Cutting plastic.

[hawkeye10]

I have some extra plastic inserts for my router table and would like to make the hole in one of them a little bigger. Just guessing I would think I need to slow the speed down but I don't have a clue on what blade I need to use.

[Lucky2]

Don, why don't you just drill the holes to the size you need?

Len

[hawkeye10]

They already have a hole, it just needs to be bigger. The only way I might have to do  it would be with a forstner  bit. I really don't know if they will cut plastic or not.

[stoney]

If your inserts already have a hole in them using a forstner  bit probably won't work anyway as it will not stay centered.   I cut plastic with FD polar blades run at slow speed with packing tape on top to help cool the blade to prevent the plastic from melting.   Works for me.

[amazingkevin]

I have some extra plastic inserts for my router table and would like to make the hole in one of them a little bigger. Just guessing I would think I need to slow the speed down but I don't have a clue on what blade I need to use.

Try a step drill

[SCROLLSAW703]

wouldn't it be just as easy to figure out how much "a little bigger" ya want it, & drill it out to that size? Even if you need to go to a metric size, that hole will be permanent. Or, make a jig the size you're after, & cut the hole size on the scroll saw. There's lots of ways to get it done if ya want it done bad enough

[Bill WIlson]

I cut polycarbonate and acrylic with an Oldon skip tooth blade and it works pretty well.  I'd probably be inclined to use a Forstner bit to get a cleaner, more accurate cut.  Might take a little fiddling to get it lined up, but you should be able to get it centered accurately enough.  The plastic on mine is pretty soft.  I suspect they are made that way, so as to be forgiving should a bit come in contact with the insert.  I don't think a Forstner bit would have any problem with it.  If you had a drum sander, you could probably open the hole up with that as well, especially if you were just removing a little material.  Several ways to skin this cat.

[MrsN]

Almost any blade will cut plastic. you just need to find the right speed. You don't want the plastic to melt and then weld back together.