Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets come in .08
or .10 for most applications like picture frames, replacement panes etc.
I'm not sure what they are measured in as .08 is just about 1/6" or a little
less than 3mm. I have had some success with a utility knife...scoring along
a straight edge and then snapping the plexiglass, but that is not very
clean. I have previously tried using my table saw, but I must have used a
blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no matter how slow I fed it.
I know of the old trick of turning the blade backwards and basically burning
the piece. How do you all do it? Any good pointers?
Cheers!
Wolf-==-
Just did this last week on my Jet contractor's saw with the stock
blade. The blade is still sharp though. The technique that worked
best for me was to have the blade height just above the top of the
plexiglass and I also sandwiched the plexiglass between two pieces of
scrap wood. In my case, the bottom board was my panel jig and a piece
of mdf above the plexiglass. The edges turned out a little sharp, so I
took a file at a 45 degree angle to it to soften them.
Shawn
wolfb wrote:
> Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets come
in .08
> or .10 for most applications like picture frames, replacement panes
etc.
> I'm not sure what they are measured in as .08 is just about 1/6" or a
little
> less than 3mm. I have had some success with a utility
knife...scoring along
> a straight edge and then snapping the plexiglass, but that is not
very
> clean. I have previously tried using my table saw, but I must have
used a
> blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no matter how slow I
fed it.
> I know of the old trick of turning the blade backwards and basically
burning
> the piece. How do you all do it? Any good pointers?
> Cheers!
> Wolf-==-
<< Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? >>
Done it for years with table saw, scroll saws. kjig saws, by hand. In every
case, very sharp blades is the key ingredient. Drilling holes IIRC involves
special drill angles. Most plastic supply houses will have access to
manufacturer's publications and some helpful hints, too. Check the NG archives
here as there may be better answers to your questions. HTH
Joe
A sharp blade in a table saw has always given me good results.
You can sure tell when the blade is not sharp!!!!!
It also helps to use a zero clearance insert or put your plastic
on a sacrificial scrap of plywood.
If you want a really nice edge, run it past a router bit. It will
not work well for cutting the material - it tends to get the
plastic hot and stringy, but it great for taking a light finish
pass.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
[email protected]
"wolfb" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets
> come in .08 or .10 for most applications like picture frames,
> replacement panes etc. I'm not sure what they are measured in as
> .08 is just about 1/6" or a little less than 3mm. I have had
> some success with a utility knife...scoring along a straight
> edge and then snapping the plexiglass, but that is not very
> clean. I have previously tried using my table saw, but I must
> have used a blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no
> matter how slow I fed it. I know of the old trick of turning the
> blade backwards and basically burning the piece. How do you all
> do it? Any good pointers?
> Cheers!
> Wolf-==-
>
You want a really thin carbide-tipped blade to get a smooth cut with no
melted flash. The Matsushita 7¼" combination blade is perfect for this.
In Boatbuilder, May/June 98, Thomas Firth Jones said about cutting
acrylic sheet Myself , Ive fallen in love with the 7¼
Matsushita blade...It doesnt have that many teeth but whatever you put
through it comes out looking as if it had been planed and its 1/16 kerf
makes light work of ripping heavy teak as well as plastic. Its my best
new tool in years. They are available from various sources, but I also
sell them.
Dave Carnell
I just cut several pieces and at the merchants suggestion I:
1) Scored it, with pretty firm pressure, 8 to 10 times with a box knife.
2) Hung the cutoff area over the edge of the bench with the score at bench
edge. Place a rigid straightedge or board, also even with the score and
bench-edge, and held or clamped firmly.
3) Pushed the cuttof down smartly and quickly.
Most of the cuts came out looking pretty good. I did have to dress a couple
of areas with sandpaper. This was with 1/8" material.
Google in 'Groups' for "cutting plexiglass"
tons of info. It has been discussed in this group several times.
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.woodworking/browse_thread/thread/e967e72baea4294e/94a835e5bf18afd1?q=cutting+plexiglass&_done=%2Fgroups%3Fq%3Dcutting+plexiglass%26&_doneTitle=Back+to+Search&&d#94a835e5bf18afd1
"wolfb" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets come in .08
> or .10 for most applications like picture frames, replacement panes etc.
> I'm not sure what they are measured in as .08 is just about 1/6" or a
> little less than 3mm. I have had some success with a utility
> knife...scoring along a straight edge and then snapping the plexiglass,
> but that is not very clean. I have previously tried using my table saw,
> but I must have used a blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no
> matter how slow I fed it. I know of the old trick of turning the blade
> backwards and basically burning the piece. How do you all do it? Any
> good pointers?
> Cheers!
> Wolf-==-
>
In article <[email protected]>, "wolfb" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets come in .08
>or .10 for most applications like picture frames, replacement panes etc.
>I'm not sure what they are measured in as .08 is just about 1/6" or a little
>less than 3mm. I have had some success with a utility knife...scoring along
>a straight edge and then snapping the plexiglass, but that is not very
>clean. I have previously tried using my table saw, but I must have used a
>blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no matter how slow I fed it.
>I know of the old trick of turning the blade backwards and basically burning
>the piece. How do you all do it? Any good pointers?
A 40-tooth combination blade (10" Forrest WW2) works fine for me...
If you use too fine a blade, you'll melt it. And then you have a real mess.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.
"wolfb" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets come in .08
> or .10 for most applications like picture frames, replacement panes etc.
> I'm not sure what they are measured in as .08 is just about 1/6" or a
> little less than 3mm. I have had some success with a utility
> knife...scoring along a straight edge and then snapping the plexiglass,
> but that is not very clean. I have previously tried using my table saw,
> but I must have used a blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no
> matter how slow I fed it. I know of the old trick of turning the blade
> backwards and basically burning the piece. How do you all do it? Any
> good pointers?
> Cheers!
> Wolf-==-
I had good luck cutting it with a plain plywood blade (200 teeth). I fed it
at a good speed with the blade about 1/8" above the plastic. Unfortunately I
was ripping a "cutoff", which had no straight edge. So now I have to use the
router and a flush trim bit to clean up the edge. I've been waiting for some
warm weather, so I can do this in the garage. Cutting this stuff inside
(basement) really smells up the house.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
DanG wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid27ABd.4355$4h.1484@okepread03" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">A sharp blade in a table saw has always given me good results.
You can sure tell when the blade is not sharp!!!!!
It also helps to use a zero clearance insert or put your plastic
on a sacrificial scrap of plywood.
If you want a really nice edge, run it past a router bit. It will
not work well for cutting the material - it tends to get the
plastic hot and stringy, but it great for taking a light finish
pass.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>
"wolfb" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:[email protected]"><[email protected]></a> wrote in message
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="news:[email protected]">news:[email protected]</a>...
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets
come in .08 or .10 for most applications like picture frames,
replacement panes etc. I'm not sure what they are measured in as
.08 is just about 1/6" or a little less than 3mm. I have had
some success with a utility knife...scoring along a straight
edge and then snapping the plexiglass, but that is not very
clean. I have previously tried using my table saw, but I must
have used a blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no
matter how slow I fed it. I know of the old trick of turning the
blade backwards and basically burning the piece. How do you all
do it? Any good pointers?
Cheers!
Wolf-==-
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->
</pre>
</blockquote>
You want a really thin carbide-tipped blade to get a smooth cut with no
melted flash. The Matsushita 7¼" combination blade is perfect for this.<br>
<br>
In Boatbuilder, May/June 98, Thomas Firth Jones said about cutting
acrylic sheet “Myself , I’ve fallen in love with the 7¼”<br>
Matsushita blade...It doesn’t have that many teeth but whatever you put
through it comes out looking as if it had been planed and its 1/16”
kerf makes light work of ripping heavy teak as well as plastic. It’s
my best new tool in years.” They are available from various sources,
but I also sell them.<br>
<br>
Dave Carnell<br>
</body>
</html>
For thin stuff, go ahead and splurge on a plexiglass knife. It's
basically a sharp hook-shaped knife. You can score the thin stuff and
snap it easy. I've cut a bunch and had no problems.
On Sat, 1 Jan 2005 09:37:32 -0600, "wolfb" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets come in .08
>or .10 for most applications like picture frames, replacement panes etc.
>I'm not sure what they are measured in as .08 is just about 1/6" or a little
>less than 3mm. I have had some success with a utility knife...scoring along
>a straight edge and then snapping the plexiglass, but that is not very
>clean. I have previously tried using my table saw, but I must have used a
>blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no matter how slow I fed it.
>I know of the old trick of turning the blade backwards and basically burning
>the piece. How do you all do it? Any good pointers?
>Cheers!
>Wolf-==-
>
On Sat, 1 Jan 2005 09:37:32 -0600, "wolfb" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Anyone familiar with plexigalss cutting? Typically the sheets come in .08
>or .10 for most applications like picture frames, replacement panes etc.
>I'm not sure what they are measured in as .08 is just about 1/6" or a little
>less than 3mm. I have had some success with a utility knife...scoring along
>a straight edge and then snapping the plexiglass, but that is not very
>clean. I have previously tried using my table saw, but I must have used a
>blade that was to course as the plexi chipped no matter how slow I fed it.
>I know of the old trick of turning the blade backwards and basically burning
>the piece. How do you all do it? Any good pointers?
>Cheers!
>Wolf-==-
>
For thin Plexiglas use a bandsaw. Use lots of ventilation. I have
cut 1/4" Plexiglas on my table saw without any problems.