whats the easiest way to cut plexi and have a nice smooth, perfect shape? i'm looking to do a whole side pannel, but its got a slight curve on one side....any ideas would be appreciated

I've had a lot of success with a jigsaw.

Be aware it's going to melt together behind the blade, but if you cut off small pieces at a time, you can pull them off before it hardens.

I then sand and buff shiny...

I've always ended up using a fretsaw for cutting - much more control, no danger of scratches, no welding effect, & no hot splatter.
+, you can make great "Ping!" noises with it.

I did an ikkle article a couple of years ago on doing window mods - you can read that here if you want.

just to add to sportbilly, use a Blade that is designed for Plexi. If your willing to do more finishing work, go with a medium to large blade and not a fine one (which will cause more melted plexi). Another trick is to blow cold air while cutting.

For cutting straight edges, I've had really good luck scoring it with a OLFA/Xacto knife and then just snapping it off.

hmm....yeah, i could use a jigsaw i guess.....i dunno.....how hard is it to do it with an exacto knife? i'd like to give it a try but i dont wanna take 3 weeks to get halfway through and then screw it up or something.....

one more trick to using a jigsaw with plexi: tape the plexi with masking tape on both sides...helps to cut down on the welding effect...

It'll be next to impossible with an exacto knife...too much to go through, and little control.

ok.............


guess i'll give it a try

ever tried a dremel? works wonders

use a jigsaw and so it dosent weld together put a lot of petrolium jelly on it, messy but it works. trust me, i think i jigsaw would be alot easyier to cut the curve with than a dremel.

OK after reading all these, there alot of ways to cut plastic.

For straight lines you can SCORE with an x-acto knife or razor knife. And place on a straight edge and broke the rest. Most glass shops do this method, its very easy and quick. If you practic a little with this method you can get slight curves from your cuts.

My favorite method for straight lines is to use a table saw. I allways use a nice sharp blade.

Now if you really want to get creative with your cuts. I would recomend a dremel with the cut off wheel. After you cut your panel to straight edges. Cutting as close as you can to your edges or curves, use the dremel in short cuts as close as to your line as possible. Then you can use the sanding bit or the grinding bit pictured below to grind to your lines.

If you do use a jig saw becareful and support the material the vibration is bad and could crack your work. The same goes for drilling as well.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Lokie's got the trick set-up and technique, I'll have to agree.
A good carbde blade on a table saw is excellent for straight cuts and the curves he mentioned and dremmel are great.
If you don't have acess to a table saw, a small cordless panneling saw with a carbide blade works to...Remember to use the dorkiest eye protection you can find, so you can live to
SEE another day...WORD.
Hot molten plastic is NO joke!!!