Hi...

After phoning around trying to find someone to cut a fire-sized hole in a
piece of thick perspex laminate* and getting several and various non-helpful
replies such as 'only if you've bought it from us' and 'sorry, we only cut
timber, our blades wouldn't touch it'... I've decided I must 'do-it-myself'.

* Backplate for standard B&Q Fireplace/Hearth kit.

So..

Presumably I need a jigsaw (or 'other' power-tool)?
Any recommendations for a cheapish but EFFECTIVE saw for the job. No point
shelling out for a pro-tool as it will be used very rarely.

I've seen them at diy.com ranging from £25 to £350 - Are the cheaper ones
VFM and/or upto the job?

TIA for suggestions.

Will the edges of the cut-out be visible, or will a fitted fire hide them?
If they're going to be hidden, it gives you a welcome bit of latitude in the
accuracy and quality of the cut: and if you don't already have a power tool,
I'd be tempted to do it manually, I think. As long as the sheet is properly
supported while you cut it, you should be OK.

Bert
http://www.bertcoules.co.uk

In article ,
David Illingworth-Young wrote:
After phoning around trying to find someone to cut a fire-sized hole in
a piece of thick perspex laminate* and getting several and various
non-helpful replies such as 'only if you've bought it from us' and
'sorry, we only cut timber, our blades wouldn't touch it'... I've
decided I must 'do-it-myself'.

* Backplate for standard B&Q Fireplace/Hearth kit.

Very unlikely to be Perspex since it has a very low melting point. Which
makes a difference to cutting.

So..

Presumably I need a jigsaw (or 'other' power-tool)? Any recommendations
for a cheapish but EFFECTIVE saw for the job. No point shelling out for
a pro-tool as it will be used very rarely.

I've seen them at diy.com ranging from £25 to £350 - Are the cheaper
ones VFM and/or upto the job?

If you only want it for this job, then I'd say any one will do it. Even
for less than 25 quid. Just make sure you get suitable blades, support the
work properly, and let the saw do the cutting, ie don't force it.

If you want a jigsaw for other work and one that lasts, ask again.

--
*We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 11:14:36 GMT, "David Illingworth-Young"
wrote:

Hi...

After phoning around trying to find someone to cut a fire-sized hole in a
piece of thick perspex laminate* and getting several and various non-helpful
replies such as 'only if you've bought it from us' and 'sorry, we only cut
timber, our blades wouldn't touch it'... I've decided I must 'do-it-myself'.

* Backplate for standard B&Q Fireplace/Hearth kit.

So..

Presumably I need a jigsaw (or 'other' power-tool)?
Any recommendations for a cheapish but EFFECTIVE saw for the job. No point
shelling out for a pro-tool as it will be used very rarely.

I've seen them at diy.com ranging from £25 to £350 - Are the cheaper ones
VFM and/or upto the job?

TIA for suggestions.


Wander down to your local hire shop, tell the guy what you want to do,
and see what tools he offers you ....... If he offers you a DIY type
tool, now decide if you want to rent his PRO quality tool, or spend
approx double the day rental rate on a DIY quality tool ....... His
PRO tool and blades (bades makets tool) will almost certanly do a
better job.

Works for me every time.

Rick

"David Illingworth-Young" wrote in message
...
Hi...

After phoning around trying to find someone to cut a fire-sized hole in a
piece of thick perspex laminate* and getting several and various
non-helpful
replies such as 'only if you've bought it from us' and 'sorry, we only cut
timber, our blades wouldn't touch it'... I've decided I must
'do-it-myself'.

* Backplate for standard B&Q Fireplace/Hearth kit.

So..

Presumably I need a jigsaw (or 'other' power-tool)?
Any recommendations for a cheapish but EFFECTIVE saw for the job. No
point
shelling out for a pro-tool as it will be used very rarely.

I've seen them at diy.com ranging from £25 to £350 - Are the cheaper ones
VFM and/or upto the job?

TIA for suggestions.



Fast blades can melt the area around the cut and literally weld it back
together behind the blade, so jig saws and fast cutting disks are always the
worst culprits for this happening. A hand saw with a fine toothed blade,
like a hack saw blade, is the way to go with laminate boards. Drill the
corners of a square cut so you can saw down to them and not have to try and
turn tight corners. For dead straight line use a metal straight edge as a
guide to get them bang on.

Good luck with it, and happy new year.

In article , David
Illingworth-Young wrote:
After phoning around trying to find someone to cut a fire-sized
hole in a piece of thick perspex laminate* and getting several
and various non-helpful replies such as 'only if you've bought
it from us' and 'sorry, we only cut timber, our blades wouldn't
touch it'... I've decided I must 'do-it-myself'.

* Backplate for standard B&Q Fireplace/Hearth kit.

Is this the double sided marble effect laminate about 4mm thick. If
so I had to cut a piece of this a few weeks back. I did it with a
small router grooving bit: I rested the sheet on an old board and
clamped a batten over it to run the router along. Perfect cut. One
of the shed £19.99 routers will do this just fine

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm

In article ,
Huge wrote:
As another poster has said, the plastic will melt around the blade, so you'll
end up with a line scribed in an apparently solid sheet.

You can cut slowly with a jigsaw - even a fixed speed one. Don't press too
hard, and stop frequently to let things cool down. But I've often cut
*real* perspex in one go without melting it. You do, however, need the
correct blade. And of course, no jigsaw cut is perfect, so if this matters
cut loose and finish afterwards with file and sandpaper - as with anything.

--
*Learn from your parents' mistakes - use birth control

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 13:12:46 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
made me spill my meths when he wrote:

In article ,
Huge wrote:
As another poster has said, the plastic will melt around the blade, so you'll
end up with a line scribed in an apparently solid sheet.

You can cut slowly with a jigsaw - even a fixed speed one. Don't press too
hard, and stop frequently to let things cool down. But I've often cut
*real* perspex in one go without melting it. You do, however, need the
correct blade. And of course, no jigsaw cut is perfect, so if this matters
cut loose and finish afterwards with file and sandpaper - as with anything.

We use an oscillating cutter at work for cutting perspex and acrylic
type materials. It's similar to that used to cut plaster casts off.
The circular disc vibrates back and forth minutely about it's centre,
you can place it on your hand and it won't cut. Maybe ask a rental
place if they have the oscillating cutters, or maybe a signwriting
shop.

Before I had use of an oscillating cutter I found I needed to cut some
plastic. The jigsaw did indeed create too much heat and effectively
melted the plastic so it promptly healed itself and was a nightmare to
cut. Add to that the extra work involved in tidying up the cut later
and it wasn't very good. The jigsaw wasn't variable speed though, that
might help. I also only had a wood blade, I think a metal blade might
have worked better, maybe there are plastic cutting blades? I think
the reciprcating blades that are a couple of inches deep might help in
keeping the fresh cut seperated unitl it cools enough not to want to
bodn back with itself.

I eventually chose to use a small angle grinder (with steel cutting
disc) to gradually score down through the cut. It seemed to "chip"
away at the plastic. Took it very carefully and got a better result.
Defintely needed goggles and mask with that one, loads of small static
charged plastic flakes get everywhere, and will not brush off, move
about yes, but not brush off

HTH
--


Just another point of view...
www.4x4prejudice.org

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 13:12:46 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

In article ,
Huge wrote:
As another poster has said, the plastic will melt around the blade, so you'll
end up with a line scribed in an apparently solid sheet.

You can cut slowly with a jigsaw - even a fixed speed one. Don't press too
hard, and stop frequently to let things cool down. But I've often cut
*real* perspex in one go without melting it. You do, however, need the
correct blade. And of course, no jigsaw cut is perfect, so if this matters
cut loose and finish afterwards with file and sandpaper - as with anything.

...and when cutting plastic, the blade must be absolutely razor-sharp, i.e. brand new. Fine
wood-cutting blades are usually the best.

In article ,
wrote:
Before I had use of an oscillating cutter I found I needed to cut some
plastic. The jigsaw did indeed create too much heat and effectively
melted the plastic so it promptly healed itself and was a nightmare to
cut. Add to that the extra work involved in tidying up the cut later
and it wasn't very good. The jigsaw wasn't variable speed though, that
might help. I also only had a wood blade, I think a metal blade might
have worked better, maybe there are plastic cutting blades?

There are indeed. I've got a couple of Bosch selections that cover most
eventualities. If a blade is melting the plastic while cutting slowly, it
probably hasn't enough set. So saying, I've got a variable speed jigsaw.

However, in the OP's case, I hardly think a fire surround is likely to be
made out of a plastic with a low melting point?

--
*Very funny Scotty, now beam down my clothes.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 16:55:38 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
made me spill my meths when he wrote:

However, in the OP's case, I hardly think a fire surround is likely to be
made out of a plastic with a low melting point?

Expect a thread on smoke detectors any day now....



--


Just another point of view...
www.4x4prejudice.org

"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
In article , David
Illingworth-Young wrote:
After phoning around trying to find someone to cut a fire-sized
hole in a piece of thick perspex laminate* and getting several
and various non-helpful replies such as 'only if you've bought
it from us' and 'sorry, we only cut timber, our blades wouldn't
touch it'... I've decided I must 'do-it-myself'.

* Backplate for standard B&Q Fireplace/Hearth kit.

Is this the double sided marble effect laminate about 4mm thick. If
so I had to cut a piece of this a few weeks back. I did it with a
small router grooving bit: I rested the sheet on an old board and
clamped a batten over it to run the router along. Perfect cut. One
of the shed £19.99 routers will do this just fine

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm



We often cut perspex on a fixed speed scroll saw i.e. fast blade speed. It
will certainly melt and re-weld unless you do the following:

Stick a piece of masking tape over the area where you will cut and then mark
your cutting line on to the masking tape. Cut through the masking tape and
your perspex. I don't know why this stops the perspex re-welding but one
theory is that the glue on the masking tape melts and acts as a lubricant.

I don't know if it will work with a jigsaw since jigsaw cuts are a lot more
aggressive than using a fine toothed blade on a scroll saw.

If your cut edge is going to show:
When you have your cut edge filed (draw-filed with a smooth file) and sanded
(using wet and dry as your final sand), finish by rubbing with metal polish
on a piece of corrugated card. This will give you a wonderful polished
showroom finish to match that of the other faces. If your filing and
sanding are not perfect the polish will dry in any filing lines to leave
white marks - just file/sand/polish until these go - it is a good form of
quality control.

Steve

"David Illingworth-Young" wrote in message
...
Hi...

After phoning around trying to find someone to cut a fire-sized hole in a
piece of thick perspex laminate* and getting several and various
non-helpful
replies such as 'only if you've bought it from us' and 'sorry, we only cut
timber, our blades wouldn't touch it'... I've decided I must
'do-it-myself'.

* Backplate for standard B&Q Fireplace/Hearth kit.


A jigsaw or router will do the job, don't worry too much about price of tool
..... just buy the right blade (or bit) Perspex cuts easily, and with a
perfect finish if you use the right blade.
Use the wrong one and it will get hot, melt the perspex instead of cutting.

Rick

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:
Before I had use of an oscillating cutter I found I needed to cut some
plastic. The jigsaw did indeed create too much heat and effectively
melted the plastic so it promptly healed itself and was a nightmare to
cut. Add to that the extra work involved in tidying up the cut later
and it wasn't very good. The jigsaw wasn't variable speed though, that
might help. I also only had a wood blade, I think a metal blade might
have worked better, maybe there are plastic cutting blades?

There are indeed. I've got a couple of Bosch selections that cover most
eventualities. If a blade is melting the plastic while cutting slowly, it
probably hasn't enough set. So saying, I've got a variable speed jigsaw.

However, in the OP's case, I hardly think a fire surround is likely to be
made out of a plastic with a low melting point?

Why ever not, it's from B&Q after all :-)

Peter

In article ,
Peter Andrews wrote:
However, in the OP's case, I hardly think a fire surround is likely to
be made out of a plastic with a low melting point?

Why ever not, it's from B&Q after all :-)

Heh heh. Perhaps mainly because it's about the most expensive plastic
going?

--
*Why do psychics have to ask you for your name? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Rick Hughes" wrote in message
...

A jigsaw or router will do the job, don't worry too much about price of
tool
.... just buy the right blade (or bit) Perspex cuts easily, and with a
perfect finish if you use the right blade.
Use the wrong one and it will get hot, melt the perspex instead of
cutting.

Thanks to all.
Plenty of tips/advice to mull over for now.

To answer a few queries..
No, the edge doesn't have to be at all neat - there is a 5cm trim going over
the cut giving me a tolerance of +/-2.5cm for waviness and roughness. I'm
sure even I can keep within that!

I'll probably go with the relatively inexpensive jigsaw/correct blade(s)
option - and I like the masking tape idea.

Why B&Q? You'll have to ask my old Mum who has severe mobility problems and
is restricted to shopping online - I guess diy.com was the first site she
found. Anyway it's going in a relatively unused room and doesn't need to be
too posh.

So, thanks to all. Yes, even those taking the p.

D I-Y.

I've always found that a plain hand saw is OK using long strokes so the semi
molten chippings are carried well away from the cut, cool, and so don't have a
chance to re-combine with the molten stuff. You have to use light pressure else
you risk chipping or cracking the wanted bit and the saw should ideally be
sharp and fine tooth (a hack saw is a bit too fine though) Put masking tape
down the wanted line, mark on it the line to cut and take it easy....

Nick