Jigsaw for Acylic?

fishfreak1242

fishfreak1242

Active Member
So i've been looking into buying a jigsaw for doing some DIY projects with acrylic and I'm not really familar with the different brands of tools so which one is best for cutting acrylic? Also what is there a special blade neccessary for acrylic? thanks.
 
bizzmoneyb

bizzmoneyb

Member
how thick is the acrylic? i just cut sheets to make baffles for my sump.. mine is 1/4" thick and I used a blade to cut about 1/16th into the acrylic then snapped it off.. forms a perfect cut.
 
fishfreak1242

fishfreak1242

Active Member
Originally Posted by BizzMoneyB
http:///forum/post/2833547
how thick is the acrylic? i just cut sheets to make baffles for my sump.. mine is 1/4" thick and I used a blade to cut about 1/16th into the acrylic then snapped it off.. forms a perfect cut.
Im not exactly sure which size yet but probably around 1/8 or 3/16.
 
sman

sman

Member
Band saws work much better than jiw saws IMO. The jiw would cut it good(slow but it worked) but it seemed to get so hot it remelted back together on the other end of the blade, it was a total PITA. But it could have been something I was doing wrong, but I just use the band saw now, like a hot knife through butter.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by sman
http:///forum/post/2834526
Band saws work much better than jiw saws IMO. The jiw would cut it good(slow but it worked) but it seemed to get so hot it remelted back together on the other end of the blade, it was a total PITA. But it could have been something I was doing wrong, but I just use the band saw now, like a hot knife through butter.
That is why you should use the carbide impregnated blade.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
You won't get good clean cuts with a jigsaw, bandsaw etc.....proper technique for cutting acrylic is with either a table saw and finetooth blade or better yet with a router.....
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
yea for my big project i did not need any crazy shapes so i was able to make my cuts with a fine tooth blade on a table saw.
i just made a scaffolding for some moonlights and i used a jigsaw for that. it made the cuts easier / quicker with less itchy shavings covering my body... but as to what SMAN said about it melting back together, the blade was too fine. you need a slightly rougher blade to make the cut without melting. i think i ended up finding a wood blade worked the best.
either way , the important thing is sanding the edges clean for straight gluing surfaces.
 
ajer

ajer

Member
My dad and I built a acrylic hood once and we sandwiched the acrylic in between 2 sheets on plywood cut to the shape of the piece of acrylic was going to be the we just slid a jigsaw with a metal blade a long the edge of the clamped plywood sheets with the acrylic sticking out. Then I filed the acrylic down to the perfect shape. GO SLOW WITH THE JIGSAW! If you start to smell melting plastic then stop and let the jigsaw cool off.
Hope this helps
Ajer
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
The comment by Ajer is correct the feed speed of the material through the blade is what causes the melting....not necessarily the blade type.....
 
chilwil84

chilwil84

Active Member
make sure u rig some form of a jig for cutting wide pieces when cutting with a jig saw to keep ur cuts straight.
 
legion

legion

Member
put water on the peice to keep it cool(or just a spray bottle to mist it) and use a table saw with a carbide tooth blade. I would say, 60 teeth would be good. You can always use the shaving to seal the cracks if you are not worried about looks.
 
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