sanding plexi

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keener1830

lawnmower
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
273
Location
EL Granada, CA
So a friend cut some plexi for me with a table saw. What grit sand paper do I use to smooth the edges before I glue?? I was thinking 220 or 440.
 
I just did an acrylic nano and I used 330. Could have gone a bit finer, but i liked the outcome on all the pieces I sanded.
 
depends on how good the cuts were, if it was a sharp blade meant for plastics then probably 220 until the saw marks are gone followed by 400-600 until it is smooth. if they are a little rough then you can start with 150 to make it go faster.

I like to wrap the sandpaper around a foot long piece of aluminum channel/bar extrusion to make sure the edge stays flat and square.
 
Yea I would be doing to much on the sanding unless you do it as cptjorn described. What you need more then anything on a end you are glueing is for it to be true. If you have access to a planner that would be best, if not tape a full sheet down (pending on the size of the peice your working with) and then sand it while pressing down firmly to make sure you keep it true.


Mojo
 
I planned on a full sheet as to keep it square just like wood working, I will start with the 120 since it is a pretty rough cut, I dont have my saw any more or it would have been a little better since I have a nice blade for just plexi. thanks for the info everyone I will post pics when I am done with this project
 
Are the edges really that rough off the table saw??? If the blade was sharp and the saw wasnt overheating the acrylic the there should be very little if any sanding needed. You dont want a baby butt smoothe surface. You want some ridges so the solvent will have the ability to melt the fine ridges and create a stronger bond.
If they are so bad that they need sanding with 120 then I'd have them cut properly. You can hand joint them but as mentioned they need to be square and will require a tall jig to keep it square. A router or jointer is really the preferred method. A standard table saw blade is really all that is needed providing the saw has enough HP and is not overspinning the blade.

Don
 
This is what mine looked like after cutting with a new wood blade
778b061f.jpg

I just sanded with 330 Griggs paper till the saw marks disappeared.
 
So my project is on hold stated cleaning up the pieces and well found one of the cuts was not straight and well it messed it up so I am waiting till I get a router table or find some one who has one to help me fix the issue. :(
 

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