Cutting Plexiglas

[Yamaha4x4_19]

I have this Zoomed tortoise house I'm using for my Indian Stars. I was thinking about covering the big opening on top with plexiglas to hold in humidity to make it a closed chambers cage. Does anybody know how I can cut exact holes in the plexiglas for the day and night light domes? And do yall think it would be a good idea for me to do this?

 

[klinej50]

My suggestion would be to not cut plexiglass unless it's a straight line. You can but it isn't pretty and when I did It mine cracked and completely broke when I was making my 2nd hole.

 

[mike taylor]

You can get a hole saw for your drill at Home Depot . All you have to do is put your plexiglas in the middle of two thin pieces of wood an cut slow .
works every time .
Sent from my C771 using TortForum mobile app

 

[wellington]

The only way I know to cut plexi is to keep scoring it, a lot. You might call a local glass store and ask if they know a better way to cut holes into plexiglass.

 

[Jd3]

If you can get a whole saw big enough you can drill them.

Honestly, glass is easier to drill and look good....


Call a glass shop and explain what you want. You'll be surprised how cheap it can be.

 

[Yamaha4x4_19]

Thanks so much guys!! Y'all are a lot of help

 

[Jtort]

When I originally had my tort in a cement mixing tray, I covered most of it with plexiglass. I cut it in a straight line using a tool to score it. The part that wasnt covered with the plexiglass was where I had the CHE and light on. I used this for a few days and noticed that even though the 100W CHE wasn't directly touching the plexiglass, it still warped it a bit. I'm not sure what effect it would have if the plexiglass was touching your lamp fixtures...

 

[Jd3]

It would melt. No debate.

 

[kathyth]

We cut plexiglass with a Rotozip tool. You can get them at Home Depot.

 

[NickWag]

We cut plexiglass with a Rotozip tool. You can get them at Home Depot.

How easy is that Rotozip cutting Plexi? I may look into that one myself.

 

[kathyth]

It cuts quickly! You have to go slow.
Wear gloves and protect your eyes and ears.

Trace the outline of what you want to cut first, with a Sharpie.

Good luck.

 

[Redstrike]

If you can get a whole saw big enough you can drill them.

Honestly, glass is easier to drill and look good....


Call a glass shop and explain what you want. You'll be surprised how cheap it can be.

I agree with this. My experience with plexiglass is that it cracks and warps easily. It's not an easy material to work with. It also cannot hold up to heat well.

I'm using glass for my next enclosure.

 

[abclements]

I used glass because I was worried about the plexiglass warping under the heat. I YouTubed how to cut glass, bought the needed tools and went for it myself and it worked out great!