Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small
mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Arfa |
#2
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
In message , Arfa Daily
writes Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Expect it to scratch badly in use. -- Simon 12) The Second Rule of Expectations An EXPECTATION is a Premeditated resentment. |
#3
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:36:14 -0000, Arfa Daily wrote:
Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Arfa Needs something sharp - I once cut 8' along a sheet of polypropylene with a bluntish jigsaw and found that I still had a single sheet but with a ridge along each side! A wheel would do it if the teeth are really sharp. Could be interesting holding a small pieces without scratching them. -- Peter. The gods will stay away whilst religions hold sway |
#4
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On 15/02/2013 01:36, Arfa Daily wrote:
Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Main problem in use is that the surface is soft and scratches easily so you will forever be repolishing it. To cut it clamp between two pieces of wood faced with paper to support it and make the cutting strokes slow and towards the silvered face. If you work it hard the material will melt and clog the saw. It melts very easily. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#5
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:36:14 -0000, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? Angle grinder. -- Frank Erskine |
#6
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
Arfa Daily wrote:
Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. I bought some the other week to use as a reflector to replace the corroded piece of metal in my car's number plate illuminaire. As said, scratches quite easily. Gives a reflection very nearly as good as glass. I had to cut a couple of small rectangles so clamped it to a piece of wood and fed it through my lathe, set up as a table saw. It uses a 2" dia cutting saw and was probably running at 800rpm (top speed!) It produced a really nice finish. I mention this as whenever I've tried similar material with my Dremelesque it ends up running at a far higher speed and melts the swarf into the piece which is then a pain to get rid of. So I reckon way to do it (for odd shapes) is to clamp the stuff down with a guide piece and use a fine bladed hacksaw. Scott |
#7
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On 15/02/2013 08:26, Scott M wrote:
So I reckon way to do it (for odd shapes) is to clamp the stuff down with a guide piece and use a fine bladed hacksaw. Sounds to me as if you need a fretsaw. They aren't expensive. http://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/spear-and-jackson-eclipse-70-fs1r-fret-saw-eclipse-saw-frames-pid39171.html Andy -- I've never heard of the shop, they just came up first in google. |
#8
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
"usenet2012" wrote in message ... In message , Arfa Daily writes Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Expect it to scratch badly in use. -- Simon Shouldn't be a problem where I need to use it Arfa |
#9
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
"Martin Brown" wrote in message ... On 15/02/2013 01:36, Arfa Daily wrote: Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Main problem in use is that the surface is soft and scratches easily so you will forever be repolishing it. To cut it clamp between two pieces of wood faced with paper to support it and make the cutting strokes slow and towards the silvered face. If you work it hard the material will melt and clog the saw. It melts very easily. -- Regards, Martin Brown Thanks for that. Seems a good suggestion Arfa |
#10
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
"Scott M" wrote in message ... Arfa Daily wrote: Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. I bought some the other week to use as a reflector to replace the corroded piece of metal in my car's number plate illuminaire. As said, scratches quite easily. Gives a reflection very nearly as good as glass. I had to cut a couple of small rectangles so clamped it to a piece of wood and fed it through my lathe, set up as a table saw. It uses a 2" dia cutting saw and was probably running at 800rpm (top speed!) It produced a really nice finish. I mention this as whenever I've tried similar material with my Dremelesque it ends up running at a far higher speed and melts the swarf into the piece which is then a pain to get rid of. So I reckon way to do it (for odd shapes) is to clamp the stuff down with a guide piece and use a fine bladed hacksaw. Scott Thanks Scott. Valuable input Arfa |
#11
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
"Andy Champ" wrote in message . uk... On 15/02/2013 08:26, Scott M wrote: So I reckon way to do it (for odd shapes) is to clamp the stuff down with a guide piece and use a fine bladed hacksaw. Sounds to me as if you need a fretsaw. They aren't expensive. http://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/spear-and-jackson-eclipse-70-fs1r-fret-saw-eclipse-saw-frames-pid39171.html Andy -- I've never heard of the shop, they just came up first in google. I have a fretsaw. Actually, two, one being manual and the other electric. Now I come to think of it, actually THREE ! I'm a bit skeptical that they wouldn't do the old melting trick of swarf in the cut, but still worth a try. Thanks for your input. Arfa |
#12
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On 15/02/2013 09:39, Arfa Daily wrote:
"Andy Champ" wrote in message . uk... On 15/02/2013 08:26, Scott M wrote: So I reckon way to do it (for odd shapes) is to clamp the stuff down with a guide piece and use a fine bladed hacksaw. Sounds to me as if you need a fretsaw. They aren't expensive. http://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/spear-and-jackson-eclipse-70-fs1r-fret-saw-eclipse-saw-frames-pid39171.html Andy -- I've never heard of the shop, they just came up first in google. I have a fretsaw. Actually, two, one being manual and the other electric. Now I come to think of it, actually THREE ! I'm a bit skeptical that they wouldn't do the old melting trick of swarf in the cut, but still worth a try. Thanks for your input. Use the hand saw with a plastic or wood cutting blade, cut slowly and keep feeling the blade. If it is getting too warm, stop for a while. As already suggested, clamping the plastic between two thin pieces of wood will help with such thin plastic. Colin Bignell |
#13
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On 15/02/2013 09:35, Arfa Daily wrote:
"Martin Brown" wrote in message ... To cut it clamp between two pieces of wood faced with paper to support it and make the cutting strokes slow and towards the silvered face. If you work it hard the material will melt and clog the saw. It melts very easily. Thanks for that. Seems a good suggestion Arfa Just realised the way I wrote that is ambiguous. You have to work so that on the cut stroke you are pressing the mirror against the plastic the other way around or an aggressive back stroke and the silver will be rip off the surface around the edges. It is surprisingly easy to melt the stuff and smell the monomer even with careful slow working. If the swarf comes off in large melted together clumps you are too fast. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#14
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
In article ,
Arfa Daily wrote: Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Last thing you want when cutting acrylic is something which generates heat as it melts easily. A fine tooth hand wood saw is fine. Finish with a metal file. You can polish the edge with fine sandpaper followed by metal polish like brasso. -- *I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#15
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Arfa Daily wrote: Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Last thing you want when cutting acrylic is something which generates heat as it melts easily. A fine tooth hand wood saw is fine. Finish with a metal file. You can polish the edge with fine sandpaper followed by metal polish like brasso. -- *I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. Thanks Dave Arfa |
#16
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On Friday, February 15, 2013 9:35:45 AM UTC, Arfa Daily wrote:
"Martin Brown" wrote in message ... On 15/02/2013 01:36, Arfa Daily wrote: Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Main problem in use is that the surface is soft and scratches easily so you will forever be repolishing it. To cut it clamp between two pieces of wood faced with paper to support it and make the cutting strokes slow and towards the silvered face. If you work it hard the material will melt and clog the saw. It melts very easily. -- Regards, Martin Brown Thanks for that. Seems a good suggestion Where I work we use a laser cutter for 5mm or less, it's very good, but also expensive so not much use to you unless you're likely to want to cut a lot of stuff with it, it's good for plywood and MDF too. We even use it for engraving on wood and acylic. |
#17
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
On Feb 15, 10:50*am, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote: In article , * *Arfa Daily wrote: Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Last thing you want when cutting acrylic is something which generates heat as it melts easily. It's exactly what you want - a laser cutter. It's controling where the heat goes that is key :-) MBQ |
#18
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
In article
, Man at B&Q wrote: Last thing you want when cutting acrylic is something which generates heat as it melts easily. It's exactly what you want - a laser cutter. It's controling where the heat goes that is key :-) Right. I'll look out for one on special offer at Lidl. -- *Acupuncture is a jab well done* Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#19
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
Yes they scratch, so be careful with the cleaning. You can polish out small
scratches I think. Weird stuff that attracts muck like mad. Brian -- From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active "usenet2012" wrote in message ... In message , Arfa Daily writes Anyone had any experience of the stuff ? I have a need to make three small mirrors - about credit card size - and two of them are not square. 3mm acrylic mirror material is available dirt cheap on Fleabay, and is reckoned to be at least as good as glass. Question is, how do you cut the stuff reasonably neatly ? I've cut other acrylics before and always found them to be a nightmare at clogging any cutting tools. I was thinking maybe something like a Dremel with a general purpose cutting wheel ? They market this material as 'shatterproof', so that's good when it comes to cutting it, right ... ? I wonder if that also means that it would score and snap ? Expect it to scratch badly in use. -- Simon 12) The Second Rule of Expectations An EXPECTATION is a Premeditated resentment. |
#20
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Acrylic mirror material ...
"Brian Gaff" wrote in message ... Yes they scratch, so be careful with the cleaning. You can polish out small scratches I think. Weird stuff that attracts muck like mad. Brian It's a bit 'static-y' I think, Brian. Not a problem in this application though. If it does get cleaned, it will likely be rarely, and light surface scratching would not affect its performance as a mirror to any degree that would be noticeable in use. Arfa |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Driveway road mirror (request ideas for a cheap workable mirror) | Home Repair | |||
gluing mirror to plastic (car door mirror) | UK diy | |||
Request for material recommendation for a Titanium grade or similarlightweight material with high yield strength | Metalworking | |||
Oval mirror - mirror leaning on tree.JPG (0/2) | Woodworking Plans and Photos | |||
fixing mirror - mirror screws and bushes | UK diy |