Our mission

Drill for acrylic

ashburn2k

Supporting Member
Any one can give me a pointer where to get drill for acrylic or regular ones will do? Slow speed? I tried one with my drill but it ended up to be pretty ugly and some chipped on the edges.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
With the fostner bit, the acrylic is sort of "shaved" out; it does get hot but not to a melting point. Use an old piece of wood backing the plexi so the holes end smooth. A drill press should make for a nice straight cut, a drill guide also does the job fine.
 
I bought this set from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY6FODL/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm in North San Jose/Santa Clara if you want to borrow it. I had some small chips on a few from drilling too fast (downward pressure wise) and pressing to hard. Also got some cracks between holes same way, just need to go a little more slowly and maybe space out a little more depending on thickness of acrylic. But making your own with the bunch of bargain bin pieces from Tap Plastics is cheap and nice.
 
Also, I think I used the 7/16" size to try to get the smallest hole possible for the plugs I use, but after some coraline growth and other things like vermatid snails, it makes it difficult to go in and out. 1/2" would be better.
 
High speed, light feed, and use a backer.

You can modify a regular bit really easily for drilling acrylic.

IMG_0680.JPG


Just stone the cutting edges/lips parallel to the axis to make 2 tiny flats instead of sharp rakes. Then your acrylic won't catch and shatter. Old machinist trick.
 
Back
Top