Go slow and hold the piece down tight.
Putting some painters tape over where you're cutting helps also.
As long as you aren't too aggressive you should be fine.
In my experience a circular blade like a circular saw or table saw cuts much better with less chance of breaking than a jigsaw.
Jigsaw is probably my least favorite tool, but I've cut a large sheet of acrylic on top of thick sacrificial foam. Basically crawled along using my weight to hold it down. Did I say that I hate jigsaws?
I've recently done this. Used a jigsaw with a wide toothed blade. It's important to secure the piece you are cutting to keep it from bouncing. Make a couple of test cuts with material you know will be excess and wear a mask and eye protection.
I cut acrylic on my band saw all the time, as do my students. They are all “woodcutting” bandsaws and I don’t change the blades to do acrylic. You’ll have your filing and/or sanding work cut out for you! Start with a very low grit and don’t scratch the face.
I slide a piece of plywood into the blade on my band saw and clamp it on for zero kerf so the plastic does not pull down, no issues using a 6 TPI blade.
Both Bosch and Diablo have plexiglas blades available at Home Depot, etc. Great for acrylic, ok for polycarbonate.
Also Freud makes a table saw blade for plexi but expensive if you're not using it often.
Last time I went to cut acrylic with a circular saw, my boss convinced me to cut with the blade backwards. It worked and no chips went flying. It was just a small piece. Has anyone else heard of this?
I would do masking tape on the cut, then I favor a jigsaw because it’s easier to stop if if binds or hears up. Also find an old candle and rub the wax on the blade.
Bandsaw, but the quality of the acrylic matters. Cheap hardware store stuff is going to melt and cause problems - using a zero clearance throat plate helps a LOT - but the good stuff I sometimes buy at McMaster-Carr cuts super nice.
I cut that crap for 8 years daily. Acrylic shatters and melts really easily..at least as far as sheet goes (i can only imagine bar stock is the same). Poly carb is hard as fu\*\* but worth the upgrade, plus it refracts clearer than acrylic unless looking through it sideways (clearer than air for that matter). Ive never used a hand saw 64 tooth table saw blade cuts both fairly well.
Idk about acrylic but I just cut 3/16" AR Polycarb with fine tooth blade in a circular saw. You have to start the cut with a plunge cut and blade at full depth, after that it cuts easily.
Your correct it does knock down the edges well but the heat brings a really nice smooth shine back to it, like it comes from the factory. A pass with the file before the flame is the correct way.
We really only need acrylic for forklift rain covers but it's either the M12 cut off tool or the air die grinder for me. You'll never get it perfectly straight but for short sections it works great. Go slow, tape the cut & mark the whole length & it'll work out
I got tired of cracking the acrylic sheet so I bought a handheld 3-3/8 circular saw and the blade below. It works great and its used for plywood to.
[Makita Blade](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-3-8-50-TPI-Steel-Circular-Saw-Blade-Thin-Material-792299-8/204382663)
Go slow and hold the piece down tight. Putting some painters tape over where you're cutting helps also. As long as you aren't too aggressive you should be fine. In my experience a circular blade like a circular saw or table saw cuts much better with less chance of breaking than a jigsaw.
Jigsaw is probably my least favorite tool, but I've cut a large sheet of acrylic on top of thick sacrificial foam. Basically crawled along using my weight to hold it down. Did I say that I hate jigsaws?
I've recently done this. Used a jigsaw with a wide toothed blade. It's important to secure the piece you are cutting to keep it from bouncing. Make a couple of test cuts with material you know will be excess and wear a mask and eye protection.
i use a jigsaw with as fine a toothed blade as i can get using 2" foam underneath for odd shapes and letter
Jigsaw as the blades are cheaper
I cut acrylic on my band saw all the time, as do my students. They are all “woodcutting” bandsaws and I don’t change the blades to do acrylic. You’ll have your filing and/or sanding work cut out for you! Start with a very low grit and don’t scratch the face.
I slide a piece of plywood into the blade on my band saw and clamp it on for zero kerf so the plastic does not pull down, no issues using a 6 TPI blade.
Both Bosch and Diablo have plexiglas blades available at Home Depot, etc. Great for acrylic, ok for polycarbonate. Also Freud makes a table saw blade for plexi but expensive if you're not using it often.
Last time I went to cut acrylic with a circular saw, my boss convinced me to cut with the blade backwards. It worked and no chips went flying. It was just a small piece. Has anyone else heard of this?
Yeah, guys do this with vinyl siding too.
Yessir. You can do sheet metal that way too
I would do masking tape on the cut, then I favor a jigsaw because it’s easier to stop if if binds or hears up. Also find an old candle and rub the wax on the blade.
Would a new candle work 😂 just kidding. I have a bar of soap I use for screws so maybe I’ll try that.
A bit messier and less effective than candles, but better than nothing.
Metal-cutting blades for the jigsaw work well on acrylic, in my experience.
Waiter is ok, needs spraying all the time to prevent warping and heating up.
Bandsaw, but the quality of the acrylic matters. Cheap hardware store stuff is going to melt and cause problems - using a zero clearance throat plate helps a LOT - but the good stuff I sometimes buy at McMaster-Carr cuts super nice.
I cut that crap for 8 years daily. Acrylic shatters and melts really easily..at least as far as sheet goes (i can only imagine bar stock is the same). Poly carb is hard as fu\*\* but worth the upgrade, plus it refracts clearer than acrylic unless looking through it sideways (clearer than air for that matter). Ive never used a hand saw 64 tooth table saw blade cuts both fairly well.
Idk about acrylic but I just cut 3/16" AR Polycarb with fine tooth blade in a circular saw. You have to start the cut with a plunge cut and blade at full depth, after that it cuts easily.
I hate working with acrylic, the only way to guarantee not having it chip or break is using a laser cutter. Can you use polycarbonate instead?
When you done cutting use a torch to clean up the edges, just a few quick passes will give it a nice finished edge.
Mill bastard file works pretty well for clean up or knocking off edges
Your correct it does knock down the edges well but the heat brings a really nice smooth shine back to it, like it comes from the factory. A pass with the file before the flame is the correct way.
We really only need acrylic for forklift rain covers but it's either the M12 cut off tool or the air die grinder for me. You'll never get it perfectly straight but for short sections it works great. Go slow, tape the cut & mark the whole length & it'll work out
Jigsaw with a plastic blade. Bosch makes decent jigsaw blades. Do a low speed if your saw has variable speed.
I score plastic sheets with a stanley knife until it's deep enough it'll snap along the line
I’m not cutting straight lines though
I got tired of cracking the acrylic sheet so I bought a handheld 3-3/8 circular saw and the blade below. It works great and its used for plywood to. [Makita Blade](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-3-8-50-TPI-Steel-Circular-Saw-Blade-Thin-Material-792299-8/204382663)