1" thick plexiglass - how to cut/carve?

[MDCochrane]

I was donated two sheets of clear plexiglass 1"x4'x8' - very valuable stuff! I'm considering using a 3'x4' piece to make a sign for a church related group, etching or carving a surface on the back side to be viewed from the front, smooth side. I'm running a PRT 96, V4g with a Porter Cable 3 1/3hp router (variable speeds).

Any advice from your experience to a new ShopBotter? I don't want to touch a bit to this expensive material until I know something about how to machine it. At one inch thick, this stuff is massively heavy.

What are the do's and don't? If I mess up the first sheet, I will use the second sheet for bullet proof windows to protect me from the donor.

Thanks!

Mike

[terryjones]

Mike
Take a look at this
www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15420&highlight=acrylic

[MDCochrane]

Yes, that is helpful. Thanks, Terry!

I wonder if anybody knows if the forum has a material hardness chart in the "library." I'm wondering how this plexiglass compares in hardness to some other materials that I may be more familiar with.

Mike