cutting acrylic

[Marcjwebb]

hi guys,

i was wondering if anyone scould give any advice on using a table saw to cut acrylic so that i get nice dead straight cuts


Marc

 

[rafezetter]

Don't. Just don't. The acrylic is far too "soft" to easily run through a TS, the heat generated will create a very sloppy partially melted edge. The only way you might be able to do it is if someone was blowing compressed air onto the exact cut point, and the acrylic was fed through the saw either faster or MUCH MUCH slower than normal. The slower option is obviously better from a feeding standpoint, but you'll need a sharp blade so it cuts cleanly with little to no rubbing.

I've worked professionally with various plastics for years and I wouldn't attempt this method, if I wanted very crisp edges. IMHO you are far better off cutting by hand preferably with a finer tooth saw, you can get jack saw with 14tpi designed for uPVC, off the line then creeping up to it with a plane. There's a reason why all plastics of this type are cut with a waterjet cutter, even for basic straight lines.

Tougher sheet plastics like styrene (not to be confused with the white stuff) and polycarbonate are more forgiving put through a metal bladed saw, but you still have to use caution.

Another thread you might want to read on the subject: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/topic88295.html

 

[Marcjwebb]

Would a band saw with a fine tooth blade be much better or not really?

 

[TimothyClaypole]

Here's some 5mm I did on my 2nd hand £40 Clarke table saw:

It's not ideal but it is straight and not all melted.

(It's for lasering so the edge doesn't matter to me, just cutting a big sheet down to size).

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Odd advice in some of the above. Acrylic is much harder and more brittle than styrene, polycarbonate and upvc and is an absolute mare to cut with a handsaw! The main problem with cutting on a tablesaw is its thickness, ie is usually only a few mm's thick. I regularly cut 2,3,6 and 9. The teeth on a TS generally want to cut thicker stuff. A blade designed for aluminium is usually good, but if you only have woodworking blades, make sure it is sharp, a big tooth count and sandwich the acrylic between some sacrificial MDF.

Mike.

 

[Beau]

Cut loads of the stuff on my table saw without issues. Fine crosscut blade works best IMO

 

[Marcjwebb]

Looks fairly good. Just need a nice straight cut for glueing

 

[blackrodd]

If you try to keep the saw blade just above the acrylic, this will give a slow angle to the cut and gives a far better finish.
You can plane the acrylic too for a decent finish, but start one end for an inch or two, than turn the sheet around and plane the rest, this will help the end from breaking out!
I have cut loads of perspex, which is very similar.
Rodders