Cutting acrylic sheet

[mtt.tr]

Until someone cleans it with a green scrubby!

Not my problem, im just a whore who gets paid to do what people want

 

[Ton-up]

Pretty sure I had an old stanley with the hook blades on oiled paper inside, remember those?

They are too sharp, the cutting part needs to be flat. I have one at I made at work, I will try to remember to show you.

 

[grim_d]

Not my problem, im just a whore who gets paid to do what people want

It'll be your fault for not telling them.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

The right gear can be expensive, my stump grinder screen takes a hammering from stones etc and anything other than Lexan wont last five minutes.Even that stuff cracks.

Just noticed, was Mrs Bob's horse transporter made in the PROC?

 

[Ali]

The key thing about cutting acrylic with any power tool is you intuitively go slow. What happens then is the blade gets hot, and the chips stick to the blade ending in a vicious cycle of friction and heat - best case scenario, poor finish, worst case scenario damaged blade / cutter or whatever. If you can do it with a circular saw or a router you can take multiple shallow passes as fast as you like to avoid the heat without worrying about cracking it. Also worth noting cast acrylic will cut much nicer but you’ll pay a lot more. 99% of clear acrylic is extruded, glazing stuff which is horrible to cut. Even in cast different colours will throw you, the pigment affects the density more than you might think.

 

[Guzrik]

And also age and UV exposure, it becomes more brittle with time.

 

[rtcosic]

The right gear can be expensive, my stump grinder screen takes a hammering from stones etc and anything other than Lexan wont last five minutes.Even that stuff cracks.

Hmm. I think I would be looking at CCTV and remote controls like those many wheeled self-propelled heavy movers.

Then stand WELL back!

View media item 10787

 

[daleyd]

hence the practice ,,,, i did a window in an aircraft tug , just a temp job and used a 115mm angle grinder and cutting disc ,,, wouldnt recommend it , but cutting makralon used a big tooth blade in a jig saw and it worked better than a small tooth one , it didnt clog and over heat as it had a larger set on it ,, totally contrary to hack saw wisdom.

We made some panels to cover busbars in electrical panels and used a wood blade in a jigsaw (it was my mates suggestion - I would have used a metal blade) - masked both sides and it cut absolutely lovely, the big teeth and the offset needed for wood seemed to do a great job where a fine metal blade I find seems to clog - but I think that was polycarbonate

 

[Ton-up]

As I mentioned, I find it easy cut by grinding a Stanley blade like this -

 

[8ob]

Hmm. I think I would be looking at CCTV and remote controls like those many wheeled self-propelled heavy movers.

Then stand WELL back!

View media item 10787

How times have changed, we had designed ,developed, built and tested some radio controlled machines for working on steep motorway banks over thirty years ago. Deemed unsafe in case it went out of control is what we were told. They are everywhere now

Bob

 

[Cobbler]

I’ve cut Perspex with a jigsaw, greased the blade to stop the cut melting back, cut reasonably ok. This was the way I was advised by the person that supplied the Perspex.

 

[rtcosic]

How times have changed, we had designed ,developed, built and tested some radio controlled machines for working on steep motorway banks over thirty years ago. Deemed unsafe in case it went out of control is what we were told. They are everywhere now

Bob

A prophet in his own time.....

I could give you a list of suggestions/predictions I've made over the years that were pooh poohed at the time.

Of course there's a slight element of confirmation bias in that for every 'good' one there was at least a dozen doozies!

 

[Gragson]

These were only 80x300mm lengths I needed to cut, tried the jigsaw at lowish speed fine blade, no problem with clogging or melting back, but either the pants parallel guide or chuck/blade let me down going off line, need to look at that

Remembered had a Worx plunge circular, no speed control, finest disk which isn't, chomped through like a good un, again no binding and dead straight cuts.
Think the ply sandwiches had a lot to do with keeping the heat down and removing any plastic on the blades.