Your cart is empty.
Your cart is empty.3/8
Hermit57
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2023
I had an acrylic sheet that already had some work into it and I needed more holes. This cut through with no damage.
Ben Wagner
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2023
I had a number of small holes and some larger holes to drill in acrylic sheets (1/8" and 1/4" thickness). I drilled out the smaller holes with Amana Tools HSS Plastic Drill bits and using the lowest speed on the drill press, it drilled through easily with no issues and no chipping. I had a few larger holes to drill, so I purchased this bit for those. Unfortunately, the bit I received from Source One just didn't work. Honestly, I believe drilling with a nail would have worked better than this bit.What you receive is a regular drill bit that the rake been ground down. The idea on the modified rake is to scrape away the acrylic slowly so that it doesn't melt or chip. In the bit I received, it appears that it had been ground down too far, which is why it didn't even drill through correctly. Also, the point angle of the provided bit is not what is recommended for drilling acrylic.I contacted the company and they replied with "so sorry, our machinists have been hand grinding these in our manufacturing plants nationwide for near 50 years for the use in our acrylic parts drilling 10's of millions of holes a year in the USA. feel free to return to your retailer ( amazon.com ) any item you can't use", so I must have received a faulty one? I somehow doubt it.In the pictures, I show the drill point on the bit I received. The grind was inconsistent between sides and you can clearly see the point angle. I also took a picture of the Source One bit compared to the Amana Tools bit, which shows the point angle. If you research manufacturer recommendations, they recommend a 60-90 degree point angle, not the wide 120-135 degree point of a regular drill bit."Drilling acrylic generally requires a bit with a smaller included angle than a standard drill bit, i.e. a 60 degree included angle is recommended as opposed to a 118 degree included angle. Also, for the best results, the bit should be further modified by grinding away part of the cutting edges to produce a small flat on each edge (0 degree rake angle) with a clearance angle of about 8-12 degrees behind each cutting edge. Figure 2 shows a drill bit modified for engraving acrylic as compared to a standard drill bit."I highly recommend the Amana Tools HSS Plastic bits instead. I had wonderful results with them. And while they come in multi-packs, they were cheaper per bit than this one. Also, step bits are an acceptable solution to drilling through acrylic. Anything would work better than the bit I received from this seller.
David Ellison
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2023
These are bits that have been ground to change attack angle. The one I got was gold rather than black so I assume the seller has changed suppliers. Unfortunately the drill bit drills oversized holes, they are about 0.025” oversized. I measured the drill flutes, they measured 0.02” oversized. The sides of the holes were smooth with a frosty appearance. I wanted 0.5” holes to closely fit half inch drill rod without side to side movement. Another characteristic of the holes are that it appears they are slightly tapered with the top of the hole larger than the bottom. One must ease up the pressure on the bit as it penetrates the far side of the acrylic. Pressure is needed as one drills the hole and a cooling agent is needed to keep from melting the plastic as the tip of the drill bit heats. If one doesn’t lighten the pressure, the drill punches through and shatters the bottom edge of the hole leaving a ragged chipped edge instead of a smooth hole. The bit does not grab the plastic (acrylic in this case) and lift it as conventional bits do, so that’s a plus.So if you don’t mind your holes being a little larger, and the hole taper isn’t a problem for you then this bit will do a decent job. If you want a half inch bit that drills an accurate half inch hole, I suggest you avoid this one.
Jeffrey Scott
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2022
Drilled perfect holes thru Plexiglas
VP
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2019
this drill worked well on my plexiglass. I drilled a very small hole before using this one, but it did not break the 1/8 inch plexiglassI was drilling into.
Gordon D. Morrison
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2018
I was told I had to buy a special drill bit for our plastic table tops or it would melt the plastic. So, I bought this drill bit and it worked. Plastic did not melt. Perfect size for the job.
Greg Dunn
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2016
When something meets all the expectations of a purchase, I call that awesome. This bit is awesome! It drilled holes in 1/8th" plexiglass without problems. I clamped my plexiglass to a hard surface with a space underneath the area I was drilling and got perfect results. Couldn't recommend this bit more.
Jon
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2015
I bought this drill bit along with a few other smaller sizes. I used them to drill holes into clear pieces of Plexiglas. Before I ordered these specialty drill bits, I had attempted drilling holes with regular wood drill bits, and the piece ended up cracking where the holes were drilled. But with these, I was able to make nice, clean holes with a little bit of practice using a scrap piece of plexi. My only concern was that in my practice holes, the plexi chipped off where I made the hole. Just a tiny amount; but this is why I recommend working your way up from the smaller drill bit sizes, to the desired size hole. And don't drill in too quickly, otherwise chipping also occurs. I've worked with plastics on a few different projects, so I feel like these problems may have something to do with the nature of plastic, and not the drill bits themselves. These drill bits did the job nicely, so I'm happy with them.
Recommended Products
