Cutting and Drilling Board Material

[lkrasner]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could share their preferred method for cutting the glass epoxy board material? I'm assuming it would be ok to rip on a table saw, but would you recommend using something like a plastics blade?

I've been able to drill them fine with a normal spiral bit, but I now have access to a shopbot cnc router, so does anyone have experience with using a similar machine for drilling out turret holes? what bit do you use?

[John]

If you have a big sheet of it, I guess the table saw would be the way to go. If you just have the pieces we buy from Doug, the easiest way I've found is a hacksaw. I've tried a 10" chop saw to make a nice straight edge, but the dust is ungodly (and it's fiberglass).


For drilling, I use cheap bits. I generally lose 'em before I wear them out. 

[lkrasner]

If you have a big sheet of it, I guess the table saw would be the way to go. If you just have the pieces we buy from Doug, the easiest way I've found is a hacksaw. I've tried a 10" chop saw to make a nice straight edge, but the dust is ungodly (and it's fiberglass).


For drilling, I use cheap bits. I generally lose 'em before I wear them out. 

Thanks, That makes sense. How about a band saw? Am I just going to absolutely destroy the blade? I suppose a freehand jig saw would be a good bet since the blades are cheap.

[PRR]

Hacksaw for sure. The stuff is hard on blades. Hacksaw blades are MUCH cheaper than circular or band blades.

That's for DIY one-off. If you are sawing acres of boards you may explore other choices.

Turret holes are just drill-bits. Why make it complicated?

LARGE holes, I had success with a hole-saw, but obsessively clamped to an oak backer to keep the holesaw aligned as it came through. I think a 2" hole and the 18V cordless drill just about managed the massive torque (but I have lots of experience jamming drills and wrenching my wrists with that thing; a heavy drill-press would have been much wiser).

[DummyLoad]

table saw, chop saw, doesn't matter. use a painters mask and push sticks. for best results use a non-ferrous metal cutting blade. dewalt and vermont american sell a decent blade.


http://vermontamerican.com/products/semi-industrial-series-carbide-tipped-circular-saw-blades/
http://www.dewalt.com/tool-part-categories/Metal-Cutting-Saw-Blades.aspx


sometimes i order from these guys.


http://www.eplastics.com/
http://www.eplastics.com/G10-FR4-glass-epoxy-sheet
http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic?search=natural+g10


then have them cut if for me into several widths. it's cut on a CNC machine and they specify 1/4" saw kerf.


--pete

[Fresh_Start]

Carbide drill bits. Hacksaw. Dust is nasty so if I need a different width, I buy the needed width elsewhere. (Sorry Doug!)

Chip

[lkrasner]

For the record, I ended up cutting it with a large 12 inch plate shear. Worked great and no dust. Good but not perfect edge. I made a cross cut of one of Doug's boards, and cut another down to about 2x4".

I just drilled like usual with a drill press. It really goes by pretty quick. Some form of cnc machine would be nice just to get perfect alignment, but thats  just for looks. I use a normal drill bit and it seems to work fine. If I were doing a lot of boards I might invest in a carbide bit, but even a dull bit does OK on this stuff. With paper taped onto the board as a guide, the dust is minimal.