How To Break A 1 8 Inch Acrylic Sheet

You can use 1 hand to brace the sheet while you push down on the sheet with the other hand.

How to break a 1 8 inch acrylic sheet.

Lay the sheet on a flat surface and using a yardstick and a permanent marker or a grease marker measure and draw the line you wish to cut. Line up the score line with the edge of the work space and clamp it down. Break the sheet at the scored line by pressing down on the outer edge in a quick motion. The thin plastic might start to vibrate.

Flip over the sheet and score the opposite side of the piece. With the sheet of plexiglass clamped in place on the work surface apply quick downward pressure to break off the piece that you cut. Place the line you ve scored directly along the edge of the table. Other materials inches inch f acrylic sheet 0000410 aluminum 0000129 plate glass 0000050 for indoor applications where temperatures normally remain the same 20 degrees f acrylic sheet does not generally require special considerations for expansion and contraction other than providing for a snug rather than tight fit.

To create bends for small scale projects in plexiglass perspex or acrylic 1 8 inch and thinner you can use a small torch butane kitchen torches work well a paint stripping heat gun or an embossing heat tool which is a wand that works very similarly to a paint stripping gun but using a smaller more directed heat flow with a smaller fan. Plexiglass can be tricky to cut on a table saw. You can wrap your hand around one edge and use your body weight to push down. Using clamps to hold the sheet to the table makes the process easier.

Use a glass cutter or the dull side of a utility knife to score the plexiglass along the mark line 5 to 10 times. The sheet should break cleanly along the line that you scored in it. This tip will help you easily cut plexiglass with no chips or breaks. If the sheet doesn t fully break along the line use your utility knife to cut along the groove and break off the piece.

Acrylic will break if subjected to force beyond that measure but breaks into large relatively dull edged pieces which disperse.