How To Cut Acrylic Sheets With Jigsaw

After the first few centimeters the blade will begin to heat up and will glide more easily along the sheet.

How to cut acrylic sheets with jigsaw.

Cutting thin sheets of plastic if you want a straight cut in a thin acrylic or polycarbonate plastic sheet up to inch thick reach for a simple utility knife then follow these steps. If you get stuck at an angle pull the jigsaw out the way you came and cut from the other edge. This is due to the fact that they produce a relatively clean cut and. Jigsaw fine tooth blade required marker pen or grease pencil.

Set up the acrylic glass on 2 beams so that you can cut through it with the jigsaw. Jigsaws are one of the more favoured tools for cutting acrylic sheets. Push the jigsaw from the outer edge towards your body along the line you made so you can constantly keep your eye on the blade and the line. Cover your cut line by spearing a tape directly through it.

Jigsaws ability to cut straight at angles and in a circular or another shape motion makes them versatile tools for cutting plexiglass along with a lot of your other woodworking needs. Place the sheet over hard edge with groove side up. Measure again and mark another cut line over the tape. For the best results you ll want to support both sides of the cut line to reduce vibrations.

This is done by drilling a hole in the plexiglass then placing the jigsaw blade in the hole. Turn on the jigsaw and slowly cut the first few centimeters of the plexiglas. Use scoring knife to cut a narrow groove in the acrylic sheeting. To cut acrylic sheets with a jigsaw you will want a jigsaw with a good range of speed control and a variable speed control will help out a little.

Lay the sheet on a flat surface and using a yardstick and a permanent marker or a grease marker measure and draw the line you wish to cut. The key to cutting acrylic with a jigsaw is to keep the speed low. Next hold the yardstick to the marked line and run. How to cut acrylic sheets with a jigsaw.

When you near the end of the cut grab the overhanging section of plexiglas before it falls. Scoring preferably works on sheets less than 6 35mm in thickness. At that point you can cut a little faster. Measure the length of the acrylic you intend to cut using a ruler.

Mark the cut line with a marker or a grease pen. Depending on the type of blade you use you will find that running the tool a t medium to low speeds is usually the best bet even though blades will be more important than speed overall. If you cut too fast the acrylic will melt from the heat the friction creates and your project will be a mess.