I just attach a hss holesaw and drill backwards slowly, with an arbor and drill bit attached of course. I don’t have it inbetween wood, but I do attach the plexi to the case (screws) and drill underneath through the plexi just hold the acrylic down with one hand on the other side.
The holes are drilled in the case already so it acts as a template. Just drill backwards slowly and it works fine for me for a long time. Then just sand the edges if need be.
Hi louie :waves:
WOW. hahahahaha. thanks. that would have saved SO MUCH trouble and its only $3??? i’m sitting here thinking i want to get this stuff cut with a water jet. hopefully i’ve got a neighbor with a drill press.
googled acrylic cutter and found a damned good guide:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/jg/index.htm
Haha, don’t worry about it man. You don’t want to know how much time & money we wasted on tools and techniques before finding out what just works for us.
Pretty good guide, although I would never use a regular hole saw for acrylic, unless it had thin filed teeth & I’d still only use it in reverse.
something that looks like that is a good or bad idea?
if you use the hole saw bit then be sure to let the bit cool down a lot during the process. nice and easy steps should be fine.
That’s what I used, make sure you drill a small pilot hole first and if possible use a drill bit suitable for plastics as they don’t grab at the plastic like a wood bit does due to having a leading edge ground flat. I didn’t and found out the hard way what happens when the drill lifts the acrylic sheet where it wasn’t properly clamped down :sad:
wood bits and acrylic dont work well together, i bought some glass bits for the small holes. still alittle nervous with the hole saws
Are Forstner bits with teeth or ones with a smooth outside better for plexi?
I’ve used both with no problems.
I’ve successfully drilled over 40 holes on 0.093" acrylic with no cracks using a hole saw. The trick, like others have mentioned, is to drill a small pilot hole first, then using the hole saw. In my experience, reversing the hole saw at first is a good way to etch away part of the acrylic and then turn it back to forward rotation. However, after doing a few, you’ll realize you don’t really need to reverse it if you know how much pressure to apply. Frankly, you don’t really want to drill too slow cuz it’s actually easier to catch an edge that way. I usually run my hand drill at 1/2 to 3/4 speed when drilling acrylic. Just make sure the acrylic is flat on another piece of scrap wood before starting.
0.093 is what they have at Home Depot, no? I remember dropping by to check the plexi they had and it’s the only thing they had. I thought it would be a bit too thick for a HRAP, but I am not sure.
Is there any place where they would cut this for you if you give them a layout? I don’t trust my hands for DIY stuff, unless I really really had to. Does Home Depot have any departments like that? If not, I might just follow some of the suggestions in this thread instead.
