Tips & Tricks: Try this router bit for acrylic sheet

There’s a router bit that we’ve been using lately that is really incredible: the 3/8-in. single flute, up spiral Vortex router bit #5640. It makes a very fine cut and makes dust that looks like snow instead of chips. We used it to cut the push-through letters for the “Tamale Company” sign from 1-in. Plexiglas 7328 acrylic sheet. It worked great.

7328 acrylic is translucent but in this thickness, when you put the LEDs behind it, you get a somewhat dull illumination. So we used that same bit to hollow out the letters to let more of the light through. It worked out well—the letters are much brighter.

The bit leaves an nice smooth edge, too. Not flame-polished slick, but still very nice looking. We’ve cut some thinner plastics with it as well, and of course it does fine for that. We use a lot of different types of bits, but it’s always good to find one that works especially well for certain tasks.