Plexiglass

[mike]

I was trying to make armor out of plexiglass but it cracked when I cut it. So now I have a sheet of plexiglass unused is there anything I could do with it?:cry

 

[Omega Man]

How did you cut it? Use a jigsaw.

 

[Jango Fett Jr]

At first I cut my plexiglass visor with a hacksaw, but it cracked. I used a jigsaw and it was fine.

 

[mike]

Yep it was a jigsaw

 

[Boba Freekk]

i used pexiglass tubing when putting my jet pack together.i cut it with my dremel using the fiberglass cutting wheel and no probs.

 

[mike]

When I was cutting, the friction was so hot that the plexiglass melted a little and resealed.

 

[Darth Squeet]

well a buddy of mine built a subwoofer box for his car outta plexi and when he was doin his cutting (jigsaw) he made me stand there and spray water with a turkey baster on the blade.
I felt REALLY dumb doin it but there was NO melting and not one crack at all.
Same principle as cutoff saws and brick/concrete.

Hope this helps.

 

[Boba Freekk]

mike wrote:
When I was cutting, the friction was so hot that the plexiglass melted a little and resealed.

yea that happens

 

[VashDstampede]

Just another suggestion, if the plexiglass doesn't have a protective sheet covering one or both sides, you could use masking tape over the areas you will cut (put it on both and bottom). This usually prevents cracking, you may still have some chipping though, but very minimal.

 

[LisaFett]

Darth Squeet wrote:
well a buddy of mine built a subwoofer box for his car outta plexi and when he was doin his cutting (jigsaw) he made me stand there and spray water with a turkey baster on the blade.
I felt REALLY dumb doin it but there was NO melting and not one crack at all.
Same principle as cutoff saws and brick/concrete.

Hope this helps.

I've used some sort of oily stuff before to do this, through some fishing bobs. Or whatever those big red and white floating ball-things are called. I have no idea what kind of oily stuff, though, sorry. Using water, I was told, would cause rust problems or something. The oil got all over, but it wiped up, and it did keep the plastic I was drilling through from melting.

EDIT: As for what to do with leftover plexiglass... You could build a doghouse, and put a window in it.

 

[JangoSilva]

if a jigsaw wont work, theres always hammer and chisle. ha ha jk. i dont have much experiece with jisaws but it looks like you got some great ideas goin for you, best of luck
matt

 

[mgr]

mike wrote:
When I was cutting, the friction was so hot that the plexiglass melted a little and resealed.

Sintra does that sometimes also.

 

[LisaFett]

I have found that a band saw is the best thing for cutting plexiglass and sintra. The jigsaw and scrollsaw, for some reason, don't work as well. The cut's not as smooth, the plastic has more a tendency to catch and "flap", and you have more of a melting problem since the cut's not quite as wide.

 

[mike]

Thanks so much you guys youve helped alot.

 

[lordfett]

Any one ever try Lexian (sp) not sure how much of a price difference there is between plexiglass and this stuff, but its a heck of a lot stronger.

 

[mobius]

I tried to use dark plexiglass to make a lenses on my trooper bucket and I used dremel and the cutting disk. The glass had protective sheet on it so it did not crack.

The problem came when I was trying to get the curve.

I managed to make the curve my butting the pice in a pot of boiling water.

In a few minutes I took the pice out and held it shape with my hand and put under cold water.