# Cutting Acrilic/plastic/ plexiglass



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

What type of blade should one use to cut platic in table saw/ cirular saw/ bandsaw?

Fine tooth?

What about a Saber/jig saw?

JJ


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

John I use an ordinary wood hand saw. Its a trick I learned in the Navy when making up watch bill boards etc. Have the blade at the lowest angle you can, to make the cut work. Take your time for the best results.
Should have mentioned that I cut Perspex, polycarbonate and all other clear plastics by this method too. 

Rod


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ 

I'm assuming the plastic you want to cut is too thick to easily use the score and snap method with a knife. 


I use a 10" table saw. There is a blade made especially for cutting acrylic and other plastics. It cuts cooler thus avoiding the lumping buildup along the cut line that you get with other types of blades. They are sold by plastics suppliers as well as suppliers such as Woodworker's Supply. I have also used a 60 to 80 tooth carbide blade to cut plastics. It does leave a bit of build up along the cut edge but is fairly easy to remove. Be sure the blade is sharp and it'll cut like butter. 

When cutting it is important to hold the stock firmly down on the saw table. Just a small bit of lift will cause it to chip. A hand held jigsaw would be about the worst powered saw to use because of the vibration of the saw. If you must use such a saw then be sure and clamp the plastic down well and keep a firm grip on the saw to keep it steady and prevent grabbing and shattering the plastic. I don't know which blade would be best for a jigsaw but I would use a fine tooth type. Rod's "by hand" method might be better than a powered jigsaw.


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

JJ- I've had good results cutting plastic on the table saw with a plywood blade. It has a lot of closely spaced teeth and is not very aggressive, so it doesn't tend to chip the material. The blade I use is just plain steel (not carbide). I agree with Richard on the jigsaw thing. They do make a special plastic cutting blade (Bosch) for the jigsaw, but it does not do a great job (don't ask how I know this!). If you need to cut complex patterns or odd shapes, you could make a pattern out of plywood, clamp the pattern to the plastic, and trace the pattern with a router. They make special router bits with a guide bearing just for that purpose. If the work is small, a trim router might be the way to go. Hope this helps. -Kevin.


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## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

the best tool I have found is a jig saw with a blade designed for thick plastic. clamp it down in area to be cut, set the jig saw to low speed and be careful. I have broken very few pieces with this method and it does work for large sheets much better than any other tool.


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

I have had good luck with hollow ground plywood or planer blades for my 10" table saw. DO NOT remove the paper protecting the faces before cutting, and as stated - keep the plexi tight to the table top, with a slow feed. I have had mixed results, depending on exact material, with carbide tipped blades. 

FWIW. 

Bob C. 

P.S. Also make certain the rip fence is parallel to the blade. Any cutting on the back side of the blade can be disastrous.


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

John, 
I've been cutting plastic almost everyday for 30 plus years now. We use a 10" diameter, 72 tooth triple chip blade at TAP Plastics. At home I use an 80 tooth blade with a narrow kerf. Always use a zero tolerance throat plate and keep the plastic from rising up on the blade by using good downward pressure as you feed the plastic through. For the jig saw we use a T101B blade made for the Bosch Jig Saws. If you have a different jig saw, take a look at that blade and find one that is comparable. It looks pretty coarse but cuts really nice... 
Russ Miller 
Manager TAP Plastics, San Leandro


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

I have cut plexiglass with my father with a standard tablesaw blade but the blade is reversed.


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

JJ, your question begs an answer of how thick the acrilic/plastic/plexiglass is before it is cut. If it is relative thin, it can be scoured and snapped. The problem I have ran into with acrilic/plastic/plexiglass whether on a tablesaw or bandsaw is the build up from the plastic melting as it is cut. I use a 8" 150 teeth blade on my tablesaw and a thin bandsaw blade. Both still produce build up and there is not way to slow the blade down. 
Ron


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Ron Hill on 15 Mar 2011 07:35 PM 
JJ, your question begs an answer of how thick the acrilic/plastic/plexiglass is before it is cut. If it is relative thin, it can be scoured and snapped. The problem I have ran into with acrilic/plastic/plexiglass whether on a tablesaw or bandsaw is the build up from the plastic melting as it is cut. I use a 8" 150 teeth blade on my tablesaw and a thin bandsaw blade. Both still produce build up and there is not way to slow the blade down. 
Ron Ron

I do not know the thickness yet.

This is my first venture into building a building.

I found some plans on E bay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/EZRAS-FEED-SEED...588be19c6b

I ordered a set and found them very workable.

The set came in 1:24 scale

I re ordered a set in 1:29th . The guy was very very helpfull.

He also has plans for track side stuff like Electrical cabnets like you see near crosings to run the signals.

This is whap prompted me to the question "What do I cut this with" since I am thinking of building them from plastic ECT ECT ECT 

JJ


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## jebouck (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ, a variable speed saw is better than a one, high speed saw.
The slower you can go and make the cut is the best.
Get some scrap pieces and practise until you can cut without burning and melting.
If your saw is one speed, get a speed control to plug into the power cord.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By jebouck on 16 Mar 2011 08:37 AM 
JJ, a variable speed saw is better than a one, high speed saw.
The slower you can go and make the cut is the best.
Get some scrap pieces and practise until you can cut without burning and melting.
If your saw is one speed, get a speed control to plug into the power cord.



Well Jeb

You and I are thinkin a long the same lines 

I found this place as a source for Frequency Drives. I was thinking of slowing down my band saw.

http://dealerselectric.com/mfg-subc...amp;mID=-1

I wanted to slow it down to use it as a metal cutting bansaw and a wood cutting band saw.

So I figured I would get a couple of the Frequency drives and make them so I could plug in different tools. 

JJ


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

John, 

Be careful with VFDs (varuable frequency drives). Some of the lesser quality motors used on most low cost power tools may not play well with the VFD. Watch you motor heat the first couple of times you use it until you get a feel for how the motor will react with the VFD. 

Bob C.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By armorsmith on 22 Mar 2011 08:46 PM 
John, 

Be careful with VFDs (varuable frequency drives). Some of the lesser quality motors used on most low cost power tools may not play well with the VFD. Watch you motor heat the first couple of times you use it until you get a feel for how the motor will react with the VFD. 

Bob C. 
I remeber having a heat problem on a Conveyor belt drive on a Saddle stitcher when someone added a VFD.


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