I occassionally need to cut acrylic shapes from a template, and would like to get some type of router or laminate trimmer or dremel setup that would let me follow the contour of the template to make the acrylic copy. The originals are usually around 1/8" thick, and the copies are 1/16" or 1/8" thick, and they are usually fairly random shapes (not many straight lines or continuous curves, etc).
Currently I trace the pattern on the acrylic backing paper, cut close with a dremel tool using a 1/8" rotozip drywall bit, then sand/file to get the correct shape/size. This generally works well, but since I find this tedious work, I wouldn't mind spending a few bucks for a simpler way. Hence my thoughts of using a router.
I know that routers use small bits with a little ball bearing on them, but the smallest straight bit I could find with this bearing is 3/8" dia, with a 1/4" shank. That shank size seems to be pretty common for routers. But there is a relatively large gap between the bearing and the cutting flutes. This is significant for the thicknesses of materials I am using.
My other discovery was this flush-trimmer router bit that did not have the bearing, and I'm wondering if it's for *flush*trimming, then is the non-cutting part of the shaft expected to rub against the edge of the the template piece? At 20k-30k rpm, wouldn't this damage the edge of the original template piece? And if not, then can I find a similar bit in 1/8" diameter (so I can use a dremel or roto-zip tool instead?) Anything else I should be aware of that can make this easier?
Thanks,
-Neil.