Cutting Plastic Circles Help

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:43 pm

I am looking for some sort of compass that I can use to cut circles of various diameters from flat plastic stock.

I have looked at what x acto has, but they are not for cutting plastic stock but more for paper.

A compass sort of cutter would work well for cutting circles from 1.5" in diameter to up to 4 -6" would be great.

Any ideas out there?

Rogviler · Post by **Rogviler** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:01 pm

There were some good ideas in this thread, some of which weren't what I was asking for but they sound like what you're looking for, such as this one.

-Rog

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:35 pm

Thanks

TazMan2000 · Post by **TazMan2000** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:25 pm

For thin plastic stock the OLFA circle cutter works well, but for thick plastic such as 1 mm or above it works poorly.

Not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on a lathe, just to cut some circles occasionally, I clamped down my 1/2 inch drill (on parts that have no bearings) and used a fine threaded bolt along with 2 nuts tightly secured on each side of the rough cut circle. I inserted the bolt into the chuck and tightened. I then clamped a piece of lumber near the edge of the plastic to be used as a working surface. I used one hand for speed control and the other to hold a suitable tool lightly against the spinning plastic, regularly checking the diameter with a Vernier Caliper.

Its not fancy, but its practically free if you have a drill, clamps, and a few scraps of wood.

Wear eye protection or even better, full face protection.

TazMan2000

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:51 pm

Ok, sounds good.