Home  •   Articles  •   Projects  •   Suppliers  •   Products  •   Links  •   Contact Us
Paracord Secrets - home to Paracord projects lanyard keychains knife lanyards and holsters
Search Site

Home
Articles
Projects
Products
Equiptment
Suppliers
Links
About Us
Contact Us
great deal on spare battery carrier for AA AAA and CR123a batteries
Return to Article Listing

Cutting KYDEX® sheet - different methods detailed and discussed

February 17, 2007

Cutting KYDEX® sheet sheet with a bandsawCutting KYDEX® sheet can be done in a number of ways, ranging from easy to difficult to dangerous. In my opinion, the best way to do it is with a Band Saw and the most dangerous way is with a circular saw (see bottom).

The bandsaw leaves a clean edge, cuts rather than melts, and is extremely controllable. With the bandsaw, you can cut fairly tight turns, and by using the guide fence allows you to true up your project after forming.

Jigsaws will also cut KYDEX® sheet fairly well, but you do have to clamp it down to a surface, and have a way of cutting the KYDEX® sheet without cutting the surface that it is clamped to.

You can also use hand tools like a hack saw to cut the KYDEX® sheet, but this can be difficult if it is not held stable. The KYDEX® sheet tends to flex all over the place rather than cut. This is the same problem with using the Jigsaw.

dremel cutting KYDEX® sheet sheetAnother option is a dremel tool with cuttoff wheel. This works fairly well, but does tend to melt the edges, even at very low speed. This isn't much of a problem, just another step to add to cut of the melted debris with a razor. As shown in the image of the dremel cutting, it's very important to lay out all the lines where you need to cut, in order to see them well while cutting, and to maintain a consistant edge.

The Cheapest tool for cutting KYDEX® sheet is a razor knife. Simply score the KYDEX® sheet a few times, and then bend and snap it apart. This obviously only works for straight edges, and if you have to cut portions out from a sheet, it may be difficult to conserve as much material as possible.

At the top of the article I mentioned that the circular saw was dangerous. What tends to happen with this is the spring of the KYDEX® sheet starts modulating as the blade hits it, and if it reaches the right frequency it will become unpredictable, hit a tooth at the wrong angle and fly. It doesn't happen every time, but there is definitely the possibility. This was my preferred method until it happened to me!

tags • cutting • shaping • dremel • bandsaw
Social Bookmarking | Post to Del.icio.us  | Post to Digg  | Post to Google  | Post to Ma.gnolia  | Post to Netscape  | Post to Reddit  | Post to Scuttle  | Post to Slashdot  | Post to Technorati

Other similar Articles

KYDEX® sheet Press - Make one yourself!January 15, 2007
Finish SandingFebruary 17, 2007
Chicago Screws - an alternative to EyeletsFebruary 16, 2007
Like surfing the web? Make it better, get FirefoxFebruary 15, 2007
A Beginers guide to shaping and molding kydexFebruary 22, 2007
Video: How to put a Paracord Lanyard onto your knifeMarch 05, 2007