Acrylic How to Cut On Table Saw?

[richard poitras]

I am looking at cutting up some small pieces of acrylic on the table saw and was wondering what would be the best kind of blade to cut it with? Rip, cross cut, combo? Or do I need a special blade altogether? I will not be cutting it a lot so I am trying to stay away from buying a blade just for this. The acrylic will be used for a jig with a utility knife so the edge needs to be nice and smooth. I am wearied that it my melt if I cut it with the wrong blade and not give me a nice edge to cut along. Any tips would help.

Thanks Richard

[Jeff Bartley]

I've cut a bunch of acrylic to make router jigs. If I remember correctly a cross-cut blade works better than a rip, and I usually cover it with masking tape to reduce edge chipping. It makes very durable jigs! A couple passes on sandpaper will smooth the edge and if you're looking for a clear appearance you can pass a torch over the edge, it leaves the edge clear polished.
However, overall it's an unpleasant experience, the stuff smells awful when cut! Oh, and it's prone to cracking if drilled aggressively.

[pat warner]

Edges from saw blades reveal the character of the blade (chatter).
For a better edge, (after the rip): Take a skin cut with a router and carbide cutter. Can also be safely band sawn with a hss wavy blade.
Then wet sand. Expect this quality (http://patwarner.com/images/machining_plastic_a.jpg).

[Julie Moriarty]

Take your pick. I've used all the methods but prefer the table saw for straight cuts and band saw for curved cuts. I use a plywood blade on table saw cuts.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osN_yrsN7vw

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I don't know why, but my experience with it and a table saw led to chips on the edges. I was doing something wrong obviously. Pat, that object looks like a piece of art, what is it?

[Grant Wilkinson]

I cut quite a bit of thinner acrylic on my table saw. I have both a 10" triple chip blade that was pricey and a cross cut 7 1/2" blade for a circular saw that was inexpensive. The small blade is the better of the two.

[peter gagliardi]

Just remember, " blade high" when cutting plastics, with higher tooth count triple chip grind and/or crosscut blades.

[richard poitras]

Thanks for all the tips....

Richard

[Steve Peterson]

You can buy blades specifically made for cutting acrylic. They are typically around 80 teeth for a 10" blade with a triple cut grind. The middle tooth is a bit taller than the others. It cuts a channel down the center, followed teeth to take out the corners.

I believe the big box stores would have them for around $40. If you are only making a few cuts, then just put in a standard crosscut carbide blade. A low tooth angle (like from a miter saw) is probably best to reduce chipping.

Steve

[Rick Whitehead]

You can also joint the edges after cutting to get a smooth, straight edge.
Rick W

[Martin Wasner]

Hollow ground teeth works awesome. I've never used one in a tablesaw though.

[Warren Wilson]

I know it wasn't the question, but a bandsaw makes a very neat, quiet, controlled cut in acrylic. You can even round the corners slightly, if it matches your jig design and it gives your jig a bit of a finished look, which may only matter to those with too much time on their hands.

:)

[Earl Rumans]

I have this blade for cutting plastic and acrylic. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T7AL/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687702&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00008WQ38&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=02WT67R2038HQ6PZQBXN It works well for me.

[Andrew Kertesz]

I used to work in an acrylic fabrication shop. When I was working we used an 80 tooth TCG on a Unisaw. Depending on what you are going to do with it you can run it on a regular joiner. We always polished exposed edges with a hydrogen and acetylene mix, takes a special and quick touch. Polished edges will not glue. If you need to glue get some syringes and some MEK. The shop I worked for still does aquarium work for the Toledo Zoo.

[richard poitras]

[QUOTE=Andrew Kertesz;2384551] 80 tooth TCG . Depending on what you are going to do with it you can run it
on a regular joiner. QUOTE]

What kind of blade is a TCG? And can you edge joint on a joiner with a spiral cutter?

Thanks Richard

[Phillip Gregory]

What kind of blade is a TCG?
Thanks Richard

http://www.dekalbsaw.com/glossary.html has a pictoral illustration of the different kind of saw tooth profiles.

I have cut a decent amount of 0.080-0.120" acrylic for various projects. The easiest way I have found to do it is use an 80 tooth (10") full-kerf crosscut blade on a cabinet saw. A 40 tooth blade sometimes chips and cracks the acrylic.

[Bob Wingard]

How soon do you need one ??? I have a blade ground special for acrylic/polycarbonate made by ONSRUD. It is like new, so it should cut just fine ... I can ship it to you as a loaner in a day or two if you would really like to work with a quality tool for the job. We had a lot of guys using out table saw at work that really didn't even know how to turn it on. As luck would have it ... MOST of what we did was to cut Lexan sheets into parts for guards & covers over machinery & conveyers in a food plant ... SO ... we had a lot of guys getting hurt. My boss knew I was well acquainted with the table saw and he asked for recommendations. I found this particular blade, and talked him into putting it on a brand new SawStop just before I retired. He was so thankful, he gave me one of the blades. I can afford to be without it for an extended period ... not using it all that much at the moment. Let me know.

[Frank Martin]

I have done this several times with just a Forrest Woodworker II blade. No issues.

[Andrew Kertesz]

Triple Chip Grind, I am unsure about the spiral cutter head. We were using a DJ-20 long bed for a joiner, I would cautiously try a test piece before running my final pieces. We would stack up to 2" - 3" together on the joiner. Be careful as in some situations it can act like glass and shatter. Our blades of choice at the time were Freud. Feed rates were similar to wood on both pieces of equipment.

[Julie Moriarty]

[QUOTE=Andrew Kertesz;2384551] And can you edge joint on a joiner with a spiral cutter?

I use a hand plane with a well honed iron. It leaves a very clean edge on the acrylic.

[richard poitras]

How soon do you need one ??? I have a blade ground special for acrylic/polycarbonate made by ONSRUD. It is like new, so it should cut just fine ... I can ship it to you as a loaner in a day or two if you would really like to work with a quality tool for the job. We had a lot of guys using out table saw at work that really didn't even know how to turn it on. As luck would have it ... MOST of what we did was to cut Lexan sheets into parts for guards & covers over machinery & conveyers in a food plant ... SO ... we had a lot of guys getting hurt. My boss knew I was well acquainted with the table saw and he asked for recommendations. I found this particular blade, and talked him into putting it on a brand new SawStop just before I retired. He was so thankful, he gave me one of the blades. I can afford to be without it for an extended period ... not using it all that much at the moment. Let me know.



Bob thanks for the kind offer of the loner blade as I appreciate it. I only need to cut a small piece for one jig so at this point I think I am good and with all the responses there seems like a few options that will work. I plan on reviewing the blades I have as I think I have one that meets the requirements as some have mentioned.

Thanks again Bob and all that have responded.

Richard

[Al Launier]

I've used a TS fine tooth blade installed backwarrds on "thin" acrylic, other plastic items & thin aluminum. Running this way prevents chipping. Use masking tape to indicate the cut line.

[Edward Oleen]

I agree with Warren: I have cut lots of PMMA (the generic name for Acrylic, Acrylite, Lucite, Plexiglas, and Perspex, which is what the Brits call it.

I cut the stuff on my band saw, after trying my table saw. I found that I could get a better cut with the band-saw than the table saw. Now I didn't experiment with lots of different blades, I just used my normal combination blade from Ridge Carbide Tool - one of their TS2000 blades. It was probably because I felt more in control with the BS - I was cutting small pieces and felt much better having my hands close to the BS blade than the TS blade.

I did occasionally get a little bit of chip out, until I put tape on the bottom side, which ended the problem completely. I was cutting 1/4" stock, which was what I had.