HELP: Cutting plexiglass.

[martinmsj]

I went to home depot and inquired about the pexiglass and how I would work with it. The guy lead me to where they were and asked me what size. When I asked "how would I cut them?" he said to just you the box cutter or what not, outline the cut and trace it with the cutter. Afterward, just snap it off. Guess I suck hard at this stuff cause its not working for me.

What is a good way to cut plexiglass? If you agree with the guy up top, what am I doing wrong?

 

[ray4389]

I've cut plexi glass with a bandsaw before at school. It leaves a bit of melted palctice ont he edge that jsut breaks off but still not a bad cut. Leave the paper on though. But msot people sue dremel cut off blades (reinforced ones) I believe. But anything would work as long as it is high speed and not a hand tool i.e. hand saw.

 

[Grizzy]

I've cut plexi glass with a bandsaw before at school. It leaves a bit of melted palctice ont he edge that jsut breaks off but still not a bad cut. Leave the paper on though. But msot people sue dremel cut off blades (reinforced ones) I believe. But anything would work as long as it is high speed and not a hand tool i.e. hand saw.

score and snap really only works with straight lines that continue from one end of the piece to the other. You will need some kind of a saw to cut other shapes or lines that stop in the middle of a piece.

 

[Tech-Daddy]

Use a jigsaw using a blade with a high TPI (teeth per inch) and a sanding finish.

Worked great for me!

 

[martinmsj]

I forgot to mention that money is an issue. I figured people would notice by the cheap cutter.

 

[Tiny]

do you have access to a hacksaw, cause they make plastic cutting blades for them.

 

[martinmsj]

do you have access to a hacksaw, cause they make plastic cutting blades for them.

Nothing, just everything you see in the picture.

 

[][V][AGIC]

if you have or could get a hold of a dremel, i use the spiral cutting bit and it cuts very well though plexi. i used it to cut though 1/4 and it went though like butter

 

[Thor]

ok.. in this case the easy way to do this is to score and snap... just like he said... but you need to score at least 1/3rd the way through and for skinny log pieces like that you need to reinfoce the edge your trying to snap off (i use long scraps of thin wood, surveyor marker steaks work great and are cheap .. and hold them to the plastic with "C" clamps or vice grips(one piece per side) )

the thin stuff your trying to work with can be a pain in the ass to snap off if you dont score it right the first time (i uase 6 passes with a fairly hard pressure and a clamped straight edge) and your going to has a real bitch of a time trying to clean up the part that has already snaped off (where it gets closer to the big piece again there is always a stub you cant snap off... get some ~400 grit sand paper and a block of wood and just sand down the lump untill its gone),

for the thicker stuff there is no substitute for a good router table.. eates throught it like a red hot knife throught butter, just dont let it kick back... i lost the tip of my middel finger on my right hand to it cutting the sides to my plexy case..it jumped up off the bit then landed back on the bit on the ther side and sucked the plexy throught the router at lighting speed... my hand was a full foot and a half from the blade.. i couldnt let go fast enought.

a 1/4hp router @80k rpm will own a dremel any day..

(/end war story)

/edit

noticed you where cutting a square in that plexy... if you where trying to cut the square out then use the jigsaw, if you where trying to get the small square to work with, then 2 cuts and 2 breaks are needed, cut the entire length, then cut it down to size from there

thore

 

[the snake]

spend some more money and use lexan, much harder to crack then plexi IMO.

 

[codeflux]

jigsaw with wood saw, at low speed. works very well. just be sure not to go fast or plexi will melt.

 

[JSquid]

i use a 1 1/2 hp plunge router to cut plexi. if you make a pattern beforehand and use a bit with a guide bearing it makes the best cuts of any of the methods posted so far.

 

[Moose777]

I've also found that a Dremel with a router bit and the router attatchment cuts well too. Just set it so it barely cuts intot he plastic and then rbeak it off. You can even do curves and such with it. That's generally what I use.

 

[martinmsj]

for the thicker stuff there is no substitute for a good router table.. eates throught it like a red hot knife throught butter, just dont let it kick back... i lost the tip of my middel finger on my right hand to it cutting the sides to my plexy case..it jumped up off the bit then landed back on the bit on the ther side and sucked the plexy throught the router at lighting speed... my hand was a full foot and a half from the blade.. i couldnt let go fast enought.

That sucks.
Pics please!

 

[Thor]

if i'de had a cam i would have but at the time i didnt... and as of today the better part of my finger has grown back..the tip looks a littel lopsided , but i'de have to point it out inorder for you to notice. there is some scar tissue, but you cant tell its there due to the shape, but when i put pressure on it it feels... different... hard and slightly sensitive. it got me to the bone and took a littel hunk of bone with it as well as a piece of nail... the blood splattered on the wall was more dramatic than the acctual cut its self... i have nerve damage on that hand any way, so at first i didnt feel it, and even now it dosent really bug me.. just a warning, when you play with routers.. dont do it when your tired... there nasty littel suckers with a bite worse than there bark

thore

 

[Idleuser]

I tried to score and snap it... ended up buying a stupid useless tool for 3 bucks that i'll never touch again.. Just have them cut out what size you want.. if I could do it all over again i''ll just measure the size and have them cut. Anyways I used a hand saw to cut mines and man are these pixie glass fragile!! they crack or break on almost contact.

 

[Nivram]

Another good tool, that you might pick up fairly cheap (if you have a Sears outlet nearby, really cheap!!), is a Rotozip. Put a straight edged piece of wood down, clamped, on top of the material, and you can cut a fairly straight line. Think of it as a small noisy router!!

 

[twyztyr]

If you cut using a jigsaw, what most people don't remember to tell you is that it has to be reinforced on both sides of the cut. If you cut with an end hanging off a table and it starts flapping, it'll crack all to hell.

 

[martinmsj]

Damn home depot jerks and their "it is easy" mantra.

All I wanted to do was build one of these.

Now I have two sheets of plexiglass and some tools I've never heard of or even used to kill myself with. Joy.

The jerks.

Actually more like this.

With a hint of this..

\

Yea, that is it. Oh and home depot jerks, go die etc...