Working With Plexiglass

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Dolphinjon

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Wilmore, KY, USA.
Hi all,

I know many people on this forum do more than just pen turning. I, however, only have basic wood working skills. The problem is that my boss at work has asked me to builid a basketball court that's about 2'x3' for some of our rats to play basketball in.
The good part is that we have an old display made out of plexiglass that is 2 feet by 4 feet and 12 inches high. It just needs to be shortened by about 1 foot. The bad part is that it's glued together. I think it should be possible to just take something like a circular saw and cut off the required amount to shorten the box and then glue a new end piece in place. We're just not sure if cutting the plexiglass like that is a good idea.
I told her I knew of a wonderful forum where someone probably would know the answer. :D
So does anyone have suggestions? The other option is to build it from scratch, but I'd hate to have to start over completely, plus there's not a lot of money for supplies
Thanks much for reading such a long post!!!!
Jonathan
 
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Cutting the plexiglass shouldn't be a problem, IMHO. Make sure that your saw is sharp, and don't go too fast with it. Also, you'll have to joint the cut edge somehow before gluing on a new piece. Someone else may have a different opinion, though.
 
Jonathan
I have done a fair amount of work with plex as well as acrylic. You could probably cut the plex with a vari speed jig saw on the slowest setting. heat will melt the plex back together after the cut. the slower the better I have machined plex from .50 down to .10 and the slower the better. then you can glue it back together.
hope that answered your questions
ken
slippery rock, pa
 
Wow 2 replies in less than 10 minutes! Thanks for the suggestions. I'll talk to my boss tomorow. If we're lucky, we can talk the maintenance department into doing it. [:)]
Thanks again! I'll post a picture of the "basketball court" when it's done. Now to get the rats to play basketball nicely with each other...

Jonathan
 
Yup, Ken hit it on the nose. I did some cutting of Plexi and Acrylic, and had difficulties because the blade would heat up and melt the material as it was cut. There's a glue called E9000 that you can find at craft stores that will give you a very sturdy, waterproof joint when it comes time to put everything back together.
 
Go slow and use a sharp blade. I believe that a crosscut blade would do much better. Crosscut blade - more teeth. Rip blade - fewer teeth. Rip blades with fewer teeth will tend to grab and cause lots of shattering/breaking for the inexperienced. Don't rush the cut. Be prepared for melting too. Wear long sleeves and wear some eye protection. Those little plastic pieces are hot and sharp enough to sting.
 
I use a couple of special pieces of tooling here at work that makes the task much simplier. I have an acrylic cutting router bit from Onsrud that leaves a surface that you wouldn't believe. It's also dead quite when it is new a sharp. The surface can actually shine a little if you get the right speed and feed.

The other really cool tool is a drill bit made for acrylic. It basically scrapes instead of cutting. No grabbing at the end of the hole. Absolutely no breaking of material. It is a dream!!!!!!

I got both of them from McMaster Carr. They will now sell to anyone on the internet that has a credit card. A fantastic company, though just a little pricey. They will have the order to you in a couple of days, and I have never had anything on backorder.
 
It has been a while but I do not think you want to use a table saw. These materials are very brittle and if I remember correctly can shatter with a standard saw setup. Best to look on a manufacturers web site about best ways to cut without damage.
 
Interesting how many different ways are suggested.
I have cut quite a bit of plexi on my scrollsaw. With the right bit for the job, it won't melt back together and cuts like butter.
 
I'm just in the beginning phase of playing with Plexi-acetone finish for pens. I cut the plexi up on my band saw with no trouble as far as crack/shattering, though I did get some minor melting. Sounds to me like the slow jig saw would be the way to go for you.
 
The place I bought some at uses a Jet 12" Bandsaw for all of their cutting.

When I got home I tried it on mine and it works great.

Ryan
 
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