faces of the acrylic? Would you recommend sublimation or uv printing

[@alicewang9362]

Good job

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate, I appreciate it.

[@senkatsucrystal6608]

So is it possible to do curves I really love the DIY video and I loved how you show different options to do the steps. Please do a curve DIY design

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate. Hopefully I'll get some time soon to do a video on curved letters.

[@robinpittelkow8302]

Very helpful video, thanks!
I would really like to see how I could make round shapes. It would be super cool if you would record another video of how to do that!! ;)

[@taswesty]

Thanks Robin. I have it on my list to do. Hopefully I'll get a chance soon.

[@superacrylic8679]

That my friend.... Where the hell start.... Round letters.,.... Hahhahaa

[@karenagen6757]

Rounded letters thank you...need to make a 45 for my parents anniversary... only have a jig saw at my disposable so far

[@neglecttx7514]

Karenagen how many letters would you need? Let’s talk business...

[@neglecttx7514]

Karenagen I have machines that cut specifically for these types of jobs with exact measurements

[@danielwalker6298]

Pro! Awesome mate. I wanna do a small decepticon sign to go on the back of an e skateboard. I think it will be finicky

[@taswesty]

Mate, that sounds like an awesome idea. I would love to see the finished product.

[@sugengmulyatv4928]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@shaheenofpakistan7736]

Good

[@CobraRob]

I would love to see how you do curved lettering. I have a CNC and the sign I am working on right now like this I am using 30mm Lucite that is fully routed and you pocket the back for LEDs and they are completely diffusing to make channel letters. Looks great but super expensive at almost $2k for a 4x8 sheet. This would offer some more budget options but I am not sure how you bend the sides for the letters.

[@RadINation]

Heat gun

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! Routing thicker materials is definitely an expensive way to do it but can create some great effects. Bending curved sided letters can be a little tricky sometimes. The easiest way is to use a cheap strip heater to soften the acrylic and bend it around an MDF form, holding it in place until it cools. Hopefully I'll get time to make a video some time soon.

[@bekiyethio]

very nice job dear from where can i get the led you use pls . thanks

[@NadimALMallah]

great job ,since u make sign for a living ,does that mean if i want to make one for me u can do it and ship it ?

[@cbreeling1]

I am wondering if this same type system but smaller version could be used to do outside/exterior house address numbers? I think they would be cool.

[@taswesty]

There's no reason why it wouldn't work and you're right, it would be cool.

[@dirchoppenson]

Nice work , what is the name of the connectors you use to join the stripes together and can we get a link to buy please .

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate. LED strip connectors. I've added a link in the description.

[@Makebuildmodify]

Hey man, I think you have about 13 extra minutes of audio without video. I think you can trim it in the UA-cam editor if you don't want to re-upload.

[@taswesty]

Whoops. Thanks mate😮 Last minute edits late at night are probably not a good idea.

[@Makebuildmodify]

@@taswesty Happens to me too.

[@taswesty]

@@Makebuildmodify Thanks again. I owe you a beer!!

[@williamtucker220]

Great video i. Starting out creating light boxes is this material good for commercial use?

[@taswesty]

Yes, absolutely

[@tnttrader3698]

Please do a Round letter sign video!

[@taswesty]

Thanks Tim, hopefully soon.

[@Herosade]

where did you buy the needle tip squeezer i been looking for ages, no one seems to say where they buy it from

[@leef_me8112]

Thank you very much for the video, and as others have said your voice is great and explanations are "spot on".
**I believe I found a discrepancy about the LEDs you used vs your parts list.**
In my experience, 4 wire strips show the same color for all LEDs, but you demo shows multiple colors.
During the video, you soldered wires to a strip that used 4 wires, and you used the quick
clips that used 4 wires, BUT the LED strip you specified in the comments is a 3 wire product.

[@taswesty]

Thanks for the heads up. The strip I used is definitely 4 wire. The IC you can see after every third LED allows each set of 3 LED's to be addressable.
Unfortunately the supplier I purchased them from no longer exists so I linked another Ebay page that had the correct details and description but showed different images for the strip.
I have updated the parts list to a different supplier that stocks a similar product.

[@pbakeegan]

I was curious if i had a acrylic letter bending tool if i could use it on the materials you used in the video?

[@taswesty]

Yep, definitely

[@jamesjohnston8863]

Love the video! Ive made a project myself and mistakenly used clear acrylic, any suggestions on a coat that can give a white texture but evenly spread the led light? It’s currently shining straight through and not lighting up my object. Thanks a bunch!!!!

[@taswesty]

G'day James. This is how we used to do it in the past when the acrylic needed to be a colour that wasn't available. If you paint the inside with acrylic lacquer spray can you should be right. Just use light even coats until you build up the correct translucency. You will still see the joints but they will disappear when you light it up.

[@jamesjohnston8863]

tas westy thanks so much I’ll give this a shot! Cheers

[@zaccpizzeria8459]

Wowo wowo wowo wow wow 😲😳😲😳😲😳😲😳😲😳

[@hydeane]

It doesn't look pretty cool, it looks VERY COOL! Nice job:-)

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!! I appreciate it.

[@gauravagarwal2774]

Acrylic id card mai printing sheet kon se use karthe hai

[@janicebuyo2770]

What is the name of the cardboard you used in this tutorials? Thnks

[@DispennetteArtworks]

I'm a professional sign maker and I am definitely seeing the need to include electric signs and or led signs... do I need to be a certified electrician before I can make and sell these kind of signs ?

[@taswesty]

G'day John. I can only talk for Australia, but here we are allowed to wire 12v DC without certification. Higher voltage AC on the other hand requires a qualified electrician

[@r-prizzle2168]

Very cool. Was going to say it looks professional. Then I realized that’s because it is. 🙄

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate!!

[@MrKnuckleTV]

I hope I can make this kind of project too. For now, I am doing simple styrofoam letters which I show in my channel.

[@taswesty]

I just watched a couple of your videos. Great job, keep up the good work. I'm sure you can make acrylic letters when you get the chance.

[@williamtucker220]

Also what is the most important things i need to be able to build these light boxes?

[@taswesty]

Just time and practice !!

[@NennaJoiner]

I want to create a hanging sign from ceiling with acrylic box/lights such as this. Is there a structure to put inside so the xign won't fall on anyone's head walking underneath?

[@taswesty]

It depends on the size and orientation of the sign. There's no reason why you couldn't mount the sign I made on the ceiling, the same way as I attached it on the wall. But if it was bigger you would need a more substantial frame.

[@jpieceworks9368]

Sir, may I know the list of your materials that you used?

[@somnathdas8368]

Fukin genius

[@stevief41]

where would I purchase the led lights and power supply? smashing video

[@taswesty]

Thanks Mate. You can get them off Ebay. Just search for magic dream led.

[@jesuslagunas4500]

Have you tried getting them from the app Geek or wish? Amazon gets them from there and sells it to people around the world.

[@jami_butt]

good video 👍 but how we cut a e g b g o p s and like these words its difficult to cut

[@gavalgroboshow2041]

Nice. Please what is the name of the study?

[@retaf99]

What bits do you use when cutting them out on the cnc?

[@taswesty]

G'day Tim. I use a single flute upcut bit, specific for plastics.