Best saw for acrylic cutting?

[Chiefmcfuz]

What is the best type saw for acrylic cutting? I saw a mini table saw and thought it was good. Let me know.

 

[georgelc86]

Chief, check this out, something I came across briefly. Maybe it will help you get going in the right direction.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/acrylic/acrylic1.html

 

[kimoyo]

what are you trying to do with it?

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

10" Table Saw - Preferably a Delta Unisaw

With a 10" Forrest No-Melt Blade

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Paul I'm making a small frag rack for my tank. Double tiered and want it to look nice and wanted to try some stuff on a DIY basis. 1/4 inch acrylic.

 

[kimoyo]

Okay, it really depends on how far you want to take it (sumps, tanks) and have you ever done woodworking before?

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

I would just have a local cut it for you and then drill the holes with a plastic bit and a back up piece of crap acrylic (prevents break out)

You can get the drill bits here http://www.craftics.com/

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I've done woodwork before. But I found cutting this stuff with hand tools is not easy and it looks like crap. I have drill bits and that's ok I made a mock up one with hand tools to see what I would need but had to actually use it because of my nudi problem. I want to actually make a nice looking one for future use.

 

[bad coffee]

chief, I use score cutter, then run it through my router table.

I'm thinking about buying a plastic blade for my circ saw. For the small cuts i have to do, it should work fine. ( and I dont' have room for a tablesaw, anyhow.

B

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Brett Me and you are in the same boat when it comes to room LOL Would a jig saw work? Score cutter with a T-square ?

 

[inline6]

jig saw will melt like crzy, also it will create snow piles.
Score cut is your best bet.

 

[kimoyo]

Yeah the blades make a big difference on table saws. The forrest no-melt is a good blade like NaCL said but its going to be $150 easy. I use a general saw blade primarily but you are talking $140 also. My backup blade was a freud LU94M which you can get for around $60-$70 and that is a very good blade for the price. All the noise and slow cutting goes away and the edge is very good. If I was looking into getting a table saw I would seriously take a look at the sears 22124.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...ools&cName=Bench+Power+Tools&sName=Table+Saws

I would join craftsman club and wait until there was a huge sale. I've heard of people walking away with this saw for under $500. Next I would look at jet, I've seen some really good deals below $900 for a 3hp, but you have to search. Then I would start looking at grizzly. Their 1023 series is really nice and in the $900-$1100 area. Grizzly also has tent sales where you can walk away with huge discounts for some minor superficial damage.

I have a top of the line table saw but if I were setting up a work shop today and focusing on plastic, a table saw would be 3rd or 4th on my list. I'd most likely go with a grizzly 1023 but I've seen a lot of guys not even use a table saw and do some great work.


Most of the stuff you see being sold on MR is crap and whats worse are the brand new hobbyist that don't know better but swear its gold. One word of advice is don't ever use import acrylic especially if you aren't able to make good seams. If you see bubbles being drawn in on both sides of the seam and your using some crap acrylic like chemcast, your just waiting for disaster. Not only is your seam weak but chemcast (which is imported from Mexico) is known to fall apart. Start with good acrylic and get your machining techniques down and you'll be good to go.

There's a lot of stuff I could tell you so if you want send me a pm and we can talk on the phone.

 

[kimoyo]

Oh if you guys are low on space then I would seriously look at Festool

http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=3&prodid=561188

If not festool some other guided circular saw system and a blade with a triple chip grind.

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

I will lend you my Forrest No-Melt if you like.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Sorry,

Correction:

For 1/8" and small project you may just use a score. Choose the one that take out less plastics and with a thinner blade-it will do a very good job for your case.

For 1/4", it workable with a score but takes some practice.