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cutting plexiglass......

hillbille
what a pain in the arse, finally settled on a jigsaw, used razorblades to score and try and snap, just busted it up. tried circular saw with blade backwards, it shattered it also. got 18 tooth blade for jigsaw and ran it on less half speed, if got to fast it would chip and shatter, slow about third power was good it was just much more than 3-4 foot and motor heated up bad, as plastic melted as much as cut, and when you stopped it would harden on blade and not cut till it cooled off and you chipped it off blade.

It has been almost a week to get about a dozen peices ranging from foot square to maybe two foot by three foot, got a bunch of used plexiglass the mall was throwing away where the wife works, they were about 3x7 peices that had been temporary vendors in center of aisles. free is free but it was a pain in the arse....
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Comments

18 comments

Date Votes
  • Mr. Perfect
    I've had good success cutting it with a circular saw. Never tried blade backwards, that seems like a mistake.

    Have seen guys put thinner sheets in a plywood sandwich with good success. Never tried it personally tho.
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  • iceracerx
    I was fortunate to get a 'Plexiglass scoring tool' from the local plastics company 30 some years ago.

    Score (actually more of a groove) the Plex and then 'snap' it.

    Works like a charm.

    Sometimes good old fashioned hand tools work best.

    https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=4858&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq9qs0LDX3QIVUNbACh3EBgoREAQYAyABEgLfjPD_BwE
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  • chiefr
    quote:Originally posted by iceracerx
    I was fortunate to get a 'Plexiglass scoring tool' from the local plastics company 30 some years ago.

    Score (actually more of a groove) the Plex and then 'snap' it.

    Works like a charm.

    Sometimes good old fashioned hand tools work best.

    https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=4858&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq9qs0LDX3QIVUNbACh3EBgoREAQYAyABEgLfjPD_BwE



    The way to do it. Been working with the stuff for years.
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  • select-fire
    Lowes cuts it for free.
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  • EVILDR235
    Maybe use a router to cut a groove, then snap it ? Band saw ? Angle grinder with a cut off wheel ? Dremel tool ? Goldfingers laser ?

    Jose.
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  • JimmyJack
    band saw works for me
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  • ltcdoty
    When we build exhibits in the museum, we used masking tape, drew the cut line on the masking tape...and used a fine blade on a table saw....and we cut some huge pieces...
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  • Ditch-Runner
    tape and a backwards fine toot blade . speed also too fast or slow melts but works with a little practice
    I will now be buying one of the plastic scoring knifes see how that works thanks
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  • droptop
    Wiki-How shows several methods. Neat looking "animations"

    https://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Plexiglass.

    Learned how to cut it in shop class almost 60 years ago, however can't remember what I did. Guess forgetting isn't part of learning.

    Do remember it was easy to polish using a polishing wheel. Made a knife out of red plexiglass but don't remember how I cut it. Maybe it was blue? Bet it was a hacksaw. The plexiglass had peal off paper that could be drawn on. Think it was two sided, but again, don't remember.
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  • notnow
    Rockwell and Delta both make small, circular saw type tools. So what about one of those with either an aluminum grade cut-off or a ceramic blade. I have the Dremel version. The wood blade that came with it isn't toothed. It's wavy edged and abrasive coated. It cuts soft wood great.
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  • Wild Turkey
    Speed and tooth set are what I've found is important.

    Fast enough to get a good cut and with enough tooth set to make clearance for the "chips".

    I've cut it with jigsaws, TS and bandsaw.

    Don't use zero clearance inserts. I ruined a good blade when the chips built up between the blade and the insert and blade got red hot.

    Coarse enough blade to clear the chips, but fine enough to keep at least a couple in the material.

    Don't be afraid of it. It cuts very much like plywood -- and like plywood if it's too thin be very careful.
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  • He Dog
    I have used a hand held jig saw, but it tends to melt the plastic. OK for rough work, not so much on something to look at.
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  • drl50
    As mentioned, a plexiglass scoring tool. Used it framing pictures and its score and snap. About 6 bucks.
    There's a bunch to choose from on amazon. Do it centers and hardware stores got em.
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  • fideau
    Cuts easily on a bandsaw. Cutting with a jigsaw works well but you have to have it tightly clamped down so it doesn't move as the blade comes up. I have cut it on a tile cutter. Very thin pieces can be cut by scoring and snapping.
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  • pickenup
    As others said, used tape and a bandsaw MANY times.
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  • Mobuck
    We cut a bunch of deer house windows using a high tooth count blade on a table saw. The secret is supporting the sheet above AND below ( I mean within `1/16" of the saw blade)while using clear packing tape on the cut line.
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  • yonson
    First things first. Is it definitely Plexiglas (the brittle stuff) or is it Lexan, the tougher "bulletproof" type? Whatever, I used to sandwich it with wood to support both edges to minimize chipping as has been suggested, using a saw blade having about 1 1/2 teeth per the thickness of the plastic. Too fast a speed will of course melt the plastic. Used the same support setup for drilling holes in it.
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  • RUGERGUNZ
    Grinder with A thin cut off wheel.
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