how to drill acrylic

[Strider_Hiryu]

well i was able to get some clean cuts with a util knife so i got a nice clean cut piece of acrylic. i tried a wood spade bit for the button holes and that was a definite no go.... shattered it pretty good. so whats the best tool to drill the buttons holes with in acrylic? this is the last step before i print the art and install the buttons and electronics. :clap:

[['__']]

I'm not sure if acrylic is interchangable with plexi/lexan, but I used a spade bit on lexan... kind of destroyed it my first time around, but if you spin the drill in reverse and put like a piece of scrap wood underneath your sheet, it may come out a lot cleaner.

[Strider_Hiryu]

ok ill test it out on another scrap piece. any other suggestions anyone?

[ChainZ]

ok...u need to drill but drill slowly....just let the weight of the drill push it through...take your time...the reason it cracked is because u are applying too much pressure...spade bits work fine..you can also use a router..its all about trial and error..trust me..lol

[ParryPerson.]

Ok, I learned the hard way, you SHOULD NOT DRILL ACRYLIC with a spade bit, if you do, you need to go so slow it's just silly.

Lexan is more pricy, but WORTH it, and this is the reason why: It's TEN TIMES easier to drill with a spade bit then acrylic is.

After 3 sheets of broken acrylic (the cost of a nice piece of lexan) I just took my dremal drill and got a bit and did the holes by sawing it out that way (don't do that either.....ugh).

If you want to drill acrylic, buy a hole saw.

[Landel]

Pilot holes.
http://www.ehow.com/how_12231_spade-bit.html

[454Casull]

I just drilled a few holes in acrylic with a hole saw. Worked fine, although you just have to be careful not to burn stuff.

[nasci]

Hole saw yes. Although Landel was right in saying that you need pilor holes. For me the number one time they crack and shatter is when the pilot bit of the hole saw is going in, not when the hole itself is cut. So I normally make a small hole first with a nice new drill bit, and then after that make a bigger hole with a bit the same size or bigger than the pilot of the hole saw.. and then use the hole saw.

However... high-impact lexan is soooo much easier to work with.

[buyproduct]

I ran into this problem a month ago. Here is what I had to say about it back then.

I went to home depot and picked up a piece of lexan. It was $5.00, twice the price of the acrylic sheet but its way easiar to cut. To demonstrate I cut and drilled both a piece of acrylic and lexan. As you can see in the picture the acrylic sheet cracks when you drill it and chips when you cut it. I did the cuts with a plastic cutter I got at home depot for $3.00 and drilled the holes with a hole saw.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/LexanVsAcrylic.jpg

[Rei]

Drill with high speed and low pressure. No problems. If your drill has a torque setting, set that at the lowest setting so that the bit stops rotating before the acrylic cracks.

[Shin Ace]

I'm getting ready to build a subwoofer box that will double as a coffee table/joystick stand.

The plexi is 3/8" thick, but my holes will be only 3/8" from the edge. Hence I need to be careful. I will be using a DRILL PRESS, SHARP BIT, and PATIENCE to drill my holes. I hope that is the magic formula.

Oh yeah, I'll also be using a slow speed, and advancing the bit very slowly.

[buyproduct]

If your using a drill press then I wouldnt use a drill bit at all. What you should do is use a bit that they use to score glass. This way it wont crack at all and you will get perfect holes all the time.

[TheRealNeoGeo]

Switch to Lexan (hard if you can find) and don`t use acrylic again.

[454Casull]

If your using a drill press then I wouldnt use a drill bit at all. What you should do is use a bit that they use to score glass. This way it wont crack at all and you will get perfect holes all the time.
A bit that scores glass? What?

[buyproduct]

A bit that scores glass? What?

Yeah when I was having trouble drilling my acrylic sheet before i switched to lexan I had a talk with the gentleman that runs the machine shop in our department and he told me the best way to cut it was with this bit. What it basically looks like is a flat round fostner bit that has a sharp edge ( almost like a record player needle) at the perimeter of the bit. You can extend the needle to the desired radius of hole you wish to make and then start drilling. So it scores through the glass rather than drilling through it. No cracks and works every time.

[Shin Ace]

Scratch that, I found a construction adhesive that will do the job for me. I've decided to glue the plexi face, but make the opposite side removable. That way I can swap woofers if need be.

I really wanted to use fasteners, but it's just too risky with this being a 50$ sheet of plexi and all.