Cutting acrylic sheet

[agoodloe]

I am planning building a sump out of acrylic. I found a local dealer that sells 4X8 sheets of acrylic. What tool is recommended to cut the big sheet of acrylic into smaller sections?

 

[cmcneil]

a table saw with a carbide 80 tooth blade

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

+1 on the table saw.... i use a plastic-cutting blade that has 120 teeth and it cuts it like butter, over a 60tooth carbide will work fine though. I know that if you're wanting to bond the acrylic together you'll have to get the edges really smooth, using a router probably. This is Troylee's area of expertise :)

 

[Troylee]

Yup router is best for preparing a glued edge... Use a whiteside spiral upcut or and triple flute flush cut for your final edge or joint to be glued....

 

[drainbamage]

I've ripped down to 1/4" cleanly on a well used wood blade, just keep the blade turning at high speed and feed real slow, taking your time.

 

[Troylee]

^^^ i personally choose tenryu non ferrous 100tooth blades my self for cutting aluminum over and plastic blade on the market... As long as the blade is a triple chip 60-120tooth you should get decent cut every time....cut all your pieces like a 1/8" oversized on a table saw then use a router table or a router with a guide double stick taped to your pieces and make the final cut..... By Doing this your only removing 1/16" of material from around the piece and it leaves a very nice and smooth finished edge that is a lot stronger and easier to glue.... You need any help with anything just give me a holla.....;)

 

[agoodloe]

Thanks for the replies. I am excited about attempting to build a sump. I only have a small table top table saw. I am not sure how easy it will be to cut a 4x8 sheet of acrylic on it. I understand table saws are the way to go to cut down the acrylic but are there any other tools to maybe give the rough cuts besides a table saw. Worst case i could see if i could buy smaller sheets of acrylic or have someone cut down the big sheet for me.

 

[Jcr's Reef]

Your local plastic shop will usually cut them down for you (very small fee). I think mine charges $1 a cut.

 

[agoodloe]

When assembling the sump, in what order do you glue/bond the walls together including the baffles?

 

[Troylee]

You glue the front panel on to the 2 sides then flip that and glue it onto the back and then take your walls and set them on the
Bottom then add baffles... Easiest way for a first timer... Make sure you leave the bottom bigger like 1/8" all the way around so you can get a good glue joint then come back with a router the next day and flush cut it..... Let me try to dig up a thread for ya... It has all this info and pics..

 

[jimdarrell]

Looking for local delaer that sells Acrylic sheets.

I am planning building a sump out of acrylic. I found a local dealer that sells 4X8 sheets of acrylic. What tool is recommended to cut the big sheet of acrylic into smaller sections?

Hi,
I also live in Louisville and I am looking for a someone who sellls sheets of Acrylic. Can you share the name of the company?

 

[dougers31]

Thanks for the replies. I am excited about attempting to build a sump. I only have a small table top table saw. I am not sure how easy it will be to cut a 4x8 sheet of acrylic on it. I understand table saws are the way to go to cut down the acrylic but are there any other tools to maybe give the rough cuts besides a table saw. Worst case i could see if i could buy smaller sheets of acrylic or have someone cut down the big sheet for me.

I have used a cordless circular saw to do rough cuts, just have to have a good blade and be very careful.

 

[Raggamuffin]

I use a waterjet, much quicker than a saw :)

 

[AZDesertRat]

Myself I use a router table but a friend recently found a place with a water jet and what a job it does! They cut it cheap and the quality was amazing, no prep work needed it was so clean.