The TAPP plastics website has nice videos on this, and they actually use a tablesaw to do the cuts.

I've cut ABS on a table saw, haven't done acrylic yet.

 

Acrylic cuts fine on a table saw (like a wood circular saw table) and most of those have guides etc to keep it lined up square and cut straight lines at right angles.

A plastic supplier I buy from just table saws the pieces to my dimensions and they come out pretty good!

Do they use carbide blades, or standard? Carbide are the type where the chunk of carbide sticks out a bit from each side of each tooth. I've had crappy luck that method on a 12" sliding miter saw (upside down short table saw, essentially)

 

HERE's the video for TAPP plastics.
They use a knife, jigsaw, circular hand saw, and table saw - blades on the last two are carbide.

 

Cool. I guess I can't clamp it down properly in the miter saw. Mine chunks out nice for a while, then it cracks.

 

Do they use carbide blades, or standard? Carbide are the type where the chunk of carbide sticks out a bit from each side of each tooth. I've had crappy luck that method on a 12" sliding miter saw (upside down short table saw, essentially)

Standard wood cutting circular saw blades with carbide tips, I've never seen circular saw blades without the carbide tips.

Acrylic is a bit harder than softwoods but cuts much easier than hardwood, so a typical TPI wood saw blade works just fine.

 

This is a minor update in case anyone wants more information regarding the ABS plastic I used.

I've done two other projects using 1/4" and 1/8" ABS, and I must say it is fantastic.
Wish I had know about it years ago.

It can be cut on standard woodworking tools - table saw is very accurate.
It can be "sanded" by standard sanding machines.
There were some long slots in the 1/4" that I put 1/8" into on its edge and it worked great.

Use the "welding solution" supplied by the manufacturer. It is easier than gluing.
You put the solution/solvent on both sides of the joint to be sealed - hold it in place - use a square to make sure its square,
and within a minute it VERY solid.
There were even some small gaps that I filled by just putting a litte more solvent over them - they filled very nicely - clean joints.

If you need something like wood, but needs to be plastic and stronger, go with the ABS.

I'll probably work on a little acrylic project this weekend and let you know how it goes.

 

Back in 1992 I made a simple lash-up to etch 8 " brass dials. Base 10 X 15 1/2 in plywood, pivited off center so long side towards motor. A 2" ply disc mounted 1/4" offset to 5 RPM geared AC motor, rode on 1" bearing attached to end of base. Etchant was in a 12" X 15" "pyrex baking dish.

How did this reply end up on an old completed project post by SPQR- Guess i'm really loosing it- it belongs to JDR04', Help With Servo post.

 

The "glue" is not really glue - it is solvent.
Just like when you are putting a PVC pipe system together, that stuff you put on the joints is not glue, but solvent - it dissolves the PVC on both pieces and "welds" them into a single piece.

I remember at high school we used to cut a lot of things from sheets of polystyrene using a CAD CAM router and we used solvent for 'gluing' pieces together. Works a dream... just have to be careful not to get drips on the outside of whatever you're making if you're fussy about aesthetics like me!

 

Never tried it with polystyrene, but couldn't you use a syringe to apply the solvent? Like when doing Plexiglas/Perspex.

 

Never tried it with polystyrene, but couldn't you use a syringe to apply the solvent? Like when doing Plexiglas/Perspex.

I should point out I'm referring to sheet polystyrene plastic, not the expanded packing material. We had it in little containers with a tiny metal dropper. You pressed the bulb and then to apply it you just touch it on and the capillary action sucks it out.