How to cut plexiglass/acrylic fast and easy with an oscillating tool (multi-tool)
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- čas přidán 18. 11. 2017
- Today I will show you how to cut plexiglass (acrylic) with an oscillating tool (AKA multi-tool), very fast and easy! With a steady hand, you can cut plexiglass with 100% success. And you can cut it into any shapes, not just straight cuts, which is almost impossible if you use the knife-scoring method or a jig saw. The tool I used in the video is a Kobalt 24V brushless oscillating tool. (yes, it just came to the market a couple days ago! Review of this tool coming soon)
Note: As recommended by another viewer (named Rector Magnificus), I tried to apply soapy water on both my blade and the plexiglass and it helped prevent the plexiglass from melting and sticking melting plastic on the blade. One downside is it was foaming up too much and I could not see where my cut line anymore so I just went with my gut and tried to cut it as straight as I could. But it worked and I was able to cut even faster with soapy water. Thanks Rector Magnificus
Hey Vuaeco, I used your method to cut 1/8” plexiglass. I put some cardboard under it and used some scrap wood as a straight edge. I cut right through in about 15 light passes. It worked like a charm. Many thanks for the video.👍
I have the oscillating tool. But never dreamed of your newly skill.
You are absolutely right about thin plexiglass. Thanks for the tips for my future projects.
A perfect "How to" video. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for this tip. I did not think of using the multi-tool to cut this material. My material was extremely thin and subject to breaking. Your tip worked very well.
Wow, i tried this is my shop. The only way. Thanks so much. You saved me so much time and money.
As an electrician that does strictly remodels this is an absolute essential tool. czcams.com/users/postUgkx0vyBwjtx9GGOuiqUVT2sRoYqmDoNT_RI Being able to precision cut any material with a light weight tool is priceless.I upgraded to this Dewalt 20v from a competitor's 12v. The Dewalt 20v is just as light as the competitor's 12v. I am extremely pleased with the overall performance and battery life of this tool. As far as oscillators go, they just aren't very ergonomic tools. The dewalt oscillators have an offset handle that do make them somewhat more ergonomic than the competitors' oscillators.
This video neatly addresses EXACTLY the problems I have been having cutting Plexiglass. Thanks for posting!
Thanks! That was a very educational & simple explanation.
Thank you so much, this video made all the difference in the world for me today!
❤️ Thanks you saved me hours of extra work and lots of my money in tools that wouldn't work as good! Thanks you're awesome! 🤩
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! The information that you provided me for my project is AWESOME!!! Thank you again for being so unselfish and sharing this mega-time saving method. Bless you, sir!
Just what I needed to replace an RV window with radius-ed corners. THANK YOU!
I love your accent. Stay awesome friend. 😌🌎🌄
Did you ever know that you're my hero?
And everything you would like to be?
A well done instructional. Plenty of detail supported by visuals. Thank you. I learned something.
Thank you - a very helpful video and very well explained!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
New invention. Very nice method. Thanks for sharing the information.
Thank You - Now I know how to cut 3 mm plexiglass for my new radiostudio table. Great video.
Thank you for posting. Very helpful! And, thanks to the others who replied below with other tips and tricks!
You sure have a steady hand. Well done.
ur amazing. i'm glad videos like this gets the recognition that it deserves. 600k views. i spent days scoring plexiglass with a utility knife. i'll never do that again.
Interesting approach. Thanks for posting the video.
I have been using this method for quite a while for repairing windows with standard hardware store acrylics instead of glass, and it works great if you cut both sides. Do not try to just cut straight through or you will make your piece more prone to chipping and cracking.
Great video. Thanks for the help!
I needed this information for a project I have thank you for posting this video
Some execellent info in a straight-forward video. Thanks!
4
Thanks for your advices 👍
Great JOB and info!
Nice video, sir! I came across a useful tip while cutting this stuff. You use masking/painter's tape and tape over the cutting line(s). The tape gives the acrylic a bit more support and you get less chipping/breakage while cutting.
Thanks for sharing this video and information very helpful for me !
Good discovery. Thank you for sharing your discovery.
Much easier and good video , thank you for the information information. 🙏
Thank you for the video! I need to cut a pet door in a plexiglas window for my RV. I'll use this tool with the soapy water method.
Explain
THANKX MAN ... BIG HELP!
Perfect, I'll stop looking anywhere else thanks bro, I have detail cuts so this will b challenging
Saved me from buying more (rarely used) tools... Thank you🙏🏽
Thanks for this tutorial. I've been looking for an excuse, I er mean reason to pick up one of these tools for my tool arsenal!
dang son.. good thinking.. I should have thought of this myself.. although with that round blade you could rotate the blade as you cut it.. and I like the idea that E. Balcazar came up with also.. carry on!
Very nice. You wine the Emmy award.
Very helpful. Thanks.
Put tape down first. A paper tape like masking tape or painters tape. It will hold the fine plastic particles and you can cut through it.
When purchasing pieces of acrylic or plastic that is meant to be custom cut their is usually an adhesive sheet that you peel off. I tried once to cut through that first but felt it didn’t remove as cleanly and quickly as I wanted. I next tried a piece of paper tape over my design. I drew the design on the paper side of the tape. Then cut trough it. Easy and clean.
That's nice. Thanks Herculese for the tip.
HerculeseFurball Thank you.
Done lots of Acrylic fabrication...I use a table saw with a fine, narrow blade, or a jig saw with a 24 tpi blade
Tried a jigsaw and failed miserably .. cracked and chips everywhere
well done! I'm glad that we are in the same industry. Our company also has many kinds of acrylic sheets
Great Video!
Thank you for sharing. Very good and effective technique to cut acrylic or plastic sheet. Keep up the good work. I liked your vieo.
Very good video for work information
Thanks sir g 👌👌👌
Thank you. I have a Makita multi-tool; I will use it now.
Exactly what I needed to see
Thank you soooooooooooo much it's incredible
Well done dude!
good information, thank you
Thanks man, great knowing this, never thought of this.
Specially as I have to saw a circle out of 6 mm plexiglass.
great tip , thank you .
thank you this is a very useful video
Thank you now my project should got a lot smoother
Good job!! Thanks I wasn’t sure how to cut the 1/8” plexiglass. Thx
@Vuaeco: I just tried scoring 1/4" 48" long acrylic sheet on both sides with a utlity knife and glass cutter with bad results. I though of using my Dremil Multi Max and viola! You proved my suspicions! I'll test with my cracked waste before going on the real cuts. Thanks!
Way to go, Jeff!
good call on the multi-tool... try use water droplets as you cut to reduce melting... I'm gonna set up my multi-tool and try myself. thank you..
Yes this is the solution I needed
Thank you sir!
Very interesting way of doing it. There are all kinds of ways to do it, some work better than others. I have found that a jig saw works best for precision shapes. The trick is to cut the acrylic properly with a jig saw. You need to have the proper blade at least 20 teeth per inch. Next is to have the proper cutting surface to stop the acrylic from vibrating. The easiest way to accomplish this is to cut on a 4" sheet of foam. Place the acrylic on top of the sheet and as you cut the blade just goes through the foam and does not allow the material to vibrate. Lastly what most people do not know is to have all cutting lines drawn onto a area of acrylic covered with regular masking tape. This will stop the acrylic from melting. I can cut a awesome straight line and curve line to precision with a jig saw. It is just another way of doing it but i cannot wait to one day try your method with the oscillating tool.
Ron Bernstein yes this is good advice and it has helped me cut plexiglass. But unless you are ONLY cutting wood with a jigsaw, go ahead and splurge on a professional multiple speed jigsaw. You can use that type for dozens of different cutting scenarios in several material types. There are even blades for ceramics and stainless sheet! The pro saw will only set you back $150 to $250. Bosch is one of the best in my opinion.
Ron, is speed a factor (fast or slow) with melting using your method? I’m trying to cut double circles on 1/4” plexiglass. Thank you for the jig saw blade, masking tape and foam tips. Can it be any type of clear tape? I glued my paper pattern to the plexiglass coating and need to see my lines.
I have been doing it this way for over 15 years. Usually the masking left on the acrylic is the best way to start. Then spray glue your paper pattern to the acrylic. Then drill a hole near your cut line and insert your jig saw blade into the hole and do a one inch test cut before you get to your cut line. The first cut you want to be at a low speed and see how the blade is cutting though the surfaces and if there is any melting starting to occur. If there is try jig cutting just a little bit faster of a blade action and use less pressure following the cut line. This will tell you if you need to tape the line. Taping it with masking tape then is a must. It has to be regular masking tape. If you can tape over your cut line you might still be able to see it through the masking tape. If not you can soak a rag with paint thinner and put the paint thinner on the masking tape and it will make it start to be see through and your line will be more noticeable. If you still cannot see the line redraw it but the masking tape will stop all melting. You can cut acrylic on up to 1 inch this and the tape acts as a barrier that stops the cut material from gumming up. This is a method I used that my father taught me. He owned United Signs Inc. since 1964 until he passed away in 2009. He was a letter cutting machine. He cut millions of letters back when there was no CNC router or machines like today. His letters were all cut on a GRuB band saw and a 3 foot table platform. I learned by watching him and he would sit down on his chair and cut away for hours and hours and his lines were so perfect. We would double tape 4 to 6 layers of 1/8" and hammer then together lightly with a rubber mallet. Outsides would be cut on his band saw and the insides of lets say a O would be done as I just mentioned. Drill a hole and cut them out manually with a jig saw. Until the new routers came out this is the way letters were cut prior to Geminini starting to do vacuum formed letters. I hope this helps you as it does take a little getting use to it but it will work.
Ron Bernstein thank you for learning and sharing your father’s trade. You are a wealth of information. I inherited a band saw from my father, but have never used it. It kind of intimidates me. Think I will buy a blade and ask my husband to teach me how to use it on the outer circle. Assuming it needs a fine metal cutting blade and masking tape too. Do you use the foam with the band saw? I’m thinking not, but have to ask. I’m cutting honeybee feeding floats for my chicken water feeders. I will be drilling multiple holes in the ring I am cutting. I plan to use a drill press with a metal cutting drill bit. I use to make these floats out of wood, but they got saturated with syrup last year and I worry about mold killing my bees. I used a hole saw for the center hole on my wood floats. Wondering if I could do the same with the plexiglass and adding the masking tape. I can’t wait to get out in the shop tomorrow and work on this project.
It was my pleasure, now you do not need the foam with a band saw but you are limited to size of the table to the throat. There is another piece of equipment we use to cut the insides of the circles instead of using a electric jig saw it is made by harbor freight and let me tell you this is one cool little machine. Let me find the catalog number and pricing. This is a must to have and it is really inexpensive and has multiple uses.
Dude thank you
Adding to your good methods, for thicker plexiglass cuts that are straight lines, I noticed that a small woodworking block plane that is very sharp (and set to take only a very small shaving) will allow you to perfect a plexiglass cut, pretty much to optical clarity and square (or even beveled, if you like)!!
Thank you! Can't wait to start my
I needed to cut an 8" hole-circle through .090" acrylic contact cemented to a Sterilite storage tote. The oscillating tool with a half moon blade worked... ok... but the plastic melted back into the kerf. I manually ran a metal sabre saw blade through the kerf to finish. Thanks for the tip - I was dreading attacking my job with the sabre saw.
For a straighter cut on 1/8 - 3/16" rigid plastic sheet: 1. Score one side of plastic sheet with knife against a straight-edge, and run through several times to deepen the cut. 2. Adjust the plastic so that the scoreline hangs just over the edge of a table. 3. Clamp sheet securely to table. 4. Break sheet by applying uniform pressure downwards on the side hanging over the edge. In some cases, it can be useful to to use a long piece of wood or other long item to apply uniform downward pressure on the "discard" overhang side.
There are a number of videos that simply use a regular wood blade mounted backwards on a circular saw or table saw. I have not tried it myself but they sure seem to have good results. And very simple. One easy pass.
What about curves.
A little late, but thank you! Great explanation!!
I love to listen to different accents and I mean no offense. Yours reminds me of a the Vietnamese accents spoken in the deep south in the US around Mobile, Alabama. It's a very interesting and friendly sound to my ears.
Also, great info on using an oscillating cutter for Acrylic. Thanks for the video!
Great tip. Over the last two days I tried every cutting tool I have without success . Just cut up three pieces perfectly. Many thanks. Bob Derbyshire UK
Great to hear that Bob.
Thank you Sir...
Nice technique. I have good luck with a jig saw on thin material if I
Support it well. My workbench has a 2-3” hole in it near the edge and if I plunge the blade through and move the material to the blade it stays supported and doesn’t vibrate and crack. Also you can control the speed and the amount of melting you get. Use a nice fine tooth blade.
Thanks so much for the tips is really helpful video.
Great Video, thanks. How well does it work with thicker material like the 7mm?
Try reducing the speed of the oscilator to a minimum. Same when you cut with a jigsaw (use small teeth blades for metal cutting). You might also like to use a straight guide and a pair of clamps for better results.
The cintride blades work better than ones with teeth
bless you
Thank you
Very well explained ")
As a new homeowner, my wife and I want to skin our lanai's screened wall with acrylic panels. I watched your video to learn how to work with acrylic. Do you think drilling multiple screw holes along the edges of the panels would allow the panels to be held up with screws to the aluminum frame? We even thought we would use double-sided Flex tape between the aluminum beams and screw holes to create a softer contact and some gasket effect (hope I used that word correctly). We keep watching videos to get a sense of how much acrylic can take in stress--hanging from screw holes, or what will stick to them. If you have an opinion, thanks in advance for sharing.
Was told at a craft store to use a soldering iron with a blade tip for cutting acrylic sheets. The sharp edge of the blade would be heated to melt the surface of the plastic.
Very nice. How do you clean up the edges?
Finally a useful vid, but I'm doing a paint palette... I wonder how I can accomplish such an odd shape and thumb hole.
Have you tried spraying the blade with no-stick cooking spray? I haven’t cut plexiglass this way so I don’t know if it would work but might be worth a try.
Thank you, nice! Might adding water on the plexiglass not solve the issue of the melting plastic?
I used a Dremel tool with the diamond cutting wheel. Same principle. The cutting blade rotation along the surface of the plexiglas, not across the plexiglas as in the jigsaw.
Would this work on 1/2" acrylic?
just as you use water/lubricant to cut metal you can do so with acrylic. Spray a little water and the melting stops occurring
What do you use to cut 1 1/4 inch plexi glass?
Fantastic . BENI from Brazil
What is that wood set with wire ?
Thanks, i have the blue tool.
Great video and great music too. Please tell me what it is?
Would WD-40 or oil lube the blade and eliminate the foam?
Nice video. I need to cut corrugated lexan roofing panels.
Use an angle grinder.
Wet the Blade with oil, this prevent stick
the acrilic on it
Or a drop of soapy water sprayed on. I've used this when shaping aircraft cockpit bubble windows. Not good when the hot acrylic welds itself back to the part cut.
@recall Have you had a look at the planes that I've been building? When you are cutting an Auster rear screen that was over £350, it does focus the mind not to break it on the wanted side.
@@dave20thmay what's your tool of choice, I crack em everytime with my jigsaw 😥
@@Dee-cannon I use one of those carbide blades in a slowed down jigsaw. Pad the base with felt held on by carpet tape. If the swarfe starts to melt and tries to reform on the other side, stop, but don't let the blade get stuck. You need someone helping to hold the work and also mist spray to prevent any heat. Nowadays I would try my new detail vibrating saw, like Mike Patey of DRACO fame.
@@dave20thmay thanks a million, is that a wood or an aluminium blade by the way?
Using a hand held scoring tool. A metal straight edge clamped to a sturdy bench. Using 1/8 inch plexiglass. Score both sides 10 times. Using two pieces of wood sandwich the length of the cut.Lift or press down over the edge of the table with the straight edge clamping the sheet the plastic will break uniformly. A right angle grinder is good for shaving excess. Use it slowly to keep the temperature down. I used a 1 inch legged steel angle with tape to protect plastic.
You mentioned that when cutting thinner plex with your saber saw that it would bounce up and down sometimes cracking your plex. I solved this problem by laying the plex on top of a couple of layers of flat cardboard and cutting through the plex and the cardboard all at the same time . Also cutting on a slower speed will work better as faster speeds tend to melt the plex shavings that will in turn stick to the edge of your cut and it is hard to get off. BOZ
Would air cooling work, say from an an electric air bed inflator
I may have missed it but did you say what kind of blade you used? Was it a standard metal/wood blade?
the best was is with a spinning saw like a table saw or band saw. he is using executed material. witch melts at a lower temperature as compared to cast acrylic. had he been using cast acrylic he may not have had the clump problems he has had. good vid.