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How to cut Dibond ? – without a guillotine.
Sorry if I’m asking the obvious but after getting some good material info (for my first sign) from all you guys and then getting the supplier to cut the material into the required sizes I now have a huge 5x5ft off cut piece of dibond that I’m not entirely sure how to cut into smaller pieces for future signs. The is a local company that has a bench saw but as there is a layer of metal on each surface of the dibond I’m not sure whether this would affect their saw. I would go back to the original supplier but there are 1.5 hours drive away. I’m from the Torquay area if anyone knows someone with a guillotine that would cut it for me please let me know.
Many thanks in advance.
Russ
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42 Replies
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You can cut it with a circular saw or jigsaw.
Even with a hand saw.
The ali on the surface is so thin it is more like a foil so it cuts fine with a normal wood blade, (always wear goggles etc)
You can even cut it with a straight edge and a stanley knife if you dont have anything else available.
Peter -
I cut my off cuts with a stanly knife and straight edge. just keep cutting through and once you have got through the core u can bend it to snap a nice edge on the other side. then use a file to clean up the bur.
just mind your pinkies 🙂
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I picked up a superb tool for cutting Dibond and similar. It’s like a mini hand held circular saw with the blade held within a sping loaded retractable cover plate that you set to any depth required. The cut is really fine and the cut edges don’t need any sanding or deburring. I recently had a few hundred 4"*1.5" brushed aluminium Dibond pieces to cut. You can set the depth to just beyond the thickness of the Dibond. I just layed the Dibond on top of an MDF sheet and just ran backwards and forwards down the sheet cutting out strips and then cross ways to off cut the peices. Much quicker and a better finish than jig or table saw.
exaktpt.com
I only paid £35 from a catalogue clearance outlet – usually cost around another £100 on top but having used it I would have paid the normal price. Not sure how long the blades will last and extras are around £5 each. Make sure you use the dust extraction hose as otherwise it does get fairly blocked in a few minutes operation though.
Macky D
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good info here on the same subject
http://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.p … highlight=
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Macky D, I thought about getting one of those for that job but thought it would end up cutting like a jig saw, not quite straight, you know, with a small wavy edge. Does it really cut perfectly?
Dave
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also are they noisy like a circular saw ??
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sounds ideal to me (being a delicate little thing, I don’t like big noisy things 😀 😳 !!)
So where did you get it from? Please?
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I too thought it was a great tool. It takes me ages to cut foamex type materials with a stanley. (I’ve had a few near misses too !)
I followed the link given in the thread last night and looked up the distributors on the web site.
Some of the links didn’t work, and some that did were out of stock.
I’m making some more enquiries this morning. I’ll post a supplier if I find one.
All the best
Cheryl -
Thank you all very much for the info. That little cutting machine looks great -especially for only around £35!! I guess you would have to follow a straight piece of wood or something like that on top of the dibond to get the straightest possible cut.
Thanks again
Russ
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Shane your link in this thread didnt work for me 😕
special user access or somthingmoderators – have i got to upgrade from gold to access this or something?
John
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quote John Harding:Shane your link in this thread didnt work for me 😕
special user access or somthingmoderators – have i got to upgrade from gold to access this or something?
John
don’t know why john, we are both gold memebers. I clicked the link tonitght and it worked for me again… very strange
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King Dick Tools in Birmingham has them in stock model PS-125 £85.10 + vat & carriage is free!
John
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I couldn’t find them on the King D I C K Tools webby, but see that they are made in Aberdeen (Exakt I mean) – maybe Robert could get them to come on the boards as a discounted supplier? Looks as though they could be very popular 😀
Lorraine
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The PS-125 is the DIY version of the tool, the PS-140 is the trade version and costs a little more (about extra £40) the main differences are the trade version is a little more robust and will cut a little deeper, PS-125 cuts up to 12.5mm the PS-140 up to 14mm. So not really much difference really.
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Hi, the saw cuts with a really smooth clean edge although you do have to run it along a straight edge. If I get Europoint to pre-cut Alupanel for me then it’s equal or better to the cut they achieve (and that’s very good), no wavy edge as per a jig saw. It is almost as noisy as a regular cicrular saw and it doesn’t have a particularly soft start so power it up before you start making the cut. I got mine from the QVC outlet store of all places – I guess they must have been selling them on the shopping channel and these were unsold stock? As for build quality then although it feels fairly robust I’d compare it more to Black & Decker quality than DeWalt but still think it’s worth the full price. (even though I got it on the cheap).
Cheers
Macky D -
As macky said he got it from qvc, I looked on thier website, 2 different models for sale
385w cuts to 10mm with 2 blades £76
400w cuts to 13mm with 5 assorted blades £124
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Hi contacted them direct below is the reply
quote :Hi Kevin
Our saws are available in Essex from Severn Supply, 32 Severn Field, Epping, Essex CM16 5AP tel 01992 572915 or they can be purchased direct by calling 01467 633800 and making payment by credit or debit card.
Regards
ElaineEXAKT Precision Tools Ltd.
Midmill Business Park
Tumulus Way
Kintore
Aberdeenshire
UKTel: +44 (0) 1467 633800
exaktpt.comHope this helps everyone
Kev
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John whats the number for tools in Birmingham please
Nick
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Nick, if you check out the link posted above their web site lists all the UK distributors, the Birmingham one is Big Dick Tools, I believe.
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Thanks Martin Ill give them a call tomorrow
Nick
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Spot on Mackyd the exacta hanld held saw can cut anything anywhere anytime just like the advert, the best tool we have ever used and will use for ever
regards Adrian
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so what are the cost of these things??
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About £145 not sure about vat
regards Adrian
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Dont want to sound negative here guys, but small kit like this is usually inadequate for trade use, and not the best for cutting plastic or dibond.
it may be fine for occasional use and to keep in the toolbox for emergencies, but dont expect it to be a front line tool,
I have no experience of this particular make, or design, but “miracle tools” seldom are.
Peter -
We have 2M by3M CNC Router
We have Sawtrak 3M by 1500mm panel sawThe exacta is a hand held field tool to assist in fitting requirements (on the job mods)
regards Adrian
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Had a play today cutting dibond with my keencut sabre, did a marvellous job hadnt thought to try it before, just used it for foam correx and magnetics before
John
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Who is the best supplier for a keencut cutters?
Nick
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Got the 400w model from a company in Birmingham for £85.10 vat & free carriage it arrived the next day there number is 01675 467776 it only had 2 blades with it I think new ones are around £3.50 each.
We tried it yesterday cutting 3mm Dibond it was an absolute doddle & the finish is perfect I would recommend this tool to anyone.
John
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hey cookster,
what brand is the “400w”-model from?
Thx,
Bart -
Hi Bart
It’s the Exakt Precision Saw I think it’s the only model this company sells.
John
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Thank you, John!
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Hi,
I’ve tried too today to cut 3mm skybond with a pratick and worked well with a few scores across it.
Apart from the obvious steeltrack which is recommended which other rail cutter would be a good one to use i.e. sabre, javlin intergra or evolution? -
I have a Steeltrak 65 which is pretty good however its pricey at £2250, its pretty accurate but slightly bends the diabond. Main draw back is it will only cut sheets upto 65 inch. Even the Steeltrak 85 wont cut an 8×4 sheet length ways. We use an Evolution E2 to score 8 an 10 ft sheets lengthways then snap them. Seems to work spot on.
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wow this place is like time travel 😀
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oops double post 😳
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quote John Harding:Had a play today cutting dibond with my keencut sabre, did a marvellous job hadnt thought to try it before, just used it for foam correx and magnetics before
John
How did you find it on the sabre? was it easy?
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I use a straight edge, clamps and a stanley blade, make a couple of light scores before hitting it hard for the next couple, ‘break it’s back’, give it a few wiggles and away it comes. job jobbed!
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My husband, clamps a long ruler and uses an electric saw.
It cuts the sheet nice but makees a bl00dy mess, all little shavings everywhere.
I`ve told him, he needs a bettter way, as its me who has to clean up after him…
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I use a Dewalt nibbler, clean, no mess
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Cutting through it is the easy part. You can do that with a stanley knife and breaking it, as Hugh says. Its getting the knife to go straight thats the problem.
I always leave an extra mm or two to tidy it up with the hand plane. -
quote Graham Shand:I use a Dewalt nibbler, clean, no messdo you have a link for this Graham, thanks Rich
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I used to use a very sharp punch to score the board before just snapping it.
I normally order the boards in cut to size.
I have started using an Exakt saw DC270 very good bit of kit.
Ian
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