Before you embark on drilling the main hole you should consider starting with a pilot hole.
Drilling holes in acrylic sheets.
Zero flute countersinks work well for the countersinking and deburring of holes in acrylic sheet.
Drilling plexiglas is similar to drilling wood.
If a countersink is unavailable use a drill of larger diameter than the hole and deburr the rough edge on the exit side of the hole side where the drill came through the sheet.
Always support the acrylic sheet with a scrap piece of wood that you don t mind drilling holes into.
Drilling holes in acrylic requires the use of a drill bit specially designed for use with plastics.
The pilot hole should be at least 1 2 the diameter of the final hole.
Insert an acrylic point drill bit into the chuck of the drill and set it to a medium speed.
Place the drill perpendicular to the acrylic sheet and set the drill to medium speed immediately.
Standard metal drill bits will work but without extensive modification the metal drill bit will crack and chip the brittle acrylic sheet.
On any hole much larger than 1 8 you can drill a 1 8 pilot hole then route the hole out with a dremel tool.
Here you will discover which drill bits are suitable for p.
For example to drill a 1 2 inch hole you can make a pilot hole by beginning with a 1 4 bit drill and then moving to a 1 2 bit drill.
When you start the drilling process ensure that the hole is away from the edge of the plexiglass.
If your sheet is thick do peck drilling going a little at the time so that you can remove the shavings from your hole and allow the drill time to cool.
Support the drill well when it is almost.
If this is not the case the drill is too slow.
Failing that you have 2 other options on sheet plexi besides a step bit.
However there are a few things to keep in mind.
Press only lightly on the drill the drill must sink itself through the material.
This will avoid cracking which may damage the entire sheet.
Or get the hole pretty close then finish with a drill bit.
You can finish the hole directly if you have a routing table.
You could drill progressively larger holes but in my experience this can cause chipping around the edges of the hole.
There are precautions that you must take to ensure that the.
Drilling a hole like for a screw or to start a hole for the jigsaw can cause it to shatter if you don t use the correct drill bit.
The chip should break off immediately.
