Cutting acrylic with a tile saw

[steveoutlaw]

I have to make a stand for my skimmer. I have some 1/4" acrylic that I can use to make it, but not sure how to cut it. I have a wetsaw that I used for cutting my tile.........will this work for acrylic? I would like to have some neatly cut edges and thought that using the wetsaw would cut it straight while keeping the acrylic from melting.

[Brian Ward]

I doubt it. A tile saw doesn't really cut it grinds the tile. I have had good luck with a good trim blade on a table saw.

[srd4080]

Concur, the table saw is the way to go.

[chucelli]

you will end up with little chunks of acrylic on the blade and not very much cut.

-R

Edited January 24, 2010 by chucelli

[ctenophore]

The tile saw will melt the acrylic and make a mess.

[NAGA]

Nope

[davelin315]

A router table is the best. I tried cutting some acrylic with a router for the first time the other day and it's the smoothest I've cut ever. If you have a jig for it it'll make life easy (would help to have some rip fences up, too, but a jig will accomplish the same thing if you can do it tightly enough.

[dandy7200]

I bet you could find a little 5" carbide blade that would fit that tile saw though. My money say's it has a 5/8" arbor blade so it should cost you about $3 at harbor freight.