light diffuser

I was thinking of using light diffuser in my egg tubs this year. I was just curious what you guys used to cut them to size. I know plastic can be brittle and can snap pretty easily.

I use a pair of diagonal flush cutters: http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&bi...d=0CKYBEK0DMBc

i havent worked with this material specifically, but generally when i work with plastic, and also for many other uses, i have this:

http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-38472-.../dp/B0017PWTX8

then i just put in a circular saw blade, one of the ceramic ones without teeth, and it will cut any plastic, easily, with high precision, and without breaking anything. i mean, with that you can cut a glass bottle into slices.


or you could try to make the edge of a knife really hot, so that it will melt through the plastic, and cut with that. or just try a regular saw, for wood, and be really, really careful.

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

i havent worked with this material specifically, but generally when i work with plastic, and also for many other uses, i have this:

http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-38472-.../dp/B0017PWTX8

then i just put in a circular saw blade, one of the ceramic ones without teeth, and it will cut any plastic, easily, with high precision, and without breaking anything. i mean, with that you can cut a glass bottle into slices.


or you could try to make the edge of a knife really hot, so that it will melt through the plastic, and cut with that. or just try a regular saw, for wood, and be really, really careful.

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I beleive he is talking about using "egg crate" diffuser, its a bunch of brittle tiny boxes its not a solid piece of plastic so a roto tool will just snap it. I have access to a full machine shop with plenty of different cutting tools and I still haven't had any success using anything other than hand tools cutting it.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/13/ajuhahyb.jpg

This is what the sheet looks like. Just trying to figure out how best to cut it. I want to avoid it snapping to maximize the material

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Scissors....

I use a pair of sidecutter pliers most of the time. One time I could not find them and I used regular scissors though and it worked just fine. The eggcrate tends to snap pretty easy along the edges.

table saw gets it done really fast :) or if done by hand, some sidecuts.

Yeah you can probably use a pair of kitchen scissors pretty easily, it'll be time-consuming but more structurally sound than trying to take a saw to it.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

Yeah you can probably use a pair of kitchen scissors pretty easily, it'll be time-consuming but more structurally sound than trying to take a saw to it.

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how would the method have any effect on structure?

The scissors worked but you lose the whole column after the cut because it snaps off. I ended up finding a better way to preserve the material. I had a very small hacksaw in my shed that has a handle like a screw driver and a small blade protruding. It fits the square void so that you can saw back and forth without snapping the plastic piece above it. The scissors work fine and you're not really losing that much material, but I think I have OCD(jk) and want to get as much as I can out the sheet. The scissors were quicker for anyone wondering. Thanks guys

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Scissors! makes a mess, but gets the job done quit and correctly.

I use a table top jig saw, goes through it like a hot knife through butter.

i just use scissors too

I use wire cutters. I wouldn't worry about losing a row of squares. It's what, $10 for a 4' x 6' sheet? At least I think that's the size I got.

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Originally Posted by KING JAMES

I use a pair of sidecutter pliers most of the time.

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Love the "new terms"...................... Old school dikes, that's all I use.

Oh my...

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Love the "new terms"...................... Old school dikes, that's all I use.

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old school terms like the one for a kellems grip? :P

guess I learned from the older guys, I call my sidecuts - dikes, sidecut pliers - kliens, tongue and groove pliers - dogs