Cutting acrylic using jigsaw?

[Henry100]

I have a jigsaw and I don't know any technique for cutting acrylic sheets precisely.Could anyone help me in this topic?Photos would be very helpful,too!

[jdfenn81]

It is possible with a acrylic blade. Don't try it with a normal blade. If you can set up a straight edge is should work just fine

[Henry100]

How can I mark an accurate straight line on it and how to follow it properly with the jigsaw?

[Acrylics]

*Generally* speaking, you will not get a good, gluable edge with a jig saw. While there *may* be exceptions, it's just not gonna happen. From blade flex to chip clearance (melting) to simply the way these tools cut - there are just too many drawbacks in using these tools to cut acrylic *precisely*.
If you are just trying to cut a fairly streight line, double faced tape or clamp a straightedge to the sheet and use it as a fence for your saw.
If this does not help, what are you trying to accomplish?

James

[Iconz]

alright... here ya go...

from an edge of the sheet, measure the size of the sheet, mark a dot at the adjacent corner of the piece you want to cut out. Do the same thing at the bottom (and another in the middle if you want to... )

Then, measure the distance betweent the edge of the guide on your jigsaw and the blade.

Next get a straight edge that is slightly taller than the height of your guide... a peice of wood works well for me.

Measure from your dots that you made to the side that you want to put your straight-edge guide. (make sure you measured the right side of your saw guide.) This measurment should equal the width of your guide.

Clamp your strait-edge guide to the acrylic at the measured width or your saw guide off of your original dots.

Put your saw down against the guide and cut away.

Lookin for some pics / sketches for you. Its really easy, just hard to explain.

This works for jigs, but works ALOT better for skill/circular saws.

[Henry100]

I use the jigsaw in order to cut my acrylic pieces at the proper dimensions.Then,I use my router for making smooth edges,suitable for joining the pieces together.I have tried the technique you refered to and it works really great.The only problem I have is that the rest of the piece breaks as I approache the end of the cut with my jigsaw.This happens because the rest of the piece isn't supported at all,while the remaining are of the piece sits on my workbench!How could I overcome this problem?

[Iconz]

Double pst

[Iconz]

cut it on sawhorses, and clamp the whole sheet of acrylic to the horses on both sides of your cut. I had the same problem, this fixed it for me.

[Henry100]

What are the sawhorses?Could you explain it a bit?

[cstires]

Just make sure the piece is fully supported throughout the cut. Lay it on a piece of wood, sawhorse, etc...

The key is to keep the piece from vibrating, which causes the piece to snap at the end of the cut. Do this by clamping the acrylic.

[rustybucket145]

I tried it once and the melting really made it hard for me. The blade would stall during a cut and the acrylic would cool off basically welding the blade into the acrylic sheet. It was a major PITA, hope you have better luck.

[oldsaltman]

You might try cutting form both ends to the middle so the corners will not break off. I think you might also be able to cut the material with your router and a small straight router bit. Your jigsaw is not the best tool for this. You might find a cheap skillsaw for $10 at the pawnshop or used tools outlet, or a new one for $20. ;)

[rcgates]

when using a jig saw, use a blade marked for plastic/acrylic, they work well and will make a nice clean cut. Any other blade can cause melting
to occur.

- do not try to cut fast, keep the blade speed med-low and do not
try to push through the cut

- keep the acrylic supported completely on both sides, sides being
either side of the acrylic from where the cut is

I find it best to clamp down the acrylic to my work bench and use a
clamped down straight edge as my cut guide.

[Henry100]

I use a jigsaw blade which is for wood and pvc,is it the right one?Is cutting pvc similar to cutting acrylic?Anyway,my results were very good!I can say that jigsaw is a very effective power tool for cutting acrylic sheet and taking straight edges.But for achieving this you must use the already mentioned method,clamps and a straight wood piece as guide for the jigsaw.Jigsaw is an easy to use tool and a quite cheap one,I currently purchased mine at 13euros as it was in the offers' catalogue!

[sunkool]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9020369#post9020369 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Henry100
What are the sawhorses?Could you explain it a bit?
lol

[lakee911]

http://images.google.com/images?q=sawhorse&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-26,GGLG:en&start=21&sa=N&ndsp=21

[Henry100]

Thank you!I understood...