This Kitronik University course is part of the working with materials course and covers how to cut and scribe Perspex.
Sawing Perspex
Powered saws with blades that have alternatively bevelled teeth, as normally used with aluminium, are particularly suitable for Perspex®. Band saws, jig saws and fret saws may also be used. The recommended conditions for sawing Perspex® are shown in the table below.| Saw Type | Optimum Blade Speed (m/min) | Optimum Saw Pitch | Recommendation | |
| Sheet Thickness | Teeth/cm | |||
| Circular Saw Carbide Tipped | 3000 | All Thicknesses | 0.8-1.6 | N/A |
| Bandsaw | 1500 | Up to 3mm 3-13mm Over 13mm | 6-8 4-5 1.5-2 | Saw guides as close together as possible to prevent twisting |
| Jig Saw Fret Saw | Non-Critical | Up to 6mm | 5-6 | Allow blade to stop before withdrawing from saw cut |
Scribing Persepx
Small pieces of Perspex® up to 4mm thick may be conveniently cut in a straight line by deeply scribing one or both surfaces several times with a sharp metal scriber, or stanley knife. Clamp the sheet with the scribed line uppermost and pressing sharply down over the edge of a bench or desk that has an unbevelled edge. Please note, this technique is not suited to extruded.©Kitronik Ltd – You may print this page & link to it, but must not copy the page or part thereof without Kitronik's prior written consent.
