Cutting Acrylic

[WildDaisies]

Has anyone ever used a miter saw to cut acrylic? I accidentally ordered the wrong size online (12x24, needed 12x20). I have an 80T carbide blade on it that says fine finish.

I'm guessing it'll be ok but want to avoid injury if this isn't a good idea. Thanks!

 

[bainin]

Sorry- my experience is with a bandsaw-which does work well. Not sure about table saw speeds.

 

[bob vaughan]

Acrylic is heat sensitive. A slow cut makes the edges gummy. Two seconds to make a 12" cut is fine as long as the acrylic isn't too thick. I cut it all the time on my tale saw and crosscut saw and rarely ever change blades. To qualify, 3/8" is the thickest acrylic I cut.
Flimsy 1/8" cuts best with a blade that has a lot of teeth but I'll often use what's on the table saw like a 40 tooth combination saw blade. Leaves a bit of a ragged edge.

 

[bob vaughan]

PS: when using a meter saw, let the blade come to a complete stop at the bottom of the stroke. Raising a spinning blade puts a lot of wind on the thin offcut.

 

[WildDaisies]

PS: when using a meter saw, let the blade come to a complete stop at the bottom of the stroke. Raising a spinning blade puts a lot of wind on the thin offcut.

Thank you for the help; I appreciate it!

 

[HITCH-]

You want to use the blade you have with the most teeth like a plywood blade. I work in the plastics industry. Some guys will use a framing blade turned backwards but IMHO, the plywood blade is the best option.
The work needs to be supported through the entire cut. Chatter will cause chipping and potentially crack the sheet. I would also run a piece of painters tape on both sides of the cut line.
If you need a nice finish on the edge here is a pretty good tutorial :

 

[kserdar]

Depending on the thickness ... a laser will flame polish and cut in one pass ...

 

[Berta]

I would do it by putting plywood at least under the acrylic, and use blue tape.
I use my scroll saw to cut it by being putting clear contact paper or blue tape on both sides sandwiching it between 2 sheets of plywood, and tapping the sandwich together first. This was 1/8” acrylic.

 

[WildDaisies]

Depending on the thickness ... a laser will flame polish and cut in one pass ...

A 12x24 wouldn't fit in the glowforge to cut though right? Unless I did the passthrough option but I kind of have limited space to move it to be able to use the passthrough right now. If the miter was a bad idea my next thought was putting the xtool on risers and trying that.

 

[WildDaisies]

Thanks all for the tips and suggestions. The miter did the trick without any issues. Definitely 7 ways to skin a cat when it comes to cutting stuff.