05-26-2012, 10:21 PM
Hi videobruce
You have bought yourself an interesting little saw table there, that appears to be well designed and made.
I dont have a micro table saw as such and my experience with cutting plastics is limited to 3mm and 6mm perspex, some black engineering plastics and cabinetmaking laminates, but I would like to offer some of my professional experience.
I did note with interest that the maximum cut thickness for plastic was 1/2" or 12mm as opposed to 1" or 25mm for timber and this would due to the higher density of plastic which increases the load on the saw motor during cutting. It is only a small 200 watt motor so keeping up the revs is important.
Heat is your enemy when cutting plastic as it can cause waste material to become stuck to your blade and or your saw table, both of which can ruin the quality of your cuts. To prevent sticking residue I would suggest using a lubricant on the blade and table, possibly a silicone spray or even a household non-stick baking spray. It would be worthwhile checking that you are able to clean the spray from the cut plastic before gluing and painting.
To perform quality cuts you need to be aware of several factors.
1. Number of teeth on the blade; the higher the number the finer the cut and also the greater the heat build up. With such a small blade the number of teeth range will be very small, but use the finest blade with the highest teeth number.
2. Rate of feed. For any given blade the rate at which you feed the work into the blade also determines the quality of the finished edge. Listen to the sound of the motor as you feed in, if it starts to bog down then the quality of your cut is also going down as the blade is dynamically balanced for its highest rpm level.
3. Depth of cut. This factor is not really controlable with your table saw, but you should be aware that the angle of the teeth as they exit the work can also influence the quality of the bottom edge of the cut, slicing out versus square on punching out. The masking tape idea partially solves this problem.
4. Material support. The closer the material, particularly very thin material is supported at the cut point next to the blade the better the cut so you want to avoid having the material vibrate. Your table saw has been made with a clearance margin around the blade to allow for different blades and any blade wobble, but this clearance then works against you when cutting very thin materials. You can overcome this by making a cutting sled from timber sides higher than the blade cut height and a ply or mdf bottom and running this through the saw to show where the cut will occur. Place your material inside the sled and then feed it into the saw.
I hope that these tips will help you when cutting plastic.
Mark
You have bought yourself an interesting little saw table there, that appears to be well designed and made.
I dont have a micro table saw as such and my experience with cutting plastics is limited to 3mm and 6mm perspex, some black engineering plastics and cabinetmaking laminates, but I would like to offer some of my professional experience.
I did note with interest that the maximum cut thickness for plastic was 1/2" or 12mm as opposed to 1" or 25mm for timber and this would due to the higher density of plastic which increases the load on the saw motor during cutting. It is only a small 200 watt motor so keeping up the revs is important.
Heat is your enemy when cutting plastic as it can cause waste material to become stuck to your blade and or your saw table, both of which can ruin the quality of your cuts. To prevent sticking residue I would suggest using a lubricant on the blade and table, possibly a silicone spray or even a household non-stick baking spray. It would be worthwhile checking that you are able to clean the spray from the cut plastic before gluing and painting.
To perform quality cuts you need to be aware of several factors.
1. Number of teeth on the blade; the higher the number the finer the cut and also the greater the heat build up. With such a small blade the number of teeth range will be very small, but use the finest blade with the highest teeth number.
2. Rate of feed. For any given blade the rate at which you feed the work into the blade also determines the quality of the finished edge. Listen to the sound of the motor as you feed in, if it starts to bog down then the quality of your cut is also going down as the blade is dynamically balanced for its highest rpm level.
3. Depth of cut. This factor is not really controlable with your table saw, but you should be aware that the angle of the teeth as they exit the work can also influence the quality of the bottom edge of the cut, slicing out versus square on punching out. The masking tape idea partially solves this problem.
4. Material support. The closer the material, particularly very thin material is supported at the cut point next to the blade the better the cut so you want to avoid having the material vibrate. Your table saw has been made with a clearance margin around the blade to allow for different blades and any blade wobble, but this clearance then works against you when cutting very thin materials. You can overcome this by making a cutting sled from timber sides higher than the blade cut height and a ply or mdf bottom and running this through the saw to show where the cut will occur. Place your material inside the sled and then feed it into the saw.
I hope that these tips will help you when cutting plastic.
Mark
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