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.
Best way to cut thin acrylic sheets.
For best results use another tool like the earlier mentioned table saw to cut your acrylic roughly before getting a more exact finish with the router.
Place the thin plastic sheet on top of the plywood.
Set the acrylic on a flat surface.
How to cut thin plastic sheets.
Routers can be used to cut acrylic for both curved and straight cuts.
Secure the sheet to a large work surface.
Mark the area of sheet you want to cut.
Next hold the yardstick to the marked line and run.
The thinnest are typically managed with a handheld rotary tool.
For plastic you need a blade with a high tooth count.
Be sure to use a compressor to keep the sheet in position to avoid chipping and more time needed to polish the cut.
Here s a few things to keep in mind if you re interested in working with this amazing material.
Use a blade meant for acrylic.
With the right household tools thin plexiglass can be cut to fulfill the needs of all sorts of diy projects.
Use scoring knife to cut a narrow groove in the acrylic sheeting scoring preferably works on sheets less than 6 35mm in thickness.
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.
Those of intermediate thickness can be cut well with a scroll saw.
Materials needed to cut acrylic or plexiglass sheets acrylic sheet larger than the size of your project use a plastic laminate scorer to cut acrylic by hand use acrylic jigsaw blades to cut acrylic with a jigsaw use a 10 plastic cutting saw blade to cut acrylic on a miter saw or table saw use a 7.
Lay the piece of 1 4 inch plywood on a firm flat surface.
Cutting a straight line by scoring the acrylic.
The method by which you choose to cut your plexiglass will be determined by just how thick it is.
Thicker slabs are best handled by scoring.
Place the sheet over hard edge with groove side up.