cutting acrylic...

[suprzman]

hey everyone, quick question:
what is an efficient method for cutting acrylic accurately and quickly?
today i purchased some acrylic sheets for a baffle system in a sump i'm making. i was using a utility knife to score the sheets, and basically snapping the sheets. however, the scoring is taking quite a bit of time, and the snapping doesnt always happen cleanly. any suggestions?
thanks in advance,
Z.

 

[Blown 346]

You can go to your local Home depot, Lowes and they will cut it for you for free. Thast what I did since while scoring it you always dont make a straight line.

 

[Fluxion]

If you want to use the scoring method it will work best if you have a scoring blade. You can buy a scoring tool in the isle where you bought the plastic or you can get a scoring blade for a utility knife.

A table saw with a triple chip, negative hook blade would be the best.

 

[mpomfret]

A bandsaw works beautifully. Do you know any woodworking tool junkies ? I have used a tablesaw as well, but the bandsaw runs cooler and is much less likely to melt or chip the acrylic.

Matt

 

[suprzman]

unfortunately i dont have any power saws at home i can use myself, but i guess i could go back to the home depot i bought the sheets from and have them cut it for me. while i'm there i'll check out the scoring blades too.
thanks for the info guys!
Z.

 

[areze]

well... without a power saw your kinda out of options.

you can finish the edge nicely, nicer than a saw infact, with a router. but you may not have a router if you dont have a saw.

the score and snap technique seems underrated IMO. it gets some real straight lines done right. its not real quick, but quick doesnt always equal good.

 

[suprzman]

yeah the score technique might be good, but definitely without scoring blades its not efficient. i'll have to check those out when i stop by home depot.
what is a router? i've never heard of that before.

 

[areze]

its kinda like a dremel if youve heard of that.

basicly its just a big motor with a round frame that sits on the work surface. in the middle of the round frame is a bit. the bits come in various shapes and sizes for many different purposes. one such bit is a flush cut bit. its like a milling bit, it will cut through whatever and with the high RPMs it does so with a smooth result.

its not like a dremel in the fact that its much larger and much more powerful. dremel is for precision, routers are built to shave lots of material without slowing down.

 

[8BALL_99]

lol See if they will cut it for you... If you dont have any powertools and the scoring isn't working for you thats you only other option