cutting acrylic

nos68 · 05-12-2003, 07:26 PM

I've got some clear acrylic tubes for my closed loops. Problem is, I can't cut them (well) with the blade I had on my saber saw and it's too thick to cut with the PVC cutter/pliers.

Any suggestion what blade I can use to cut this pipe so it's smooth? I've tried to sand it down, still not good enough...

thanks,
Chris

thefatman · 05-12-2003, 09:10 PM

i've never cut it before, but i'm thinking maybe a small handheld hacksaw with a fine blade . like a pipe cutting saw. or a hand held miter saw.

hth- jay

Doug1 · 05-12-2003, 10:15 PM

I will kick this out in Gen reef discussion, hopefully Andy or someone will share blade secrets. I vote fine tooth small kerf, but feed speed is a factor as well , I do believe

Junkzoo · 05-12-2003, 10:23 PM

yup, fine tooth blade,,,even a band saw will work fine

Buzz_Hog · 05-12-2003, 10:32 PM

Tubing doesn't need the tensile strength as a sump or tank would....

Cut the tubing with a blade, then use a blow torch to lightly smooth the ends with a flat surface....

You prob want to try this with a scrap piece first....

AquaticCo · 05-12-2003, 10:43 PM

Use a carbide tipped blade with a rake angle as close to 0 as possible.

Doug

Flatfish · 05-13-2003, 12:30 AM

Ditto with Aquatico. A chop saw with a blade with no rake (teeth are not offset looking at it from the thin side). A good blade for ripping plywood will do.

Stoney Reef · 05-13-2003, 03:13 AM

triple chip grind thin kerf plastic cutting blade, but then again, if you do not want to spend $150+ on a blade, any high tooth count carbide finish blade will work fine you will just have to do some touch up sanding/scraping.

wanareef · 05-13-2003, 06:51 AM

If you have a table saw, you can make your self a "jig" to cut off pieces of tube. 9For the small stuff a cutoff saw as emtnion eairler will work.)

Make sure it has a stop on one end and and a fence for the tube to be against, run the jig into the saw blade to get your kerf. This is our reference mark. Clamp this down onto the table so it won't move.

Now just raise you blade (plywood type, no set 80th or so) till it's a 1/4" more than the thickness of the "wall". What you will be doing is rotating the tube, in the jig ,against the fence, with the saw blade going.

This is the cleanest way, unless you have a 12" cutoff saw. This is how I cut my 6" tubes.

hth
disclaimer, This my methods and has worked for me. You at your own descretion.

nos68 · 05-15-2003, 07:11 PM

thanks guys. I'll swing by Lowes and get a blade as mentioned above and then use the torch.

thanks guys!