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Advice on Cutting Acrylic please?
Hi Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to cut Acrylic or PET G we are at this moment buying sheets and getting the supplier to cut it, but we get odd bits left over from the sheet that we can not cut, then get a small job which one of these bits would do but can not cut it. We have tried online people to get small pieces done but it has either taken a long time to arrive or been expensive.
Thanks John:police: Mod-Edit
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4 Replies
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there are a great many ways/tools to cut acrylic, but the finish and accuracy that you need will always dictate what tool you need for the job. then there is your budget which will ultimately make the decision for you over your short list.
cheap examples…
Jigsaw – Picture
Hand circular Saw – Picture
Band Saw – Picture
Hand Held Router – Picture
any of these with a fine tooth, metal/acrylic blade in them will cut up your sheets easily. some tools also need the cutting "speed" slowed down or sped up for good cuts. allot of the time this can come about due to altering qualities of the acrylic being cut.
cutting acrylic is easy enough, but can be messy due to the fine airborn debris and the power of the tool spitting waste all over the place. so make sure your not cutting it in an area where you would mount the likes of vinyl or you will be opening a can of problems for yourself.
its best to always have a catch bag on the tool you use also. wont eliminate the problem but will reduce it allot.accuracy will also be an issue. so make sure you have some form of "cutting guide" in place. a jigsaw is easying used, but due to the small narrow blade its also easy to create a wobbling line/cut over a long distance. same applies for the band saw, but a guide is easier set on one of those if you are cutting small bits and peices.
Hand held routers can give a better finish but a guide is a must on one of these as its very difficult to control and see where you are cutting.
Circular saws are easier to keep straight due to the size of the blade making the cut but can veer off and the finish on "one side of the acrylic" is normally rougher than the other due to how it cuts.no matter what one of the above you use "above" you are not going to get a perfect finish. but if the acrylic is going into a trim/frame you will not see it.
if the acrylic has to be flame polished or the like, ide not use any of the above. better and quicker getting it bought in cut.
i could go on and on… but i wont as i am guessing your looking for a realtively cheap way to cut up off cuts of acrylic material… you will be able to purchase any of the above from your local B&Q. but maybe better from trade tool suppliers. maybe give http://www.screwfix.com a try?
hope this helps some…
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try a tracksaw or circular saw with a guide will also work.
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All of above is absolutely 100%, but I’m guessing your trying to cut this with a plain hand saw…. If that is the case, get a "not too aggressive" hard point saw, hand saw and spray WD40 on the blade before you start cutting, adding more as it starts to heat up. Same principle as putting soap on wood screws… Obviously bench saws and routers are easier, but if you don’t have them, this’ll do you fine…
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Good jigsaw and a bosch T101AO blade will cut perspex, petg, polycab and give a super smooth burr free cut – you dont need anything else – trust me ive been using them for the last 20 and a bit years…..
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