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Cutting Acrylic Transom Flaps
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rb_stretch View Drop Down
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    Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 2:56pm
Originally posted by Jack Sparrow

Originally posted by rb_stretch



It seems the Wickes acrylic sheet is particularly fragile as I just tried scissors which caused it to fracture all over the place. Oh well £18 down the drain.
 
Need a plan B now.


use a very fine tooth fret saw or an abrasive tile saw and then sand the edges down! Or trim with a wide amount of spare and sand in down with a rotary power sander, either bench or drill or grinder.
 
The only challenge I have with using saws which are not just a blade is that I can't cut the flaps big enough. I think in my next go I'm going to use the scoring and snapping technique gradually working down to the approximate shape and then belt sander to smooth it out.
 
Will report back.
 


Edited by rb_stretch - 30 Jan 13 at 2:57pm
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rb_stretch View Drop Down
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Posts: 742 		Post Options Post Options   Quote rb_stretch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 2:54pm
Originally posted by JohnW

Is this for your Alb?  If so, most boats use a flexible sheet that can be cut with scissors.

This kind of thing:
or

But if you can get some clear stuff that is better, so that you can check fore and aft trim through the flaps where the water leaves the transom.


 
Yes for the Albacore. The Mylar looks like it will be much more robust than Acrylic, so definitely worth considering.
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Jack Sparrow View Drop Down
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Posts: 2965 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Jack Sparrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 2:42pm
Originally posted by rb_stretch



It seems the Wickes acrylic sheet is particularly fragile as I just tried scissors which caused it to fracture all over the place. Oh well £18 down the drain.
 
Need a plan B now.


use a very fine tooth fret saw or an abrasive tile saw and then sand the edges down! Or trim with a wide amount of spare and sand in down with a rotary power sander, either bench or drill or grinder.
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JohnW View Drop Down
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Is this for your Alb?  If so, most boats use a flexible sheet that can be cut with scissors.

This kind of thing:
or

But if you can get some clear stuff that is better, so that you can check fore and aft trim through the flaps where the water leaves the transom.
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rb_stretch View Drop Down
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Posts: 742 		Post Options Post Options   Quote rb_stretch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 1:35pm
It seems the Wickes acrylic sheet is particularly fragile as I just tried scissors which caused it to fracture all over the place. Oh well £18 down the drain.
 
Need a plan B now.
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Jack Sparrow View Drop Down
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Posts: 2965 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Jack Sparrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 11:46am
fret saw or tile saw and then sand down edges
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laser193713 View Drop Down
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Posts: 889 		Post Options Post Options   Quote laser193713 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 10:30am

Ah the joys of having access to a CNC machine!
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Tape it with masking tape first between the two cuts, ie down the join.
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MerlinMags View Drop Down
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Posts: 588 		Post Options Post Options   Quote MerlinMags Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 9:05am
If you have to use a saw, perhaps sandwich the plastic between two layers of scrap wood, to keep it from flapping.
 
Or get those scissors which can cut through 2p coins (if I remember the advert rightly?).
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Posts: 382 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Oatsandbeans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 7:34am
The best would be a band saw with a narrow blade so that it can do the curves. If none of your mates has one I think that it would be possible with a good jigsaw. With the right blade, not too agressive -many small teeth, and get the speed right up before you start the cut then it wont have a chance to shake the sheet about and ruin it, once it is cutting properly it should then be OK. 
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