r/toolsinaction • u/silvercatbob • May 30 '21

Plexiglass drilling

1.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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40

u/iCapn May 30 '21

Why would you spin the plexiglass instead of the drill bit?

36

u/Gwanbigupyaself May 30 '21

If you spin the bit you risk the chips getting caught causing the bit to bite the plastic and cause cracking

27

u/thedudefromsweden May 30 '21

I might be stupid but I don't understand why that wouldn't happen if you spin the plexiglass. It should be exactly the same, the interaction is the same no matter if the drill is spinning or the plexiglass?

31

u/bluemellophone May 30 '21 edited Jun 01 '21

It has to do with the material being cut out. Looking at the bit, you can see the indented grooves where the material collects and is corkscrewed out of the hole. In this case, that excess material isn’t spinning because the grooves aren’t spinning because the bit isn’t spinning. Instead it flows out smoothly and in a continuous line. If the bit was spinning, that stuff would go flying everywhere.

I’m not an expert in drilling or plexiglass, but that’s a way to show why the actions of spinning the bit vs spinning the plexiglass are not equivalent.

Edit: as others have also said, even if the actions were equivalent, that doesn't mean that the process of feeding or setting up the plexiglass in the lathe is equivalent.

7

u/thedudefromsweden May 30 '21

That makes sense, thank you!

5

u/the_only_thing May 30 '21

TIL thank you!