Anyone got a suggestions for cutting 6-8mm thick perspex

[Carlow52]

Have access to a load of post covid screens which will need to be trimmed. The ens pieces wont be that big but useful for a glass house: i might end up with 200 plus pieces so need to be able to cut at scale.
Nothing on youtube gives me confidence.
Thanks as always

 

[Jacob]

If its normal perspex then band or table saw no problem as long as you keep it guided and firmly bedded down on the table as you cut, or it gets snatched and can break

 

[jetsetwilly]

What he said, plus if you can slow the blade down that'll help. I've used my tracksaw before because of the speed control. Too much heat melts the edge, and can even heal the cut behind a jigsaw blade which is...unhelpful..

 

[Carlow52]

Thanks, only have hand power tools so will try the skil saw.

 

[AJB Temple]

Don't use the skill saw. The blade spins very fast and you have a good chance of melting the plastic. If you have a fret saw or fine tooth pull saw (Japanese type) this would be better.

 

[artie]

I think it would be worthwhile borrowing, or taking it to a table saw .

I cut up quite a bit of perspex/acrylic a while back.

I ran a piece of twelve mm plywood across the table top and fixed it to form a zero clearance, then cut the perspex like it was wood, I didn't feed it too fast and it worked perfectly

 

[Bingy man]

Although not as accurate a multi tool is good for cutting most plastics due to the finer blades , speed control makes it even better imho

 

[ChaiLatte]

I ran a piece of twelve mm plywood across the table top and fixed it to form a zero clearance...

As you say, some sort of zero clearance setup is useful, as perspex can chip when the blade tooth exits the material. Masking tape along the cut line is a minimum example of this.

An air blast to remove the chips rather than mix and melt them back into the cut is a good idea.

 

[artie]

Just curious. What happened to post 2?

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Have access to a load of post covid screens which will need to be trimmed. The ens pieces wont be that big but useful for a glass house: i might end up with 200 plus pieces so need to be able to cut at scale.
Nothing on youtube gives me confidence.
Thanks as always

I'm a total newbie here. I've recently cut some 4mm perspex. For shed windows. Slightly smaller than 300x300mm. Accurately and without mishap.

I used a sliding mitre saw with a Saxton "fine wood" 255mm 80T blade.

My perspex cut

I chose this from the various methods used on YouTube - mainly because of the blade. A table saw I'm sure would be fine as well, and I do have a table saw as well - but the important thing is that you need a decent blade fitted - not a 32T or 40T blade as fitted to my table.

You can also use the "score" method and break the perspex off at the score by clamping the score line to the square edge of a solid table and using a firm straight edge clamped on top of the perspex. I was hesitant to do this myself because it looked "risky" - although I have no firm evidence that it would be - and it seemed a dependable technique when used by the expert!

 

[MikeJhn]

The problem may be the lack of protective covering, perspex when bought new has a plastic protection film on both sides, sliding bare perspex across a table/band saw or running a skill saw up it will scratch the surface, may be an idea to put some kind of backing onto the face, cut edges can be chemically polished.

 

[Stigmorgan]

I've cut loads of this type of perspex here, I just use a handsaw, you get a pretty good cut that can easily cleaned by scraping with a sharp Stanley blade

 

[Cabinetman]

I've cut loads of this type of perspex here, I just use a handsaw, you get a pretty good cut that can easily cleaned by scraping with a sharp Stanley blade

It hand planes not too bad either, but I just hope for all our sakes that they don’t need the screens again sometime in the future.
Ian

 

[Noel]

Just curious. What happened to post 2?

Jacob's post? Still there.

 

[Jacob]

Just curious. What happened to post 2?

Have you put me on "ignore" again? You might miss something really useful!

 

[Stigmorgan]

It hand planes not too bad either, but I just hope for all our sakes that they don’t need the screens again sometime in the future.
Ian

Same here, I've still got the clamps but I've used all the sheets of acrylic
One thing I did notice is that where I drilled any hole ended up with tiny internal cracks around the drill hole