Anyone have the ability to cut acrylic?

[adamata]

Story:

I bought 2 stepped acrylic displays for some of my collection from a seller on ebay. I looked for a while to find exactly what I needed and thought I had. I have a bookcase space that is *exactly* 30" wide. The displays (so the auction stated) were each just slightly under 15" wide, so I could place them side by side for a perfect fit.

Well, guess what happened?

when they arrived, they were actually slightly over 15" wide, each. (about 1/8-1/4 inch or so)

I contacted the seller, explained my position and she was very sorry. turns out that the manufacturer is not very precise when it comes to the widths and she measured a few more of these, all coming back with different widths.

Now, I really want to keep them, but I cannot use them as-is.

So, is there someone out there that can cut off about 0.5" off one of the sides for me?

I, of course, will cover all costs. Please LMK

Thanks!

 

[Hecubus114]

getting a clean cut off of that small an amount is gonna be tricky... when you say stepped - you mean the flat piece bends in L shapes like stairs, right?

 

[adamata]

yup. thats what I mean.

bummer.

 

[Hecubus114]

I would say the best bet would be to tape it off where you want it to end, and very slowly and carefully dremel it away...

 

[SurferGeek]

Cutting such a small amount will be a problem, even with a dremel. If you have a table saw you could always try buying the proper blade like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU94M010-10-Inch-Plexiglass-Plastic/dp/B00004T7AL/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_a

...and try cutting small amounts on a few sample pieces to get the speed and technique right. Good luck.

 

[Hecubus114]

going through with the dremel would be tricky - because it melts through like butter - but I've done it before when I had a similar problem - and if you just are VERY SLOW AND CAREFUL it works...

 

[hydin]

For acrylic, if you are going to cut it AT ALL, for the love of god use a crapload of masking tape to keep it from cracking and going crazy.

Go slow, use tons of tape, and you should be ok.

 

[micdavis]

For acrylic, if you are going to cut it AT ALL, for the love of god use a crapload of masking tape to keep it from cracking and going crazy.

Go slow, use tons of tape, and you should be ok.

What he said.

Heck, send it to me I'll give it a try for you. If you wanna pay postage.

 

[mattybonez]

Dremeling plastic is no fun at all, and can create some pretty toxic dust and fumes. It's also very hard to get accurate results.

If you have access to a scroll saw, I would highly recommend it. You will get a clean and professional cut in seconds.

Good luck!

 

[KnightAsylum]

Sounds like it would almost be easier to adapt the bookcase then the acrylic (I am assuming it is made of wood.)

 

[teecrooz]

Forget the Dremel, just quickly run the side of it against a belt-sander, then wetsand it smooth again.