Cut one-of-a-kind plastic flowers using a scroll saw.
Acrylic is a relatively new material to the world of craft, and jewelry and craft items made with colorful acrylic have a funky, modern quality. If you want to make acrylic flowers, it is possible to use a die cut machine with flower stamps to create standard flower shapes. However if you want creative freedom to make any shape, size and style flower you want, use a scroll saw. A scroll saw is a table saw with a thin, spiraling blade and is well suited for making intricate, rounded cuts.
Instructions
1. Draw your flower shapes on an acrylic sheet with a dry-erase marker or a marking crayon. These implements are both erasable.
2. Put on safety glasses to prevent fragments that are cast off while cutting from entering your eyes. Pull your hair back and don’t wear a shirt with long, loose sleeves or any dangly jewelry, as these items can get caught in the blade.
3. Turn the scroll saw blade speed to medium-high.
4. Set the acrylic sheet on the scroll saw table and turn on the saw.
5. Feed the acrylic sheet into the blade slowly. Do not force the acrylic. The cut will be smoother if you are gentle. Pushing too hard on the acrylic can also bend or break the thin blade. Guide the acrylic sheet so the blade cuts along your drawn lines.
6. Periodically back-out the acrylic sheet, turn off the saw and blow out the blade. Acrylic shavings can easily get stuck on the blade, which can result in a jagged cut.
7. Use a mini plastic welder if you want to attach the flowers to other acrylic pieces, such as different colored stems and leaves. The welder is preheated and the tip is moved along a joint to fuse two parts together. The plastic welder can also be used around petal edges to soften them and add subtle nuance.
8. Use a drill with a plastic drill bit if you want to make a hole in the flower for stringing on a necklace. Drill using a slow feed rate to avoid cracking the acrylic.
