I bought a piece of clear acrylic sheet approx. .125" thick to make a stock template. I tried a jigsaw, which cut it but the hot plastic welded itself back together behind the blade. I also tried one of those side-cutting drill-bit thingies, but too hard to control. I know you can score the plastic in a straight line and break it clean, but how do you do curves? Any ideas?

a trick, or rule of thumb, in machining all plastics is, if it melts, you are going too fast...

put the bandsaw is the slowest speed you have

jeffe

A way of using a jig saw is to clamp it upside down and use the foot of the saw as a mini-table. Much better control and keeps it from closing up.

Thanks for the input, guys. I don't think my borrowed jigsaw has adjustable speed, just two motions (up & down or orbital) to choose from. Maybe a coarser blade will help. I will try the suggestion of clamping the saw and feeding the material, instead of vice versa.

If all you have to make is straight cuts, the last thing you could try is using a straight edge and a sharp, sharp utility knife. Score the line really hard and then try and break the line. I have cut plexi like this before and mostly had success.

However, this will only work on large pieces.

Otherwise, go slow and use a fine-toothed saw of some kind.

Prewar,
you aren't the first to mention it... and, since the sheep in my county all can hear azipper from 500 yards, well, I've given up on them and went back to women...

you know why it's called a kilt?

because the last lad that called it a skirt was kilt!!

jeffe

As others have mentioned - slowly!! Big teeth, with lots of clearance - and don't rush it - relax, and take it nice and easy.

best thing I've ever found for cutting plexiglass, lexan, and other plastics is a small router-style laminate trimmer. With the 1/8" bit running, you can handle the router quite well and follow a line of just about any curve or straight pattern. The cut is usually very clean if you keep moving at a moderate pace- don't stop or move too quickly or you'll melt the plastic and cause problems. I also helps sometimes to cut about 1/8" from the marked outline and use a belt or drum sander to finish to the line.- Bob

I used to make plexiglas doors for modular ambulances. We used a radial saw with a carbide blade. You really need to use a coarse blade to get through the plexi without melting it. We also used a shaper to round the edges, so I guess a router would also work for that as mentioned above.

bowhuntr

Hey Jeffe,

Maybe you already know this, but I heard the reason Scots wear kilts is because the sheep get skittish when they hear a zipper.

Couldn't pass up the opportunity, sorry.

Glen,

I know that a stock template is hard to make with a table saw, but plexiglass cut well with a carbide tip saw blade.

Not to change subjects, Glen did to get those half round octagon drawings?

Mark

Band saw, sharp metal blade, feed very slow. Lexan is easiar to work with.,