Table Saw for Cutting Perspex

[Martin Pearson]

Dan, if you buy a cheap saw then you may have trouble getting a blade that will cut acrylic and the blade will probably cost more than the saw !!!
You will need a negative rake blade to cut acrylic and it also does a better job with composite board.
Make sure you can buy a blade that will fit the saw you buy as it could be a costly mistake.

[Dan Piddington]

Thanks for the advice Martin.

[Robert Lambie]

personally ide either buy the proper tool for the job in hand mate, but
if there isn’t a great volume ide just get your acrylic supplier or composite supplier to supply the substrate cut to size. many of them provide this service anyway.
i dont say this flippantly, been there done that mate… just not worth the hassle as there are many things come into play as martin has suggested.

[Dan Piddington]

Thanks Rob,

That was my first thought as my sheet material suppliers already cut all my panels to size free of charge. When starting out in this trade the company I worked for used to have a table saw that could cut up to 8′ x 4′ sheets but was also great for cutting small panels which we then applied a bevel to, sanded down and flame polished.

I’ve accumulated various off cuts that I can use for these smaller jobs and just want to have a facility for cutting them myself. I can cut foamex, foam board and even dibond with a stanley but not acrylic, plexiglass, etc.

Previously I’ve used a hand held router for this but as I’m sure you can appreciate, when a panel gets quite small it becomes a bit tricky.

Thanks. Dan.

[Kevin Flowers]

Dan
you could try something like the exakt saw, ideal for acrylic etc

http://www.exaktsaw.org.uk/

Kev

[Dan Piddington]

Thanks Kev,

Looks interesting.

Cheers

Dan

[Robert Lambie]

Dan there is a table/jig setup you can buy that’s pretty cheap and actually holds your hand held router upside down. you then slide your panel through it creating the radious straight along the edge.

there are various table top chop saws that will easily cut the panels but start around £150. these are normally brands not hear here but big in the states and abroad and can be bought from the likes of costco.
i prefer to stick with the likes of dewalt and bosch though.

[Dan Piddington]

Thanks Rob,

I didn’t think about a router table, maybe that’s the answer.

I not what you mean with regards to quality equipment as all my hand held power tools are dewalt and I use these alot so needed a quality tool, therefore cost was never an issue.

I’ll have a look at cost co but maybe I should fork out a bit more after all.

I’ll post my findings.

Cheers

Dan.

[Peter Normington]

quote Kevin Flowers:

Dan
you could try something like the exakt saw, ideal for acrylic etc

http://www.exaktsaw.org.uk/

Kev

Are they as good as claimed Kev?
I am always a bit wary of "gadgets"
A small blade equates to greater wear per tooth when cutting so do the blades last if any length of time? they look like they are expensive to replace?

Peter

[Kevin Flowers]

Peter
i use one occasionally for acrylic & composite, goes through blades but does a reasonable job. Its small & light enough to operate one handed whilst holding a straight edge, ideal for onsite alterations. Also being light saves clamping smaller work up etc. However something they don’t tell you is you can only run them continuous for 6 minutes but you very rarely need to.

Kev

[Peter Normington]

Thanks Kev
That’s useful info

Peter

[David Rowland]

the exact is the same method used to cut sheets up at Amari Bristol, a mini circular saw, except it is built like a guiltoine and they just punch in numbers.

[Peter Normington]

quote Dave Rowland:

the exact is the same method used to cut sheets up at Amari Bristol, a mini circular saw, except it is built like a guiltoine and they just punch in numbers.

How do you build a saw like a guillotine Dave?

[Scott.Evans]

quote Peter Normington:

quote Kevin Flowers:

Dan
you could try something like the exakt saw, ideal for acrylic etc

http://www.exaktsaw.org.uk/

Kev

Are they as good as claimed Kev?
I am always a bit wary of “gadgets”
A small blade equates to greater wear per tooth when cutting so do the blades last if any length of time? they look like they are expensive to replace?

Peter

I bought one of these from makro. I found it to be S**t. took it straight back.

[Tim Painter]

Exakt do a Pro version a PS 150 with a higher watt motor.

Peter I assume Dave means like the backstop on a guillotine.

Punch in the number and the backstop you butt the material too moves. Either that or a fixed back stop and the saw end moves to the dimension punched in.

[Dan Osterbery]

We use a festool bench system that you can remove the tool from the table and replace with different tools, we use it to cut everything, we have bench saw,fret saw,sander,router. It is not cheap but it is a quality tool, we have a 3m extension for the bench saw for cutting boards.

guide rail link
http://www.festool.co.uk/mediandoweb/in … KTIVPROD=1

table system
http://www.festool.co.uk/mediandoweb/in … KTIVPROD=1

the thing i like about this system is it can grow with us! Over the last few years we have bought extraction unit, and a few other add ons, as we need them.

And it all comes with fantastic warranty’s!!

regards

Dan