CuttingPlexiglass

[stoutman]

I am making some bird feeders that have 1/4'' plexiglass panels. I cut some plexiglass on the tablesaw and it chipped all along the edge.

How do you cut this stuff without any chipout?

-Thanks Brian

[George M. Kazaka]

[Mark Jerde]

I read on a site that scoring on each side with a utility knife & snapping works. Never tried it myself.

-- Mark

[Brian]

There are specialty acrylic blades, but they're expensive... I used to do alot of aquarium related work with plexiglass, and have found that cutting a bit over dimenion with a decent combo blade and then joniting the edges works very well.

Brian.

[DanG]

I agree with George. I have cut Lexan, Plexiglas, FRP, Santana, PVC pipe, and probably another dozen types of plastic in a table saw. The only ones that I have had any trouble with was old (many years old) plastic lenses from fluorescent fixtures.

I use a carbide blade with ATB teeth, nothing special, not any huge quantity of teeth. I have a zero clearance plate on my saw at all times, this may be the difference. Take a piece of scrap ply, masonite, or even cardboard; lower the blade; tape the scrap to the table top; turn on the saw; raise the blade up and through the sacrificial material. Try the cut again to see if it makes a substantial difference.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

[anthony diodati]

Works Quite well. You Can run it down a jointer after that is you want too.

Thanks, Tony D.

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 17:22:35 GMT, "stoutman" scribbled

I've had good success using a triple chip grind blade (those designed for melamine & laminates).

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address

[Phisherman]

I did not have a problem cutting plexi on the tablesaw using a ply or laminate blade (one with a lot of teeth). No chipping. A jigsaw or bandsaw will work too, but the edge will need a little filing and sanding. Another method is to sandwich the thin plexi with a same-sized hardboard.

[Toller]

It is real important to score a straight line. If it wavers, the break can go anywhere. (been there, repeatedly.)

[dave martin]

.........

Put your blade on backwards. No chips even with a sloppy saw, cold thin plexiglass, & coarse blade. It leaves a nice finish.

[stoutman]

I'm gonna give that a try.

I don't wanna have to buy a new saw blade just to cut some Plexiglas.

-Thanks to all who posted.

[Lawrence Wasserman]

I've had good results with a good quality 40 tooth general purpose blade on the tablesaw; Forrest WWII and the Oldham top of the line blade both worked well.

[Greg G.]

stoutman wandered in from the void and babbled something like:

I generally score my lexan and plexi with a scoring knife made just for this purpose, then snap it over the sharp edge of a piece of wood. It can be touched up on a joiner, if neccessary. The folding scoring knifes cost about $3.00. Works like a charm.

FWIW, Greg

[Grandpa]

I've cut a lot of it with a straight edge and a scribe by cutting about half way through with the scribe, making numerous passes of course, then sandwiching between to boards with a sharp edged board on the underside and just behind the scribe line and snapping it downwards. Works great!

[DAN & CINDY]

[Jimlemon]

I got minimal chipping by only raising the blade far enough for the tips of the teeth to clear the work, and then applying masking tape to both faces before cutting.

[Ehvee8or]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

- Arthur C Clarke

[stickdoctorq]

"stoutman" wrote in news:8O7Db.394029$ao4.1303244@attbi_s51:

be careful with this approach...if you knock a tooth off, you'll have a little bullet coming atcha......

[FOW]