Cutting Acrylic

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scurran

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Hey

We have an oversized piece that we are ordering UV Acrylic for. We are going to need to cut it down and it is too large for our glass cutter (which I am not even sure would cut it.)
My boss was told that the companies we would order it, to-size, from cut the acrylic down on a table saw. We figured we might as well do this ourselves and save the money. Is there anything special I need to know about cutting acrylic? How far above the acrylic should I adjust the teeth of the blade to? Obviously I leave the paper coating on. Does this ever get caught in the saw?


Thanks

Sean
 
I've never cut frame grade acrylic, but plenty of polycarbonate, on the table saw. It cuts fine. The paper is no problem.

One reminder though. It's only a money saver to cut it yourself as long as you don't make any mistakes, like measuring from the one inch mark and forgetting to add an inch...
 
Acrylite, made by CYRO, is the most popular brand in our industry, and CYRO supplies acrylic to Tru Vue. So, CYRO knows how we use acrylic.

CYRO recommends that when cutting with a saw, use a 60-100 tooth carbide-tipped blade, and have 1/8” of the blade above the cut.

A table saw is most convenient, but a circular saw will work as well if you can mark carefully and cut on the mark. Reciprocating saws and saber saws may snag and break the acrylic, so they are not recomended.

I have cut 8 ft. long pieces of acrylic on my tabletop, using a hand-held scoring tool. Just mark the line carefully and make sure your straightedge can't move during scoring. I usually clamp the straightedge and the acrylic sheet together on the table. A few times I have drilled and screwed the acrylic sheet and straightedge to the table, on the ends that were to be cut off. Those end-cuts usually are shorter, so maybe you could put the sheet in your wall cutter after you make the long cut. That's what I did.

Cutting acrylic on a Fletcher 3000 or 3100 wall cutter is no big deal; just score repeatedly until you get halfway through the thickness, then break it over the edge of a table.

But if it will not fit in your wall cutter and you are not proficient at cutting large acrylic with a saw, I suggest you buy this large piece cut-to-size from your supplier. Their cutting charges are usually nominal, and might save you from ruining an expensive piece of acrylic.

If it isn't obvious, leave the mask on until after the cutting is done and the frame is ready for fitting.
 
I cut/recut this stuff on table saw "all the time". no special deal(hardest part is cutting it STRAIGHT when there is alot sticking out the far end--no panel jig yet!)---I try to use a veneer blade altho reg x-cut will 'do' (just alot less smooth)...it will slightly melt(dont feed it too fast) at the cutthru edge but by the time you get it off saw it'll be hard enought to run finger/wood/wedge along there to break that off(at worst use fine belt sander to smooth it more)

handheld is not that big a chore---just be sure to clamp BOTH ends of the (very) straight edge you'll need as you will be scoring down this guide many many times(fletcher has a nice scoreing tool)--then scootit out to the table edge, hold the inner part and press/snap off the outer part(dont get too rambunctous here as you can ruin a 5' piece if you breaking off actually breaks off some of that 'inner/good' part--didnt score it as heavily as I needed(been there, done that and was able to scoot back @1/2" and rescore/break)
 
I'm with Jim on this one, get it cut to size. When I have calculated the cost of buying it as a single sheet or getting it cut to size the price is usually within a couple of dollars of each other. I think the last time I did it a 4060 peice costs $35 and cut to 3646 was $32. And I didn't have the scraps to deal with.
 
Thanks guys! That helps a lot. I think we are going to go ahead and have it cut to size. Turner's charges were very nominal just like you said and it didn't seem worth the risk of breaking the larger sheet.


-Sean
 
A few tips……when you get the cut size ….wipe the edges with a dry rag before stripping off the protection sheet…………….it will save you a lot of trouble cleaning the specks off……..Ohhhh……and peel the protective cover off very slowly it will keep the static down……and if you think static will be a problem use a clean old vest (tee shirt in my part of the world) dampened very slightly to wipe the edges………..damp ……….not wet…

Good luck
 
Did I miss something, or did everyone who cuts plastic in a table saw forget to mention - a saw blade specifically designed for cutting plastic and laminates - this blade will have a negative hook. That means that the center of the carbide tooth will touch the plastic before the extreme tip of the tooth. The use of this blade will not product small chips at the edge as a standard blade will do.

A specialty blade such as this will be at least $75-80 for a 10" size.
 
"A specialty blade such as this will be at least $75-80 for a 10" size."

that being said, is the reason it was conspicuous by it's absence..for the 2-3 times each year that I need to do this, is not a valid reason to blow $$$...just clean the edges, brush the flats(helps to have air gun) & frame 'em
 
"Cutting acrylic on a Fletcher 3000 or 3100 wall cutter is no big deal; just score repeatedly until you get halfway through the thickness, then break it over the edge of a table."

Jim,

Did you make that statement to get a reaction or don't you use the breaking wheels that are on the 3000 for this purpose?? I never remove the full sheet from the wall cutter until I have scored the plexi and run the breaking wheels from top to bottom to complete the break. Then I carefully remove the scored and broken pieces and score the back paper facing with a sharp blade to separate the two pieces.

I would like to hear someone's tips for making the final scoring of that backside paper sheet a bit easier. I have scored the backside with the matcutter blade on the wall cutter first and then turned the entire sheet over and done the score and break but, with a full 4x8 sheet of acrylic, this becomes very cumbersome for one person to handle.
 
we cut acrylic with both a table saw and a wall-mounted fletcher. we prefer to cut it on the saw, but as the table saw also doubles as the joining table, it can be unavailable for cutting large pcs of acrylic without first clearing off the table (often more hassle than its worth!).
we have a coupla designated blades for cutting acrylic, but i forget, though, what they are described as...
 
Framerguy said:
I would like to hear someone's tips for making the final scoring of that backside paper sheet a bit easier. I have scored the backside with the matcutter blade on the wall cutter first and then turned the entire sheet over and done the score and break but, with a full 4x8 sheet of acrylic, this becomes very cumbersome for one person to handle.
Click to expand...

I score it, use the breaker wheels, then remove the sheet from the cutter. Set it on the floor and bend the broken section to 90 degrees so the whole sheet stands up on its own. I use a utility knife and run it up the corner to cut the backing paper off. With the corner bent at 90, it's easy to set the blade into the corner and cut straight from bottom to top. Just be careful, because once it's cut, it doesn't stand up on its own anymore.
 
I don’t have a table saw, so I use Jim’s method.

On a work table (not necessarily in my glass cutter), after I measure for the cut, but before I score the acrylic itself, I run an XActo knife down the straight edge to cut the plastic (or paper) cover sheet. I do this on both sides so that when the acrylic breaks, the blue cover doesn’t hold on to it.

Using the Fletcher hand held Score Mate, I score the path three or four times on the acrylic sheet (sometimes on both sides), slide the edge of the acrylic over the edge of the work table and snap it.
 
Framerguy said:
"Cutting acrylic on a Fletcher 3000 or 3100 wall cutter is no big deal; just score repeatedly until you get halfway through the thickness, then break it over the edge of a table."

Jim,

Did you make that statement to get a reaction or don't you use the breaking wheels that are on the 3000 for this purpose?? I never remove the full sheet from the wall cutter until I have scored the plexi and run the breaking wheels from top to bottom to complete the break...
Click to expand...

You got me there, Framerguy. Actually, I do use the breaking wheels on my Fletcher 3000. When I typed that comment, I just forgot to mention it. Breaking over the edge of the table is what I do when cutting by hand with a straightedge.

Cutting the masking on the backside of the acrylic is easy to do before you score. I like to trace the cut lines with a razor blade on both sides of the sheet, so the masking on back also splits with the cut. In the Fletcher 3000 cutter, I often use the board blade of the turret to cut the mask on both side before scoring the line.
 
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