Question on cutting plexiglass

[aka rotten]

If this is not in right area,feel free to move please! Have a sheet of 1\8 plexiglass that i need to cutin 12x12 pieces,with both pieces having angle on bottom to let seed pass thru.[birdfeeders].Whats proper way to cut this stuff without busting it,fine tooth jig saw,Ideas please,this stuff is expencive.Thanks,Paul

 

[A_Pmech]

Score and snap with a knife (takes practice) or cut with a table saw and a sharp blade. Almost any blade will work as long as it is sharp and you feed carefully.

 

[mbatarga]

place a strip of masking tape over the location of the cut line. It makes marking the cut line much easier and helps keep the molten plastic from re-joining behind the cut line.

 

[bad_idea]

I cut some 1/8" plexi on my table saw about 2 weeks ago and it cut like butter. Nice clean cut edge.

 

[coldfusion21]

Not sure where your located but you might look for a plastic shop that either has drops for sale making experimenting cheap or see how much they would charge to cut them. I had 3 or 4 pieces cut out with rounded corners and everything and it was under 20 dollars.

Edit: an example is the place I used is a west coast chain I think, TAP Plastics.

 

[jkruger54]

You will have the best luck with a very sharp carbide triple chip blade in a table saw. Very nice smooth cuts with on melting or shattering. Sharp tools are the key to this stuff. Find a cabinet shop or a good wood worker and they will have the right saw. Forget the jig saw.

 

[mattygee]

A nice touch after cutting with tablesaw is to carefully run a torch flame over the cut edge to 'polish' out any cut marks.

 

[junk4dummies]

Everyone should own a good table saw. You can build anthing with one.
I use Forest Saw blades. They are the best money can buy. Over $100 for a 10 inch. They will cut and not leave any saw marks. They leave a glass edge on wood or plastic. A good blade will save a lot of edge sanding when building.

 

[mbatarga]

Forrest +1, but Freud also makes some very high quality blades that will cost 1/3 of the Forrest version - and you can pick them up at your local big box store.

 

[chris fresh]

we've cut plenty in our shop with a tablesaw,just make sure you use a good blade,or if it's a cheaper blade,use a brand new one with as high a teeth count as you can get.nice thing about plexi is that you can heat cut edges and bring back a shine.a friend just built a piece out of 3/4 plexi with 3'' holes in it,then he 1/2 rounded the hole edge with a router,wet sanded with some 800 grit and polished them,came out extremely nice.

and as already mentioned,feed slowly,you'll feel what's right and what's not.

 

[venturesomerite]

You can just use a plexi cutter, which is available at home depot near the plexi and glass replacement stuff.

If you want to learn a neat trick do this:

I repair Ice Rinks, and when they put advertisements on the boards inside the rink, they are basically big stickers, but need a sheet of plexi on top of them to protect them. So I have to make lots or larger cuts and the best way I have found to cut it is to take a Non-ferrous metal blade for a circ saw and put it in the circ saw backwards. Always worked great for me.

If you don't have one of those blades, I don't see why a finish wood blade in backwards wouldn't work in a pinch.

You put the blade in backwards because if it is forward the teeth catch the plastic and crack it.

Make multiple easy passes, if you try to cut it through at once it will make the molten plastic pool up. if that happens, just wait until it cools and you can just snap it right off though.

 

[chris fresh]

You can just use a plexi cutter, which is available at home depot near the plexi and glass replacement stuff.

If you want to learn a neat trick do this:

I repair Ice Rinks, and when they put advertisements on the boards inside the rink, they are basically big stickers, but need a sheet of plexi on top of them to protect them. So I have to make lots or larger cuts and the best way I have found to cut it is to take a Non-ferrous metal blade for a circ saw and put it in the circ saw backwards. Always worked great for me.

If you don't have one of those blades, I don't see why a finish wood blade in backwards wouldn't work in a pinch.

You put the blade in backwards because if it is forward the teeth catch the plastic and crack it.

Make multiple easy passes, if you try to cut it through at once it will make the molten plastic pool up. if that happens, just wait until it cools and you can just snap it right off though.

great point,infact when we cut vinyl siding,we do the same thing with turning the blade around to prevent chip out.