Cut Acrylic Sheet With Scroll Saw

Start at one edge of the mark you made.

Cut acrylic sheet with scroll saw.

Scroll saws may be used for cutting sharp radii and closed holes in thin pieces of plexiglas acrylic sheet but are less suitable for cutting thick sections or multiple sheets. Cutting thicker acrylics is quite difficult. Not everybody knows how to use a reliable table saw. Because of the short stroke scroll saw blades do not clear the chips and tend to gum up.

When this happens the plastic softens and welds around the blade. That s because scroll saws produce much less heat than their brethren which cuts down on the risk of your plexiglass melting as it s cut. Set the saw fence to the desired. A table saw can also get the job done if you re working with a larger sheet of plexiglass and need the extra space in which to work.

Acrylic sheets can be cut with a scroll saw provided precautions are taken to reduce friction and heat. Push the acrylic through the table saw at a steady pace being sure to keep your fingers out of the way of the saw. If you re one of them keep reading. Don t move too quickly as you ll create a rougher edge but don t go too slowly as you can melt the plastic.

The saw table should be free of dust and debris. The saw blade height should be only a half inch higher than the thickness of the acrylic sheet you are cutting. Heat from a butane torch will restore the clear appearance as well as soften the edges and remove small surface scratches. In addition you can cut multiple acrylic sheets.

How to cut acrylic using a table saw. This video showing how to cut a straight and curve cut using the scroll saw machine.