Drilling thin acrylic box

[Brfoster77]

Hey all! I've googled "drilling acrylic", and there's thousands of opinions of what bit to use, and how to do it, but I wanna ask folks that may have done this same project.

I've got an acrylic ato box that is want to drill a 1/2" hole in, to make a gravity fed ato system. I dunno if I've ever seen a 1/2" hole saw, so what can I use instead? Regular bit? Step bit? Beaver tooth? Chainsaw? Lol... seriously, what would you all recommend? Thanks a bunch!

 

[Tommy B]

I would recommend a step bit that finishes at 1/2" and start with a small pilot hole. Large drill bits could chew up or crack acrylic.

 

[exnisstech]

^this^ I've used step bits for many types of plastic.

 

[Pistondog]

Normal hole saw will grab, not drill.
I saw some had success with hole saw backwards.

 

[TX_REEF]

you could also use a soldering iron or something similar to melt a hole, just trace the intended hole out first. I think this would eliminate the cracking issue.