Cutting Thin Acrylic

[brothernov]

We just installed wainscoating with a shelf above it in our kitchen. To combat my wife's adorable birds from chewing the edge of the shelf I'm considering laying 7" wide pieces of thin (1/8"?) acrylic on the top of the shelf. I'll need about 40', so lots of cutting. What's the best way to accurately cut it and minimize the sanding/polishing necessary for the cut edges?

 

[Garcky]

We just installed wainscoating with a shelf above it in our kitchen. To combat my wife's adorable birds from chewing the edge of the shelf I'm considering laying 7" wide pieces of thin (1/8"?) acrylic on the top of the shelf. I'll need about 40', so lots of cutting. What's the best way to accurately cut it and minimize the sanding/polishing necessary for the cut edges?

Maybe use white acrylic. If it's only 1/8" thick, the edge might not even be noticeable, really. What birds do you have flying around in your house? I used to have a cockatiel that had free flight times in the house. Crapped on everything, so I wasn't that concerned about it chewing on the woodwork, really.

 

[rlitman]

If you're going to use white acrylic, consider something like white corian (or equivalent). It cuts easily with any woodworking tools, but otherwise has many of the same properties as acrylic.

 

[kyrbz]

I cut a lot of 1/8” acrylic. I use a blade on the tablesaw designed for plastic or laminate. Also use a zero tolerance insert on the tablesaw. To get a polished edge I give the edge a light sanding and get the final polish by running a torch flame close to the edge of the plastic. It’s like magic when the heat of the torch turns the edge to a polish

 

[nadogail]

My neighbor has an African Grey parrot that destroyed a stile supporting the banister on his stairs.

I told him that the damages were beyond my ability to repair.

 

[whateg01]

how long are the pieces? I used to cut a lot of acrylic on a laser cutter. I know not everybody has access to one, but if you do or if you have a local makerspace with one, it can leave a nice edge.

 

[Retctddvr]

I recently did a number of cuts in 1/4 inch plexiglass. I found that the radial arm saw did the best cut I have ever managed. In the cross cut function, because the blade throws the chips forward they do not land in the in the cut as with the table saw. This prevented the melting common with most other saw techniques. I still made several shallow cuts, but found that I was able to take fewer passes than I originally thought. Also I used the radial arm for ripping longer pieces, just remember to orient the blade to feed the plastic in the same direction as in a cross cut function, ie, the back side of the blade hits the plastic first, not the tooth.

Remember to wear safety glasses, face shield is best, and always keep finger out of the way, or use push stick for ripping. Good luck

 

[Shiftless]

I successfully cut a large amount of 1/8 inch thick acrylic using a 10 inch 80 tooth blade installed backwards on my table saw.

 

[Retctddvr]

Yep, hitting the material from the back side of the tooth makes all the difference, hope this helps the OP

 

[brothernov]

Thanks guys. I would have never dreamed of cutting it on my tablesaw with the blade installed backwards, or a torch to finish the edge.

 

[brothernov]

Any chance this would do the job? I've been looking for an excuse to buy one.

Milwaukee M12 FUEL 12V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 3 in. Cut Off Saw (Tool-Only) 2522-20 - The Home Depot

The M12 FUEL 3 in. Compact Cut Off Tool delivers multi-material cutting capability in an ergonomic package, optimized for 1-handed use. Spinning at 20,000 RPM and featuring a POWERSTATE Brushless Motor,

www.homedepot.com

 

[LeonardY]

The type of acrylic makes a huge difference. Cast will cut really well. Extruded melts. I only use cast.
I use a table saw with 60 or 80 tooth blade. Normal direction. Raise the blade up high. So the blade is essentially coming down on the acrylic. It will hold it down to the table.

 

[oldwino]

Thin 1/8” acrylic can be scored with a straight edge and razor knife. Score deeply, hold the straight edge firmly on the save side and snap. Little if any sanding to clean up the edge

 

[Zeke]

I knew a guy that made display cases and he had some sort of diamond blade. I've never been able to find a diamond blade for plastic. His cuts were so good that when gluing up at right angles all he needed was thin cement in a hobby needle. Clear as glass.

He did do the torch flash on exposed edges. That takes a special touch.

 

[CraigStu]

He did do the torch flash on exposed edges. That takes a special touch.

I have started making pistol holsters from kydex plastic. I discovered the flame edge smoothing which workes really nicely once you have the 'touch'. But I have also had to go back and cut off another 1/16" when my 'touch' was a little off.

 

[Skiff Builder]

I made round port lights for the boat out of cast acrylic. Cut squares on tablesaw w 24t blade. Than tacked a few together with hot melt glue and ran them through bandsaw ( 4 tpi blade), using a circle jig.
No issues chipping or rough edges. On other projects I've used a sharp block plane to chamfer edges. Also 120 grit paper.
Having a sacrificial surface under the piece helps as well- ie 3/16 plywood

On your project, I would paint the edge of the acrylic to match your trim- make it disappear while doing it's job.
Great looking work there!

 

[brothernov]

I just browsed around Lowes and found acrylic sheeting that's only 0.08 thick, or about 1/16". That should be a sufficient deterrent to keep the birds from chewing the edge. If i can get away with material that thin I'm now torn between just scoring the edge and using that Milwaukee cut off saw I referenced above.

 

[rharman]

I think you'll be hard pressed to get a straight clean line with that Milwaukee saw.

 

[whateg01]

I think you'll be hard pressed to get a straight clean line with that Milwaukee saw.

Might be okay with the shoe and a fence. I use my 4.5" DeWalt saw that way and as long as I pay attention to what I'm doing, it does fine.

 

[Skiff Builder]

Same here, with a circ saw/ 24 t blade and a shooting board. Works fine with a piece of xps foam board underneath.