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Help on cutting DiBond & Acrylic
Hi all,
Trying to find the best way of cutting Di Bond & Acrylic. Just about to branch out into sign making and need to start cutting Di Bond & Acrylic. I use a Keen-cut Javelin at the moment and although I can get the blade through it leaves a raised bevel and looks awfall I have also looked at the Keen-cut SteelTrak but have a space and height problems. (trying to get a quart into a pint pot problem) I would really like to get some idea of what you guys use with any benefits and pitfalls.
Colin
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6 Replies
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I cut dibond with an aluminium blade on my circular saw. I use a dewalt cordless unit.
http://www.martor.de/spezial-cutter_11119.html
Cut acrylic with an laminate cutting blade on a stanley knife.Or cut it with the circular saw going backward not forward. The blade should have as many teeth as you can get, to stop chipping.
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Hi Shane,
I bit concerned about using circular saw because of dust. I use same workshop for laminating & mounting and dust can be a big headache so trying to find a clean method if possible. The SteelTrak seemed the perfect answer but just don’t have height needed.
Like the idea of the laminate knife but how good is it to use?
Colin
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Colin, laminate knife is easy peasy… need a strong wrist tho.
Find someone with a guillotine or the http://www.gamart.com.au/KeencutSubstra … Guide.aspx is the best bet.
If I need a lot cut, my wholesalers will cut them down for me, but I have a steel fabricator that is close by that will guillotine it down for me too, so I have the best of both worlds. -
I cut most of my dibond inhouse with a stanley / scalpel.
Two or three strong cuts along a straight end and snap it over the end of the bench…great for trimming panels onsite too.
(also used Shanes method for acrylic too – but if you get it wrong you trash the panel)
If it’s more than a one off – then buy them in pre-cut.
battery circular saw works wonders on both dibond & acrylic as does a jigsaw.
Dust not a major issue – just chippings which a good brush & hoover sorts out.
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Hi Dave,
Surely you end up with a rough finish to the edge. I assumed that you would need a type of wheeled cutter to give a nice slightly rounded edge. The Acrylic I can see that if you don’t get the scoring right you could end up with a bit of a disaster and if you only needed to cut a small slice off trying to snap it would not seem a good idea. Using a circular saw from past attempts creates highly static dust that seem to stick to everything.
Perhaps I am asking to much with the restriction on dust, height & space I am placing on this challenge. (but I do like a challenge) Any other suggestions are more than welcome.
Colin
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quote Colin Aburrow:Hi Dave,
Surely you end up with a rough finish to the edge.
Give it a go. I will stress – SHARP blade and two or three hard cuts. And BANG…snap it over the bench…clean enough edges for 99% of ‘large scale’ sign work.
Been cutting di-bond this way for years. It’s fast, clean, portable and means you don’t have to worry about dust.
On the downside – it’s not ideal for doing ‘close-up’ or ‘prestige’ signs as the edge isn’t a uniform 90 degrees like a saw or guillotine cut.
Oh, yes…the better quality board you use – the better the edge.
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