cutting plexiglass

[Rosco's Reefs]

Need some advice please. I am cutting both thick and thin plexiglass for DIY projects. I currently use a "scoring tool" to mark the glass until I can pop it and it breaks cleanly. I bought a jig saw for other reasons besides this but wondered if I could use this saw on this glass. When I tried it, glass vibrated so badly I must've had the wrong blade. What advice can you give me, maybe a diffferent blade type..different plan?

 

Thx in advance.

 

Ross

[flooddc]

I used a table saw with fine blade on quarter inch and half inch plexi.

[Origami]

I've used a sabre saw before. To keep the slapping to a minimum, I'll use a fine-toothed blade for plastic, keep the saw speed down to minimize heat, and clamp a board over the top, near the cut line for better support. I also cut a little wider than the final piece and use a trim router to produce the final edge. This is mostly on 1/4" or larger. I'll use a utility knife on the really thin stuff.

 

The real experts on this, though, will be Jeff (aka Naga) and Adam (aka Artfully Acrylic). One of them should chime in.

 

(I've used my table saw, too. You have to be careful sometimes about how much heat is generated, though.)

[kevreh]

Jig saws are a little difficult for cutting plexi. They tend to wander and the blade doesn't always stay at 90 degrees. Do you have or can get a circular saw or table saw? Both are a lot easier. With a circular saw you can build a jig (sled) for the saw to ride on. No matter what you use the key is more teeth (aka fine tooth blade) with minimal to no kerf (haw much the blade is bent either way).

[zygote2k]

With a steady hand and some C-clamps, you should be able to cut just about any thickness plexi if you use the correct sawblade.

[ArtFully Acrylic (Adam B)]

Ross, just seeing this so not sure if you still need the details...if so you could have just asked Sunday when I saw you at Aquamania LOL.

 

Anyhow, for your benefit and others...jigsaw will work for the thin stuff with a plastic (high tooth) blade and slower speeds, but isn't ideal for some of the reasons mentioned. As others also said, clamping the material down and using a board of ply near the cutline will assist in minimizing this vibration and slapping which would also affect the quality of your cut.

 

Table saw for rought cut and router for final edge prep are clearly the best options, but if you don't have them then you don't have them I suppose. A 7 1/2" circular saw with a 60 tooth blade is what I use when using the circular for stuff to big/wide for the table saw. On the table saw I use an 80 tooth 10" blade for cutting acrylic and even up through 1" material it produces a very smooth cut that is basically clean enough for bonding right away (if you didn't care about bubbles that is, so naturally I carry on to the router for final prep lol).

[Decadence]

I do straight cuts by cutting a little too big using a table saw with a fine-tooth blade and then I get them smooth with a router and a straight edge. For making multiples of the same piece, I will make it out of MDF and then double-sided tape it to acrylic and hit it with the router. You can polish routed edges with a small butane torch and with a little practice, they look as good as buffed edges. I also like add a slight bevel to all of the exposed edges like GEO does. I do it with a tabletop sanding disk set to a 45 degree angle. Make sure to install a stop so that they are uniform.