Colnago_Man
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 01:06 PM |
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Cutting ABS plastic
Having just recieved my ABS Plastic from Bay Plastics for my tunnel top I was wondering what the best technique is for cutting it?
Hacksaw? Jigsaw? Sharpe knife?
Its 3mm thick by the way.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 01:10 PM |
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jig saw, fine blade, very low speed
coarse glass paper on a block off wood to get a straight edge. Put two layers of masking tape over at least 2 inches where you are cutting to prevent
scratching the surface
[Edited on 24/2/09 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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dinosaurjuice
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 01:15 PM |
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if your doing quite a lot its well worth getting a proper plastic cutting blade made by bosch or whatever.
edit: for a jigsaw
[Edited on 24/2/09 by dinosaurjuice]
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Colnago_Man
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 01:22 PM |
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Thanks guys, should I cut on the top of the plastic or on the back side, obvisouly the jigsaw can mark the plastic if your not carefull or i've
not used masking tape, but does the plastic splinter a little?
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serieslandy
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 01:31 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Colnago_Man
Thanks guys, should I cut on the top of the plastic or on the back side, obvisouly the jigsaw can mark the plastic if your not carefull or i've
not used masking tape, but does the plastic splinter a little?
It all depends on the cutting blade. So if it cuts on the down stroke, from
the top. If the blade cuts on the up stroke then cut from the back.
[Edited on 24/2/09 by serieslandy]
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Slater
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 02:15 PM |
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Just score it a few times with stanley knife then bend, it will snap with a good clean edge. Practice on an offcut first.
Only works for straight cuts though.
Why do they call Port Harcourt "The Garden City"?...... Becauase they can't spell Stramash.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 04:08 PM |
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Fine toothed jigsaw blades aren't so good for ABS, they generate enough heat to fuse the plastic back together behind the blade. A fairly
coarse blade works best IME, and don't try force the jigsaw to speed up the cut.
ABS edges can be made pretty tidy just by dragging a very sharp blade along them, but a flat sanding block and suitably fine paper will give the best
finish.
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locoR1
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 04:42 PM |
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A jigsaw just makes a mess have a look at this thread : HERE
 
Description
Check out my CB500T Cafe Racer build diary
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stevebubs
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 05:18 PM |
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I'd use a dremel cutting wheel and then file/sand it back
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trextr7monkey
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 07:46 PM |
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At work we just treat it like hard board - fine toothed bandsaw (reserved for plastics only as it knocks the set off the blades) , circular saw for
the thicker stuff at home wejust use a jigsaw steadily!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14016102@N00/ (cut and paste this dodgey link)
Our most recent pics are here:
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/trextr7monkey/
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flak monkey
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 07:51 PM |
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I used Piranah jigsaw blades to cut mine with a low speed. Very coarse and sharp, designed for rapid wood cutting.
No messiness or hassle.
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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roadrunner
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 08:03 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Slater
Just score it a few times with stanley knife then bend, it will snap with a good clean edge. Practice on an offcut first.
Only works for straight cuts though.
I managed to cut my dash out using a sharp stanley knife, thats curved, in fact i did all my panels with a knife, then used a small block plane to
trim then finished with sand paper.
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roadrunner
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| posted on 24/2/09 at 08:06 PM |
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And i found it quicker and easier if you used a straight edge.
 
new tunnel
 
started new dash
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Colnago_Man
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| posted on 13/3/09 at 12:46 PM |
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Just to add closure to my own thread - most techniques cut this plastic very cleanly. A hacksaw or jigsaw at low speed produced a decent if a little
wobbly cut.
But using a sharp knife and scoring the plastic a number of times along the cut easily gave the cleanest staightest cut.
It is also the easiest to perform as it can be difficult to clamp a large sheet of plastic is such a position that it can be cut easily with the
jigsaw.
Using the sharp knife technique I just put it down on the living room carpet.
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