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Advice on drilling perspex please?
Hi All,
Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. Haven’t been on here for some time been very busy so will post some work when i have a minute.I have my first interior perspex signs to fit which will be mounted with 20mm stand offs, i need to drill a 9mm hole in the perspex to take the stand offs can anyone help with drill bit type needed and any general tips.
Thanks Dave
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12 Replies
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Just a standard HSS or TiN drill.
Sharp – just out of the packet.*
The ‘trick’ is putting a scrap piece of acrylic BEHIND the piece you are drilling through to avoid it cracking when it ‘breaks out’ – it’ll just continue to cut cleanly.
For bigger stuff – a flat wood bit works great.
* there is a school of thought about using blunt drills as it’s less aggressive when cutting. But with a high (drill) speed / slow feed speed the results are better with a sharp one.
Would recommend using a battery drill – as it’s much more controllable than a mains one. A pedestal drill would be the best though.
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there are various ways to do this. some better than others…
for a hole 3mm – 6mm diameter i will just use our standard metal drill bits, but use a new one. if you are drilling say a 7-9mm hole and above, i would create a pilot hole first using 3-4mm hole. then proceed with your larger bit. the larger bit has to be done carefully or it will catch and maybe split the acrylic. the cracking problem occurs mainly when drilling close to the edge. you have to reduce the vibration as much as possible.
always use g-cramps and clamp the acrylic to the bench. particularly near to where you are drill to prevent it lifting. if it can be sandwhich’d between some scrap cuttings of mdf it helps… -
Thanks for the tips chaps
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Hammer a clout nail through it.
Only joking, I use a dremel, with a 2/3/4 etc mm metal bit onto a sheet of heavy duty rubber, thats how I drill the holes for my edge lit signs, always works fine.
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Dont use too much pressure, let the drill do the work, and even pull back a bit. If yo drive the drill into the perspex, it cuts out too much material causing excess stress and heat.
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Hi
ideally get a 60 degree drill bit from your local tool supplier, same as used when drilling brass if i remember correctlyKev
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You can get drill bits that are specifically designed to drill plastics. HSS bits are designed to bite into material and on harder plastics can cause chipping and cracking. The plastics drill bits have a more pointed end and are a lot less aggressive. I have never had any problems with chipping or cracking using these.
Steve
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Put tape over where you want to drill first. Then mark that.
It one stops the drill bit sliding and the edges chipping.
I use normal metal drill bits don’t find a problem. Faster drill speed and put no pressure on the drill. Let it do the work.
And as said put timber or something underneath it so you can drill right through.
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I’ve got an old blunt drill I use for this stuff. Never get a clean cut on a sharp drill 🙁 Probably just me tho. It was the way I was taught when I was a learner sign maker 😳
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quote Shane Drew:I’ve got an old blunt drill I use for this stuff. Never get a clean cut on a sharp drill 🙁 Probably just me tho. It was the way I was taught when I was a learner sign maker 😳I was also taught to use a blunt drill bit in college….. so you are not the only one……….
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Use Jason’s Tape comment, I use thick brown tape ( cardboard box tape ) works for us almost every time , unless your over aggressive. + the rest of the advice , Good drill bit , not too fast and make sure your going in straight.
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Thanks for the replies got the panels drilled today with no probs used the tape and new drill bit method drilling a pilot first. Will be fitting in a few days so will post some pics.
Dave
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