I’d like to use this stuff along the layout edge as a cat shield. In a recent on-line MR feature they used the score and snap method, with mixed results. I have had problems too using score and snap… lousy results with many cracked sheets when the cuts did not snap clean. Yes I am using new blades and changing often. What other methods can be used? I have a radial arm saw but feel cutting 3’ strips 4" wide will be difficult and tricky (unsafe) due to how thin the sheets are and how narrow the strips will be. Unfortunately I don’t have a table saw. The sheet I am using is 0.080" thick. Thanks!
There are different kinds of clear plastic sheet available. One as you’ve discovered is quite brittle, while another is more costly, but very flexible. I use "Lexan"™ for my control panels, and have had no cracking with it. It saws with most wood-saws and drills easily.
Perhaps a closable door on your layout room might be a solution to the Cat-on-the-Track problem?
Have fun, George
I bought mine ready cut to desired width from the local glass shop
I cut it with a regular circular saw with wood or all purpose blade.
I just put painters tape on it first where I will cut it, then draw the line so as to minimize chips, though the protective layer on it works well too.
GO slow enough so as not to force it to chip BUT fast enough so it doesn’t melt on you. It should cut easily like butter.
Lexan is probably the better material for this as it is flexible. That flex will allow bumping without breaking, that why it’s used for RC car bodies. Plexiglass should also work but isn’t as forgiving of bumping. Either way score and snap should work but I’ve found the trick to that method is to have the break point well supported and to evenly apply pressure to the piece to break off. Clamping the sheet between 2 pieces of wood should be adequate and using another to aply force to the “cut” part should make it easier. That said a very fine tooth blade in a circular saw or jigsaw should work but I’ve not tried that on such thin material
As others have indicated, Lexan is preferably because it is less brittle and more flexible. It cuts cleaner and straighter without cracking or shattering. I use a glass cutter to cut start the cut, then “break” it like glass by holding the cut line over a table edge. Great for making control panel faces.
Plexiglass along the edge is not going to cat-proof a layout – mine can jump higher than the top edge of a shield would be unless I made the shield so high that I couldn’t reach over it.
How I cut it depends on how thick it is. For thin sheets I use the “score and snap” method if it’s going to be a perfectly straight cut. A jigsaw can be used for curved cuts. For thicker material I use a table saw with a carbide blade. But you have to cut very slowly because plexiglass will melt and gum up the blade if you try cutting it too fast.
There is a simple tool for the cut and snap procedure. I call it a backwards knife. You pull it toward you and it takes out a “V” shaped grove. More swipes deeper grove until the plastic snaps easily. A knife tries to wedge the plastic apart the tool removes a line of plastic. The tool has a square face similar to a lath cutter. If you don’t have this tool it’s very hard to cut plastic. [banghead]
Good luck. [:)]
Lee
Thanks for all the helpful advice. I got a quote from a local glass shop who will supply it and cut it into 36" x 4" wide strips for $4.25 a strip, not bad considering I don’t have to spend time cutting it and don’t have the risk of damaging it.
Regarding if it will prevent cats, I have had success with cardboard shields so far (8 months) though my layout is 50" above the floor to begin with (this after several cat attacks which, lets just say, made me very unhappy…the one cat loves my Chrysler Airflow) I can’t close the room door either as the room the layout is in is on the way to the litter box.
I enjoy the trains, she gets two cats…
I use a plywood blade on my tablesaw. works great.
Most cats hate flea spray buy a cheap can at the dollar store give the cat a quick shot and spray the edge of your lay out with it once or twice a week . Give the cat a reminder once in awhile also.its a cheaper way to try first. Jim.
I just made a train display case and used an acrylic window for it. I had an issue cutting the first one i tried. I went to Home Depot and purchased an acrylic cutter and it worked great. perfect cut. It’s pretty much a cutting knife with a hook on the tip that digs deep when scoring it. a few passes with it and it cut quite deeply. I was able to snap it cleanly after that. just make sure you have the line you want to snap just past the edge of the table so as not to stress the acrylic too much. Good Luck.
Lee’s right. I just bought a piece of acrylic, about .09" thick at a home Depot and I asked them how I should cut this. They sold me a Plaskolite plastic cutting knife. The cutting edge is a hooked affair that you pull towards you. I haven’t tried it yet but they tell me other methods (including the “score n snap” method with a knife) is not a very reliable way to cut it.
One recommended procedure is to score the plastic sheet on one side, then cut on the other side opposite the scored line. This has been mentioned in woodworking magazine project articles in the past. i recently did some cutting- both acrylic and plexi- and found this to be helpful. There is a special tool used for cutting plastic that hardware stores and large suppliers- Home Depot, for example, sell for cutting plastic sheet goods. If you have a Rohm & Haas commercial plastics supply business in your area, they can also offer some suggestions and perhaps, tools.
I have found that manual cutting is preferable to power tool cutting, as the heat build-up is minimal by hand, and you can use 250-400-600 grit wet/dry sandpaper to smooth the cut edges
I just did my first plexiglass cutting using the knife. The first cut I tried snapping it too soon and the break wandered. The next couple I kept drawing the knife across for ages until it was almost through then put a score on the other side and snapped it easily.
After I put the piece up, on an area that the cat uses to access the layout, we heard a crash and I found the plexiglass pulled out of position and the cat on the stairs under it. We clipped a sign onto it to make it visible and the cat hasn’t tried to get over it since.
I tried to do some extra cutting with a Dremel. The cutting disk bogged down and I’ve never seen smoke come out of a Dremel before!
If you happen to have a table saw, you’d want to use a metal-cutting blade, which has finer teeth than a wood blade. I haven’t tried, but maybe a hack saw would work for quick cutting of small pieces of acrylic. I used to use an X-acto saw to cut acrylic years ago, worked well enough.
There have been a couple shops in my city that sell sheet plastic, which would usually cut it to size ($$) or sell scraps (less $). Sign shops and places selling/repairing windows seem the biggest customers for acrylic, maybe even hardware stores that do window repair. You could ask about getting scraps or getting larger pieces cut to size - maybe strips that you could cut to length as needed.
In my college days, I worked on projects that used acrylic. Best way to preserve the smooth surfaces was to keep the paper backing on the material until we were done cutting and drilling.
I was just looking into using plexiglass as a barrier to prevent those unfortunate attempts at suicide by my locomotives. Both Home Depot and Lowes carry the product, but only Lowes will cut it for you (free is good![:D]). Gerry S.