How To Cut Styrene Plastic Sheet

Using a few hand clamps will help keep the plastic steady as you are making your cuts.

How to cut styrene plastic sheet. This is the first short on how to work with styrene. If you have access to a table saw you could cut the styrene very easily provided you use the correct blade for the material. Unlike wood or other materials polystyrene parts are joined by bonding with a solvent. The secret is to buy the styrene sheets with the lines already scribed into them.

Then push the built in cutter across the sheet you are cutting and presto clean cut no burrs no ridges i got mine at jo anns fabricks store. Can you cut acrylic plastic. Midwest model railroad missouri pacific sedalia subdivision. Mount a new sharp blade in your hobby knife.

Place the clamps near the edge you are about to cut for the least amount of movement. I would suggest you use a laminate or acrylic cutting blade. You might need to use a piece of sheet metal or wood as an auxiliary fence to keep the thin styrene from sliding under the table saw fence. To cut thicker plastic sheets it is best to use a saw hand saw or power saw with a carbide tipped saw blade.

In this first video i cover some techniques for cutting styrene. Use a flat board and clamp each end to the table to hold the entire sheet of plastic flat and to provide yourself with a straight edge. Yes the recommended way to cut acrylic plastic is with a high quality table saw with a carbide tipped saw blade. Thin sheets and strips can be cut through with a very sharp knife or single edge razor blade.

Score polystyrene sheets with a sharp razor knife on one side and break the sheet on the scored line. Just a few tips and tools to use when cutting styrene sheet stips and tube. There is a much simpler way to cut precisely parallel lines in styrene sheets and it doesn t require any special tools other than your basic 11 x acto blade with a regular handle and a gentle touch. Cutting thick sheets of plastic to make straight cuts on thicker sheets of acrylic and polycarbonate plastic greater than inch thick you ll need to use a table saw or circular saw.

Clamp the abs sheet down to your bench.