Working with Acrylic

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178
I want to make patterns out of acrylic that I can buy at home centers. I can cut the shapes fairly well with my bandsaw (24 tpi blade), but are there router bits that would do a better job? Don't suggest MDF etc, these are for my wife who quilts.

DKT
 
Hi Dietrich,

A long time quilter and friend recommends a tool called a rotary cutter. Manual vs. electric, but much easier to use and makes a nice cut. Just resharpen when the blade begins to dull. Ann said you can buy these at Joann Fabric, many different styles to choose from.

Not a woodworking tool, but much less expensive, I suspect. :)

--MJ
 
Dietrich,

I have bandsawn, drilled, routed and tablesawn the 'plexiglass' they sell at the orange borg. It's not the most pleasant work in the world, but it works. I suggest you get a piece of whatever you're thinking of, try it, and report back the results... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
I've tried routing the acrylic on my cnc router, it gummed up pretty bad after a few minutes. However this was using a 1/8" rounded bit cutting about 1/8" deep, so if your cutting away material it may not build up as bad.
 
Acrylics / Plastics

When working with the material, leave the paper masking film on the sheet as long as possible. Except for intricate detail work you should remove the masking only when your project is completed.

Routers ,,Use carbide single fluted bits for inside circle routing and double fluted bits for edge routing. At the high speeds at which routers operate it is critical to avoid all vibration. Even small vibrations can cause crazing and fractures during routing

Band saws are very convenient to have but keep in mind that acrylic tends to dull steel blades quickly.
A jig saw would work if you would lay a nice thick piece of foam board under the acrylic when cutting. hold down and run the saw at high speed with a saw blade made for cutting plastics. The foam would help cut down on the vibration.

Here is a great Video for cutting acrylics, sawing is in the middle of the video.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...l=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Interesting site for cutting acrylic:
http://www.sdplastics.com/acrylic.html


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Hi,

I used the bandsaw to cut plastic. Hopefully I never do it again. It took me a couple hours to get the plastic particles out of the tires and out of all of the corners of the bandsaw itself.

I have to admit it did a beautiful job. If I had an extra bandsaw I could dedicate to plastic I would use the bandsaw all of the time.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
quilting templates.

My wife who is also a quilter has asked me at least a dozen times for templates for her quilts.
I always cut them on my scroll saw.The 2 materials i usually use are 1/4 inch mdf or left over thin flooring(also a type of mdf).the stuff is usually 6,7 or 8 mm thick.
Work grwat and is cheap.

Phil in Buckingham
 
Acrylic is easily cut on a laser - just set up the pattern on the computer screen, push a couple of buttons and the piece is cut.

As an example, the picture is of a clock that was completely cut on the laser from 1/4" acrylic. Easy!! Keeps from gumming up your scroll/band saw or router.

IMG_0171 (450 x 600).jpg

Nancy
 
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